If you are considering applying with the USCIS to become a US citizen, you may be weighing the complex and long citizenship process against the benefits of becoming a US citizen. While you will need to pass a citizenship test and potentially spend some time completing forms and providing proof of your eligibility for citizenship, there is no doubt that there are advantages to citizenship. There are many benefits enjoyed by US citizens, whether those citizens acquire their citizenship through birth or naturalization:
1) US citizens enjoy all the protection and all the rights of the US Constitution and all US laws. This means that US citizens may not lose their status and may not be deported. They may freely enter and leave the US for any period they wish without worrying that they will lose their status.
2) US citizens enjoy sponsorship providences. Once you have gone through the US citizenship process with the USCIS, you can sponsor your immediate relatives. Your relatives will receive Legal Permanent Resident (LPR) status, if they are eligible. Sponsored relatives of US citizens usually do not have to wait long for a visa to become available. US citizens can also apply to sponsor brothers and sisters and adult sons and daughters where a visa is available.
3) US citizens enjoy more freedom of travel. They are allowed to have a US passport or passport card, which allows them to freely enter and leave the US without having to prove admissibility. US citizens can live and travel aboard while maintaining their status in the US. In addition, US citizens are eligible for assistance from any US consulate or embassy, should they need it. US citizens do not have to report to the USCIS about address changes or other matters; they can move freely through the US and choose to live anywhere they like.
4) US citizens have the right to participate in government. Elected public offices are only open to US citizens. As well, only US citizens can fully take part in the US electoral process through voting and other means. Many US jobs are available for US citizens only. As well, elected public officials are often very available to US citizens. When a US citizen needs assistance or wants to change a law, elected representatives of government listen to the suggestions and even offer advice.
5) US citizens have the right to certain benefits. For example, US citizens have the right to draw on specific Social Security benefits, no matter where they live in the world, without issues of reciprocity. As well, US citizens enjoy lower estate taxes and eligibility for many more public benefits than permanent residents. All US citizens quality for Medicare benefits and Social Security benefits, benefits which many permanent residents do not have access to.