Asian Law Alliance
Success Stories - 2009
(Names changed to preserve confidentiality)

Citizenship

Ms. Wang first contacted ALA about five years ago for help to secure her immigration status. She was married to a United States citizen but her husband was abusive and she feared for her and her child’s safety. ALA helped her get permanent resident status under the Violence Against Women’s Act.

Three years later she was ready to apply for citizenship and again contacted ALA for help. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the spouse of a U.S. citizen is able to apply for citizenship three years after becoming a permanent resident and if a person who has obtained permanent residency by reason of being a spouse or child who was subjected to battering or extreme cruelty by a United States citizen is eligible to apply for naturalization three years after becoming a permanent resident alien.

ALA reviewed her eligibility for citizenship and determined that she had previously been arrested and charged with filing a false police report. However, the District Attorney had dropped the charges and Ms. Wang had no other criminal charges. ALA determined that this would not be an obstacle for her citizenship and helped her to apply. We accompanied her to her naturalization interview and she was sworn in as a United States Citizen two months later.