Citizenship

[myimmhelp 1]

My mother is a Green Card holder .She is 71 today. We still have couple of years before she can file her citizenship.

My question are as follows.

1. At the age of 75 she is eligible to file her UC Citizenship .Will she be required to pass her English test and civic test. She can't read and write English

Please advice if this is a must or are there some waiver for older people who have completed 5 years on green card

Edited February 1, 2015 by myimmhelp

[TimeTravel 78]

My mother is a Green Card holder .She is 71 today. We still have couple of years before she can file her citizenship.

My question are as follows.

1. At the age of 75 she is eligible to file her UC Citizenship .Will she be required to pass her English test and civic test. She can't read and write English

Please advice if this is a must or are there some waiver for older people who have completed 5 years on green card

Here is the rule:

English Language Exemptions

You Are Exempt From The English Language Requirement, But Are Still Required To Take The Civics Test If You Are:

• Age 50 or older at the time of filing for naturalization and have lived as a permanent resident (green card holder) in the United States for 20 years (commonly referred to as the “50/20” exception).

  OR

• Age 55 or older at the time of filing for naturalization and have lived as a permanent resident in the United States for 15 years (commonly referred to as the “55/15” exception).

Ref: http://www.uscis.gov/us-citizenship/citizenship-through-naturalization/exceptions-accommodations

[JimmyHou 611]

My mother is a Green Card holder .She is 71 today. We still have couple of years before she can file her citizenship.

My question are as follows.

1. At the age of 75 she is eligible to file her UC Citizenship .Will she be required to pass her English test and civic test. She can't read and write English

Please advice if this is a must or are there some waiver for older people who have completed 5 years on green card

It depends on how long she's lived in the US as a permanent resident. It sounds like she has not been a PR long enough for an exemption to the language portion of the test.

Here are the rules:

If you are over 50 AND have been living in the US as a Legal Permanent Resident for 20 years, you don't have to take the reading/writing test or demonstrate understanding of the English language during your interview, but you do have to take the normal civics test, although it can be administered in the language of your choice.

If you are over 55 AND have been living in the US as an LPR for 15 years, you don't have to take the reading/writing test or demonstrate understanding of the English language during your interview, but you do have to take the normal civics test, although it can be administered in the language of your choice.

If you are over 65 AND have been living in the US as an LPR for 20 years, you don't have to take the reading/writing test or demonstrate understanding of the English language during your interview. You will be given a MODIFIED version of the civics test (the officer can only ask you certain civics questions, so you don't have to study all the questions). The civics test can be administered in the language of your choice.

If she does not qualify for any of these, but has health issues that would affect her ability to take the test, she may qualify for a medical disability waiver. You can file an N-648 and request a medical disability exception which could exempt you from the language test, civics test, or both.

If she cannot get a waiver, does not qualify for an exemption, and cannot pass the test, she will have to remain a permanent resident.

[Cathi 5,747]

In order to be exempt from reading and writing English she must be a legal resident for 15 years or longer. So YES, in she plans to naturalize she must read and write English

[aleful 1,905]

hi

ditto, it's not only age but also years of being a GC holder

so since she is a recent GC holder, she will have her test in English

she can start early, like now, learning English

[Boiler 45,482]

Is she taking English classes?

[Done--Really 331]

Before you say she is too old to learn English, our church has free English classes and there are many folks in their 60's and 70's mixed in with the young adults, and they all seem to do just fine.