Is it okay to apply for citizenship in another country while I am waiting for U.S. permanent residence through the EB-5 program? Would this have any effect if I decide to later become a naturalized citizen of the United States?
Answers
Ed Beshara
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyDuring the EB-5 process you can apply and receive citizenship in another country. Having citizenship in another country will not affect your application and receiving U.S. citizenship.
Julia Roussinova
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyIt will not impact the EB-5 application.
Salvatore Picataggio
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyThe United States does not recognize dual citizenship. To maintain your U.S. permanent residency, you must maintain a physical presence in the United States and pay U.S. taxes.
Steffanie J Lewis
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyThe United States is a country of immigrants who entered as a citizen of another country. Many U.S. citizens have dual citizenship. It is not unlawful in the United States to have dual citizenship. However, when you file the I-526, you are requesting a visa to become a permanent resident of the United States. If, after filing the I-526 and entering as a U.S. permanent resident, a person turns around and initiates an application for citizenship in yet another country, the question arises: Did that person intend to be a U.S. permanent resident or not? Two years later, on removing the condition from U.S. permanent resident status, the intent on entry could rise a rebuttable presumption of having attained entry to the United States by misrepresentation. The United States distinguishes nonimmigrant visas from immigrant visas. I have seen no cases where the immigrant visa was used to misrepresent the holder's intent. Most cases concern misrepresentation when a nonimmigrant visa is shown for entry, but the foreign national actually intends to reside permanently. Assume a person initiated the process for citizenship in a third country concurrently with, or before, filing the I-526 and subsequently obtained citizenship in the third country before entering the United States as a conditional permanent resident. There should be no effect if that person later filed for naturalization in the United States. However, upon becoming a U.S. citizen, some other countries divest their citizens of citizenship.
Charles Foster
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyApplying for and obtaining citizenship in another country will not in any way affect your EB-5 I-526 petition or your eligibility to become a lawful permanent resident of the United States. It will not help you, nor will it hurt you in any way.
John J Downey
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyIt should have no effect on your U.S. application.
Bernard P Wolfsdorf
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyThe U.S. does not care what citizenship you have, or get. It will almost certainly not impact your EB-5 application.
Ian E Scott
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyThis will not have any impact on an EB-5 application.
Lynne Feldman
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyThere is no problem with that unless we have labeled it a terrorist country.
Raymond Lahoud
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyYou can apply for citizenship in a different country. Nonetheless, your EB-5 category will be set by your country of origin. A person naturalized as a U.S. citizen may not lose his/her citizenship of the country of birth. Also, U.S. law does not mention "dual nationality" or require a person to choose one citizenship over another.
Stephen Berman
Find an EB-5 Visa Lawyer: Immigration AttorneyIt should have no impact at all.
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