The USA and Australia: the Process of Gaining Citizenship - Essay Example

Introduction United States of America (USA) and Australia are two of the most powerful and richest countries around the globe. These two countries both belong to the so-called first world nations. This is the very reason why both of these two countries have become the target for thousands of immigrants wanting to live a better life. This paper is aimed at analyzing the similarities and differences of the process of gaining citizenship between USA and Australia. More specifically, this paper highlights: 1. The different methods or ways to gain a citizenship status in USA and Australia 2. The ups and downs of processing the citizenship status Methods of Gaining Citizenship There are several methods to gain citizenship status in the US which uses the bases of blood, birth and naturalization. The first two, right of birth place and the right of blood are the foremost considerations that the US government take into account. Becoming a US citizen through the right of blood can be achieved when the person is born in the US, while gaining citizenship through the right of blood can be achieved by having at least one US citizen parent and can be born anywhere in the world (FindLaw, 2009). The same conditions apply when wanting to get an Australian citizenship. One can be a natural Australian citizen when he/she is born within the Australian premises and/or when he/she is born from either one or both parents to be an Australian citizen him/herself (Newman, 2007). When looking closely into this matter, it can then be realized that it is very easy to be a natural born US or Australian citizen. Once the either one of the conditions have been passed through, then every benefit that the concerned government gives to their citizen will then be enjoyed by the newborn. However, if the parents are just migrants from other countries and/or the child was not born in the US or in Australia, then the above two conditions were not met. This does not mean that there is no chance to gain citizenship as there is another method to gain citizenship. In the US, there is one last method which is termed as Naturalization which involves legal processing of papers and documentations required by the US government. There are a number of requirements for this naturalization process. First of which is what they call as “entry, residence and physical presence” (FindLaw, 2009). For an immigrant to gain citizenship status he/she needs to legally enter US, gain residency status and continuously stay in the US for at least five years before he can lodge his application for citizenship. Part of this condition is to be physically present in the US for at least 50% of the five-year duration. According to US immigration, this five-long period is necessary for the immigrants to adapt themselves with the US conditions (such as the system, climate, culture, policies, etc) (FindLaw, 2009). Along with the above-stated provision, the immigrant must also pass other interconnected conditions to gain US citizenship. These are (FindLaw, 2009): age (which should be 18 years and above) literacy and education (which pertains to one’s ability to write, speak, read and the English language and awareness of US history, government and politics) moral character (which of course pertains to the immigrant’s good moral character being sustained all throughout his/her residency status) attachment to US constitution’s principles and lastly by having an Oath of allegiance to the United States This third method of gaining US citizenship is almost exactly the same as that of gaining Australian citizen. Like in the US, one must be a permanent resident first before he/she can apply for Australian citizenship. More so, the immigrant must be residing in Australia for five years (at least full 12 months of that should be spent in Australia, at least 18 years of age, passes the English speaking, writing and reading criteria, understands the nature or true reason of why he/she would want to be an Australian citizen, of goo health and moral character and lastly, must be able to show proofs that he/she is “likely to stay or be in close connection with the country” (Newman, 2007). “There are some exceptions to those regulations. In regards to being able to speak English, this requirement is not applicable to applicants that are over the age of 50. And if the applicant is over the age of 60, then they are not required to be able to recognize the privileges and responsibilities that come with Australian citizenship” (Newman, 2007). It can be perceived that Australian immigration is more keen in ensuring that the people wanting to get an Australian citizenship is of good health. This stipulates the fact that a number of medical examinations should be passed on first before one can be warranted of a citizenship status. This also implies that because Australian government provides good assistance to their citizen when it comes to health, medical or hospitalization, they would of course want to make sure that immigrants will take advantage of such privilege and would migrate to Australia even if they were terminally sick. Ups and Downs of Processing the Citizenship Status USA It is very clear from the information presented above that before gaining a US citizenship status, one must be a permanent resident first. But this would also mean entering US premises first in a very legal way. It should be noted that America is considered as one of the most powerful countries around the globe. Aside from being powerful, this country is also noted for its highly industrialized environment and stable economy. With this, more and more people are hoping to live in this country. Many aspire to study, migrate and even just tour America just to fulfill their hopes of seeing and living inside this magnificent country. But processing of papers to visit, live and/or study in this country is not that easy. It takes not just extra effort from the aspirant, but also lots of money, and documents to prepare. For one, there are different kinds of visas and forms to fill up and pass. The kind of form is dependent upon the kind of travel one would want to go under with. H1 visa is just one of these visas. H1 Visa: What is it? H1 visa is a program of the American Embassy which aims to allow American companies and universities to employ foreign scientists, engineers, programmers, and other professionals in the United States. The program is generally thought of as a visa for high tech workers. H-1 visa is now being used by a wide variety of professionals including several in fields suffering severe shortages like medical doctors, school teachers and pharmacists (Wasem, et.al. 2004). But there’s a continuing guideline for this. In theory, the maximum duration of the H-1 visa is only for six years and ten years for exceptional Defense Department project-related work. This means that H-1 visa holders who want to continue to work in the U.S. after six years, but who have not obtained permanent residency status, should remain outside of the U.S. for one year before reapplying for another H-1 visa (Wasem, et.al. 2004). But there’s still hope for some, for this 6-year-duration guideline has specifically stated 2 forms of exceptions (Wasem, et.al. 2004): 1. If a visa holder has submitted an I-140 petition or a labor certification prior to his 5th year anniversary of having the H-1 visa, he/she is automatically entitled to renew his H-1 visa in 1-year increment until there is a decision on his permanent residence. 