What are the benefits of citizenship?

[laufine 55]

Vote!Vote!Vote!

That's the most important right of citizenship for me. I've seen so many bills pass and become a law that makes our community worse.

 

[Going through 5,671]

Pros:

 

-not having to deal with USCIS any more, or ever pay fees to them again.

-voting in the Presidential election.

-securing your status as a citizen, given the current immigration climate these days (personally, this is why I finally did it after being a LPR for over a decade).

-being able to travel for long periods of time, and the guarantee of being able to reenter the US without worry.

-keeping your original citizenship (depending on the country you were born in).

 

 

Cons:

 

-the normal wear and tear of having to file a form/gather documents/attend an interview.  

 

 

 

I was quite happy with my amicable divorce from USCIS.

 

 

 

Edited March 9, 2018 by Going through

[Cheschirecat 176]

8 hours ago, Cam54 said:

My husbands lost work being called on 4 separate occasions and I only moved here 4 years ago, maybe we've been unlucky. It's so expensive to live here in California so even a losing a day unpaid is frustrating. I was never even called in the U.K. and my mum had been called twice in 40 years 

Being done with uscis forever is certainly a pro 

I’ve never been called. My employer pays some portion of the days that I would miss 

[Going through 5,671]

I guess I'm one of the very few that finds the prospect of sitting on a jury exciting?

I always wanted to serve on one---guess it's from watching too many court-dramas.

[TNJ17 1,329]

That surely cannot be the only reason why you are considering not getting it? That seems like a small thing for all the good stuff you get. And it’s not really that big a deal. One pay day a year (if you actually do get that because most people don’t get called like ever) is really not gonna put a dent in your bank account. 

Edited March 9, 2018 by TNJ17

[TNJ17 1,329]

9 hours ago, HarryWL said:

Vote Trump out of office in 2020.

 

Major pro.

This right here should be enough reason for every single applicant to get citizenship. 

[*Snowdrop* 604]

I would say being able to vote is the main advantage. Plus in these uncertain times, there is more security being a citizen than an LPR. Also, there are some estate inheritance advantages to being a citizen rather than a green card holder. 

 

The one con that I think about is the tax situation - unlike the UK where you are out of sight out of mind, even if you move back to the UK you will have to file your US taxes. 

[NikLR 13,227]

The problem with gaining citizenship to vote against trump is that now Trump is "welcoming" you to becoming a USC.  Ugh.  No thanks. 

Con, if you ever move away you still have to file US tax returns. 

[Unlockable 7,314]

I think @Going through had the best list of pros but I want to add that it is not just the presidential election.

 

Everyone seems focused on voting in the presidential election. But local and state elections are just as important, if not more. It wasn't Trump who imposed a $0.25 gas tax across our state making NJ jump from one of the top states on lowest gas prices to one of the highest.

 

  https://www.npr.org/2016/11/01/500252021/shock-at-the-pump-a-jump-in-n-j-gas-tax-marks-an-end-to-cheap-fuel

 

 

Also, I wanted to add....for many, the number one reason (and possibly only reason) to become a citizen is to be able to bring over extended family.

Edited March 9, 2018 by NuestraUnion

[jkstark 97]

Regarding taxes:  If you are a LPR, and you have income outside of the country, you *still* have to file and pay taxes in the US, just as if you were a citizen.  Taxation does not change between being a LPR and a citizen, so that is neither a pro nor a con.

 

I waited a long time myself before taking the plunge - there were always some things about how the country was run that I wasn't all that happy about and didn't necessarily want to be represented in quite that way.  However, as a LPR, you have no control whatsoever over those, and with Trump, I was even more reluctant about the idea of that representation.  However, the other side of the coin was that I did not have any say, and simply by living here, I was being represented by those that I had no control over, so...  At least this way I have some "say" in the matter, even if that is insignificantly small.  Traveling and the security of being able to come home regardless is always a positive. 

 

With jury duty, I'm not personally worried about income, since my employer is good about things like that.  Jury pay is always there (though miniscule), but I am concerned that I am the only one in the company who deals with the field that I handle, and it is typically crucial.  As long as I would not be sitting on an actual case, it is not much of a problem, but if it is a long case, there could be issues at getting things done at work.  (I can work remotely if needed, and can catch up during the nights, but...)

[JT4/25 38]

1 hour ago, Going through said:

I guess I'm one of the very few that finds the prospect of sitting on a jury exciting?

I always wanted to serve on one---guess it's from watching too many court-dramas.

I have served 3x and I loved it.

[JT4/25 38]

Actually, in regards to jury duty.  Alot of companies give you regular pay and you give them your jury duty check.  It is harder and harder to get out of serving...I even had a lawyer on our jury.....but it is alot easier.  You used to have to go and sit all day until your number was called.  Now you call the night before to see if they need you.

[Jeanne Adil 1,651]

i have been called for jury duty in every state i lived in but i am the only family member that ever was called (from a huge family)

the idea of renewing the green card and the long waits everyone is having would be enough for me to go for USC

and renewing your British passport is a little more difficult than doing the US one

many advantages like getting the right to vote 

i don't see why anyone would not do it

[AshMarty 360]

Jury Duty really should not be the reason you don't want citizenship. 

 

My employer actually offers 5 paid time off days just for Jury Duty a year. so some employers actually give you paid time off.

 

In my 17 years of being eligible I have only received a Jury Duty notice 5 times (and most of them have been because I live in a high crime city... yay Baltimore!). I have only had to report for Jury Duty 3 times, 2 times my number has not been called for the day, and only served once for a day. If you are really concerned about being on a trial, you just tell your judge your concerns or your personal experience. It is not that difficult getting off a trial, if you are called into one. 

 

My parents, who don't live in a big city like me, have been called for Jury Duty about 3 or 4 times in their 55 + years of being eligible for Jury Duty. 

 

Honestly, I look forward to Jury duty because it is a quite afternoon of reading a book in the court house and not having to do paperwork run around the Hospital all day. 

 

 

Edited March 9, 2018 by AshMarty

[Cam54 84]

1 hour ago, JT4/25 said:

Actually, in regards to jury duty.  Alot of companies give you regular pay and you give them your jury duty check.  It is harder and harder to get out of serving...I even had a lawyer on our jury.....but it is alot easier.  You used to have to go and sit all day until your number was called.  Now you call the night before to see if they need you.

They still make you sit there and wait in my area

and neither my company or my husbands company pay so it's lost earnings and I know people think I'm being trivial worrying so much about a day a year but when the rent on your crappy rat infested apartment is $1850 a month and you're getting a steal for the area every penny counts towards saving to buy, id say wev lost around $800 to jury duty so far in the 4 years I've lived here due to lost income although ofcourse filing for green card every 10 years would cost too.

The one pro that i actually feel is worth it from this list so far is security knowing I would never have to leave the country or have trouble reentering. I don't worry so much about the vote due to living in an area that shares my liberal views so it's doing a good job of staying a blue state without my help.

Edited March 9, 2018 by Cam54