Requirements to Obtain United States Citizenship

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Is a foreign person applying for U.S. citizenship required to be proficient in English?

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Type: Question • Score: 1 • Views: 1,722 • Replies: 7

[+3] - roger - 08/20/2011Glad you could answer your own question.

@gollum,

It doesn't look it, see: what da gummint says.

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@jespah,

jespah-
I think the abnswer is yes. On the web site you provided:

"For more information, see our How Do I Apply for Citizenship? guide. We also provide educational materials to help you prepare for the English, U.S. history and civics portions of the naturalization test, including:"

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@gollum,

Glad you could answer your own question.

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@gollum,

gollum wrote:

Is a foreign person applying for U.S. citizenship required to be proficient in English?

In principle, yes. The citizenship test includes reading and speaking tests to make sure you know English. When I say "in principle", I mean the requirement is sometimes waived, as when elderly parents of US citizens have moved in with them to make their care easier. The parents could petition for a waiver.

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@Thomas,

I read that under the Federal Voting Rights Act, it is illegal to discriminate against voters on the basis of race, color, or language.

Is this true? Why if English is a requirement for citizenship?

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@gollum,

gollum wrote:

I read that under the Federal Voting Rights Act, it is illegal to discriminate against voters on the basis of race, color, or language.

Is this true? Why if English is a requirement for citizenship?

Your confusing the issue. Knowing a certain level of English (enough to pass a test) IS NOT the same thing as being proficient in that language. Knowing and proficiency are not the exact same thing.

The line you directly quoted DOES NOT require language proficiency only a certain minimum and working knowledge of the language.

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@gollum,

gollum wrote:

I read that under the Federal Voting Rights Act, it is illegal to discriminate against voters on the basis of race, color, or language.

Is this true? Why if English is a requirement for citizenship?

I don't know if its true, but it's certainly irrelevant. The Federal Voting Rights act only applies to citizens. Immigration law only applies to foreigners. Hence, prospective immigrants cannot logically have any rights under the Voting Rights Act.

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Requirements to Obtain United States Citizenship

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