2. If the visa holder has an approved I-140 petition after the 5th year anniversary, but is unable to initiate the final step of the green card process due to priority date issues, he/she may be entitled to a 3- year extension of his/her H-1 visa. This exception originated with the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act of 2000. Historically, H-1 visa was often described as indentured servants. Although USA is generally requiring a short- and long-term visitors to disavow any ambition to seek the green card, H-1 visa holders are an important exception in that the H-1 visa holders may legally and openly be used as a steppingstone to the green card under what is called the doctrine of dual intent (Wasem, et.al. 2004). As per the guidelines, H-1 visa holders must generally (with some exceptions) be sponsored for their green cards by their employers. In the past, the sponsorship process has taken several years, and for much of that time the H-1 visa holder was unable to change jobs without losing their place in line for the green card. This created an element of enforced loyalty to an employer on the part of an H-1 visa holder. Critics voiced out that employers liked this enforced loyalty because it reduced the risk of the H-1 employee leaving to go work for a competitor, and put American citizens at a disadvantage in the job market, because the employer had less assurance that the U.S. citizen will stay at their job for an extended period of time (Wasem, et.al. 2004). To reiterate I, see that America’s H1 visa guidelines are clear and fair enough particularly for the aspiring professionals to work in the US. I, myself, know of a practicing nurse from the Philippines who was granted for an H1 visa and had eventually applied for residence in America. Because her line of profession is very in demand in US during that time, her application was processed more quickly than the usual. And what happened to her is a win-win situation for both parties. She was able to grab the opportunity and able to work on the country where she could earn more and live better. At the same time, USA also benefited with what happened because USA then really lacked nurses in most of the hospitals hence an additional workforce is really a good change. With this, USA, I think, has been generous enough for the aspiring residents and workers from other countries. But this does not mean that the US government is favoring other nationals over the true-blooded Americans, because that is not the case. It is strictly written in the guidelines that professionals who are part of the skilled and limited population of workforce in the US are the ones prioritized. Hence, if American government is respectful of what its populace can offer, but if there are lacking on some aspects, importing and/or accepting of probable help from other nationals will be a good idea (and a good opportunity for them). Australia It should be noted that immigrants are very welcome in Australia because of the fact that this country relies heavily on immigration and tourism to achieve population and economic growth. In fact, there has been a series of information dissemination regarding the beauty of Australia to attract more investments and more migrants. These endeavors were a success for a time. “More than six million people have come to Australia as migrants since 1945. Australia has a well-developed and strictly controlled immigration system, which includes a universal visa system for all non-citizens coming to Australia. The Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) (5) is responsible for the administration of Australia's official migration program, including the humanitarian and refugee intake” (Australian National Audit Office, 2001). Australia is also one of the signatories the Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol, which prove that Australia welcomes and has properly resettlement areas for immigrants. Since these agreements were signed, “Australia has resettled large numbers of refugees and other persons of humanitarian concern from overseas camps”. However, unlike other countries such as the US, Australia’s record of asylum refugees was not that large thereby enabling the Australian government to have a direct and tight control over all aspect of immigration programs – such as social policies – concerning the immigrants (Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, 1967). But this social control dramatically changed when the year 2000 came. The number of immigrants who are unauthorized, or those who uses boats and some private planes to enter Australian land increased that the country felt that it could not control the society anymore. “The arrival of increasing numbers of immigrants on Australia's shores presented a real challenge to this "culture of control” (McMaster, 2002). The pandemonium started. The government of Australia started to deny most unauthorized immigrants. There was even a time wherein a boat containing 400 immigrants were prevented to dock off in the Australian territory forcing the neighboring countries like the New Zealand and Papua New Guinea to accept the said immigrants out of pity. Such action triggered more chaos. Those who were prevented from stepping into the Australian soil did some actions that were totally out of control. Some tried to ‘attack’ the emotions and get some pity of the watchers by throwing their own children into the sea and would not save them unless they are allowed entry. But the country remained firm to its decision. The harsh actions of the immigrants were even used as the tool to reinforce that government’s statement of total control over the unauthorized immigrants. The country disclosed that these types of immigrants are the cause of deviance behavior in the country. References: Australian National Audit Office. (2001). Management Framework for Preventing Unlawful Entry into Australian Territory. Report No. 57. Canberra: Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs. (2001). Refugee and humanitarian issues: Australia's response. FindLaw. (2009). U.S. “Citizenship & Naturalization Overview”. a Thomson Reuters business. Viewed from http://immigration.findlaw.com/immigration/immigration-citizenship-naturalization/immigration-citizenship-naturalization-overview(2).html Jewkes, Y and Letherby G. (2002). Criminology: A Reader. SAGE Publications Ltd.McMaster, Don (2002). “Asylum Seekers: Australia's Response to Refugees.” Melbourne; Melbourne University Press, pp 60 Leiken, Robert. (March 2002). “An Immigration Bargain”. The Boston Globe. Light, Paul. (March 2002). “Blame Government Bloat for Immigration Snafus”. USA Today. Matloff, Norman. (2002). “Debunking the Myth of a Desperate Software Labor Shortage” U.S. House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Immigration. Newman, SL. (2007). “How to Get Australian Citizenship”. ACC Associated Content. Viewed from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/299879/how_to_get_australian_citizenship_pg2.html?cat= Picketing, Sharon. (2001). "Common Sense and Original Deviancy: News Discourses and Asylum Seekers in Australia," Journal of Refugee Studies, 14(2): 169-86. Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees (31 January 1967) 606 U.N.T.S. 267 Leiken, Robert. (March 2002). “War On Terror: Mexico More Critical Than Ever for U.S.” Sacramento Bee. Singer, Audrey (November 2002). “Green Card, Green Light for Voting”. The Washington Post. Wasem, Ruth Ellen et. Al. (February 2004). “US Immigration Policy on Permanent Admissions”. CSS Report for Congress. Congressional Research Service: The Library of Congress. Read More