APPLYING FOR US CITIZENSHIP
NOTE: You are only eligible to apply for US citizenship if you have had
your "Green Card"/ Permanent residency in USA for 5 years [or 3 years if still married
to a US citizen. TIME-SAVINGTIP: Send in your application 3 months before the 5/3 years eligibilty date because it'll take about that long for your case to make the top of the pile.
Britons keep both passports and become dual British-American citizens.
You do NOT relinquish your UK passport or your British citizenship.
► FABB recommends becoming a US citizen. Life becomes much easier for you in several ways. You can not be deported for any reason, which is happening more frequently now. Also, the USA government can seize part of your estate over $600,000 if you die here as a non-citizen. Ask your Florida accountant for the specifics on that. From time of sending in forms to day of your swearing in ceremony in your Florida home town, it currently takes 3-9 months. You get called down for an interview to the nearest 
Florida immigration office. A few weeks after that, you are sworn in as a citizen with thousands of other foreigners in quite a memorable ceremony. I became a US citizen in 1996 and, if you have made a life here with no intention to live permanently back in the UK, there are many benefits to becoming a citizen in this post 9-11 era. Thousands of Brits in Florida have become US citizens. Brits maintain favoured status with the USA and we have dual UK-USA nationality. You DO NOT have to give up your British passport. Ever. Let's face it, we wouldn't be so keen to do it if that were the case. The citizenship swearing-in ceremony [mine was in Miami] was quite moving I found. We left with a lettter from President Clinton congratulating us on becoming US citizens. I liked the way American authorities genuinely seem to welcome you as a new citizen, poised to make a contribution to their country. ---PK FABB President
► HOW TO APPLY---2 choices:
1] Use FABB's Immigration Attorney to save all the paperwork , hassle, potential filing snafus and your own precious time. Some things are just worth paying for. FABB's immigration experts [British run-law firm in South Florida with British staff and cients, who understand YOU better] charge a flat rate of $1000 to handle all the work. Plus you pay a separate filing fee to the US Government. For details: Send email to FABB office
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Put CITIZENSHIP ATTORNEY on the subject 
line. We'll connect you to our experts.
2] Do it Yourself. Get the Citizenship application forms and instructions on what to submit---photos/fees etc. from the US Homeland Security official website www.uscis.gov Click on Apply for Citizenship. Or get Citizenship forms direct by calling the Government's 24 hotline 1-800-375-5283. It's often busy so phone outside office hours.
► AFTER YOU HAVE BEEN SWORN IN AS A USA CITIZEN---YOU MUST GET AN AMERICAN PASSPORT: You can apply for it online, download forms, renew etc. http://www.travel.state.gov/passport. Or call the National Passport Information Center: 1-877-487-2778. To find your nearest passport facility go to: http://iafdb.travel.state.gov and enter your zip code. Or call the National Passport Center. In downtown Miami, you can get one issued on the same day---the Passport Office inside the building behind the Hilton Hotel at 1501 Biscayne Blvd, Suite 201, Miami FL 33132.
► EMERGENCY PASSPORT: For US Citizens travelling within the next 2 weeks. The agency in downtown Miami will issue you one on the same day---but you have to go in person and wait in line. [I did--quite easy--walked out with my new US passport--PK]. . But you MUST CALL FIRST to make appointment: 1-877-487-2778 and must bring your original citizenship certificate and other things. They tell you exactly what you need to bring when you call to make appointment.
