Overview of Citizenship: Acquisition, Derivation and Naturalization

Each year, hundreds of thousands of immigrants and their children become U.S. citizens. Join CLINIC attorneys Charles Wheeler and Sarah Bronstein for an in-depth look at what it takes to become a U.S. citizen.

This four-week course covers the acquisition and derivation of citizenship, and the requirements for naturalization. Specific topics include:

• continuous residence
• physical presence
• good moral character
• civics and English-language requirements (and exemptions)
• disability waivers
• oath requirements
• application process

Participants will review both the law and procedures, as well as examine primary and secondary sources and sample application forms. For a summary course outline, including the dates and times of the live webinars, please see below. 

Training Level: Introductory

This is an overview of citizenship for the practitioner who already has some exposure to immigration law fundamentals. It is assumed participants have a basic familiarity with (a) immigration law vocabulary; (b) the ways in which an immigrant may gain legal status; and (c) the concepts of inadmissibility and deportability.

For questions about the course content, please contact Charles Wheeler at cwheeler@cliniclegal.org.

Course Completion Requirements

Participants will receive a course completion certificate if they (a) attend or view recordings of the weekly course webinars and (b) complete each weekly course quiz. You have up to two weeks after the last live webinar to meet these requirements.

Registration

Please provide the full name and a working email address for each individual taking this course. We will communicate with each registrant via email only, so it is very important that we have the correct name and email address for each registrant listed on the registration form.

CLE

CLINIC is authorized by the State Bar of California to provide minimum continuing legal education trainings, known as MCLE. E-learning participants are eligible to claim 1.5 hours of MCLE credits per webinar for the webinar component of our e-learning immigration law courses. Members of other state bars, please check with your state bar to determine whether this training qualifies for MCLE credit.

Summary Course Outline and Schedule of Live Webinars

The course starts on July 11 with access to the e-learning course website and week one assignment. Once you receive your user name and password, you may participate in a variety of activities for self-directed learning, including reading assignments, exercises, sample materials to review and quizzes. The course will be interactive, with opportunities for online and real-time discussion among students, and between students and instructors.

The course also includes four webinars that will be conducted on consecutive Wednesdays at 2:00 p.m. EST, starting July 18. Each webinar lasts approximately 90 minutes and is recorded and posted on the course website after the webinar is conducted. Although we encourage participants to attend the live webinars each week, you will be able to listen to and view a recording of any webinar you are unable to attend whenever you choose to do so.

Week 1: July 11 – July 18

This week, we will complete an overview of the ways to become a U.S. citizen. Specifically, we will discuss acquiring U.S. citizenship when born abroad, including the residence requirements for parents and the rules for children born in and out of wedlock; and deriving citizenship from a U.S. citizen parent or parents after birth.

The live webinar will be held July 18 from 2-3:30 p.m. EST

Week 2: July 19 – July 25

During part one of our “requirements for naturalization” discussion, we will focus on:

• continuous residence and physical presence requirements,
• maintaining permanent residence status and the issue of abandonment, and
• civics and English-language testing requirements, exemptions, and disability waivers.

The live webinar will be held July 25 from 2-3:30 p.m. EST

Week 3: July 26 – August 1

During part two of our “requirements for naturalization” discussion, we will cover the good moral character requirement, select grounds of deportability and the risks in applying for naturalization.

The live webinar will be held August 1 from 2-3:30 p.m. EST

Week 4: August 2 – August 8

For the last week, we will cover the naturalization application process. Specific topics will include screening applicants, completing the N-400 application, as well as preparing applicants for the interview, the oath of allegiance and the oath waiver.

The live webinar will be held August 8 from 2-3:30 p.m. EST