December 19, 2009 5:27 PM

Making the road to citizenship easier

By MICHAEL MELLO
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

MISSION VIEJO For those not born here, U.S. citizenship can be a daunting process that even federal officials acknowledge is filled with paperwork, fact-checking, personal interviews and the famous 10-question civics test.

To help make things easier, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services holds periodic seminars in Orange County to educate prospective citizens about eligibility requirements and what to expect once they turn in their applications.

"We know a lot of people are afraid of the process; they're afraid of the test and the interviews," said Carolyn Muzyka, the agency's regional director. "We know it's a really big honor to become American, and we know people take citizenship very seriously, so we want to do anything we can to help."

About 50 potential citizens came from every part of Orange County to attend Saturday's seminar in Mission Viejo. They represented countries from around the world, including Colombia, England, Sri Lanka, India, Canada, Peru, Iran and Pakistan.

They listened to presentations on eligibility requirements. Many received flash cards with the 100 questions and answers they need to know to pass the civics test. They watched a mock interview with a citizenship officer.

The message: It's all about the details, and most importantly, preparation. Applicants need current immigration paperwork. They need to make sure those income taxes from three years ago got paid. They also need to recognize that run-ins with the law beyond traffic tickets may delay the citizenship process or disqualify them altogether.

Canadian Sarina Taylor plans to apply for U.S. citizenship as soon as she's eligible in June.

"I want to get into law enforcement," the Huntington Beach resident said, "and you have to be a citizen."

She said she walked out of Saturday's session better informed about the process, especially the stumbling blocks for applicants.

"It made things a lot more clear on what not to do," she said, for example, the requirement that prospective citizens live in the state of USCIS district in which they applied for citizenship for three months before their exams.

Likewise, Praful Gandhi of Tustin feels better prepared to apply, which he plans to do next month.

The presentation "is creating confidence in the people," the India native said, clenching his fist for emphasis. He conceded that he has some studying to do for the history test, but stressed he's "very confident."

Dates for future workshops in Orange County have not yet been finalized, but local agency officials promise there will be more early in 2010.

For more information on the citizenship process, visit uscis.gov/citizenship .

http://www.ocregister.com/news/citizens ... -know.html