The number of green card holders wishing to obtain US citizenship is increasing

This time of year in the US is all about family and tradition. But the decorations on one home in Le Roy, Minnesota, aren't about Christmas.

Фото: Depositphotos

They remind of the place where the owner of the house, Axel Gumbel, grew up. KAALTV.

“I was born in Germany and moved here in 2000 and got a degree in journalism from the University of Minnesota,” Gumbel said.

Then he met his wife, Jen, since years have passed, a couple of 18 children, Gumbel worked on ABC 4 News, and now he is building a career in Mayo Clinic.

“The process of obtaining a green card was quite tedious. It was necessary to fill out a lot of documents, and it was quite expensive. At that time, it was about 2 000 dollars. ”

Now, more than 10 years after receiving the green card, Gumbel is thinking about taking the next step and obtaining American citizenship.

"There are two main reasons for this. First of all, I have lived here for a very long time, and the more children I have, the more I understand that I want to determine their future by voting in elections. My wife was once elected mayor of this city. It always bothered me that I couldn't vote for her. Plus, the longer you live here, the more involved you become in local life and culture,” Gumbel explained.

Axel is not the only green card holder thinking about obtaining citizenship.

“There are about 80 people living in Minnesota who are eligible for citizenship,” said Sarah Karki, an attorney at the Immigrant Law Center in Austin, Minnesota.

US Citizenship and Immigration Services data show an increase the number of applications for naturalization in the last few years in Minnesota.

“I think we've seen more people interested in citizenship lately due to changes in the political climate. Now there is a little more concern about their immigration status,” Karki said.

Gumbel says that the application for naturalization in the United States is in the list of his plans for the near future, but he does not plan to renounce his German citizenship.

“We try to go there every year or two, and my family comes here periodically,” he said.

The cost of applying for naturalization is currently over 700 dollars. According to Karki, earlier the naturalization process for permanent residents took only 6 months, but now the waiting time is about 14 months due to the increase in the number of applicants.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Advantages and disadvantages of US citizenship

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10 steps to naturalization: the process of obtaining US citizenship

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