The USA don't owe you citizenship. It's on you to prove that your presence there would be of benefit to the other citizens.

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danielrmay an hour ago | parent | next [-]

Given the opportunity, at the time, I would have happily taken steps to prove my presence would be of benefit. Instead, I had to spend my time asking family to give me their pension statements.

Later, I was recognized for that potential benefit. Last December, I became a citizen.

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platevoltage an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

Green Cards aren't citizenship.

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JCTheDenthog an hour ago | parent [-]

They're permanent residency, so other than voting rights effectively the same thing.

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hvb2 28 minutes ago | parent | next [-]

I suggest you go and try out an immigration system. You have no idea.

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JCTheDenthog 24 minutes ago | parent [-]

I lived in central Europe for two years. Had to wait in line for 20 hours halfway through my time there to renew my visa, otherwise it wasn't much of an issue.

	▲	hvb2 18 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		Ok so you know what a visa is then. So on your visa if you did anything bad, what would happen? Get your visa taken? Here's one big difference. Do something bad, your green card might be taken. When you're a citizen? Nothing happens And that's just one example...

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runarberg 16 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Tell that to Charlie Chaplin.

For those unaware Charlie Chaplin was denied a reentry permit despite being a permanent resident, because he had stayed outside of the USA for too long. Today if a green card holder is out of the USA for longer then 6 months, they have to get a reentry permit before returning. Denying this reentry permit is functionally deportation.

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abalashov 37 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-]

... no. As someone who has had both, I can tell you there's _quite_ a difference.

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blindriver 39 minutes ago | parent | prev [-]

No, you're wrong. You can lose their Green Card.

If you leave the country for more than 6 months, you need to seek prior approval, and you definitely can lose it. I was on Green Card and when I crossed the border, I was questioned by the customs officer as to why I didn't get my citizenship yet because it was 15 years I was on GC and the point of the GC wasn't to be literally permanent. I quickly got my citizenship after that just in case the same thing happened again.

If you get arrested for a major crime, you can lose your GC but you can only lose your citizenship if you lied or committed fraud at the time of your application, or if you committed treason against the government.

	▲	JCTheDenthog 22 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		>No, you're wrong. You can lose their Green Card. Didn't know that. >If you leave the country for more than 6 months, you need to seek prior approval, and you definitely can lose it. Doesn't seem unreasonable to me. >If you get arrested for a major crime, you can lose your GC but you can only lose your citizenship if you lied or committed fraud at the time of your application, or if you committed treason against the government. That sounds eminently reasonable to me.