With all the buzz in the news about Alabama’s new immigration law, I have received several questions regarding how someone becomes a United States citizen. Generally, there are only two ways to become a U.S. citizen, either by law or by birth.

If a person is a citizen by birth, no action on his or her part is generally required. For those not citizens by birth, they may seek to become citizens by a process called naturalization, which is an administrative process that requires an immigrant to take some action as required by the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

Generally, a person may not become a naturalized U.S. citizen unless he or she is at least 18 years old and a lawful permanent resident, or a "green card" holder. He or she must also have lawfully resided continuously in the United States for either one year after having been removed from conditional permanent resident status, or for five years before the date he or she filed an application for naturalization.

A person applying for naturalization must also have resided continuously in the United States after filing, up to the date of his or her admission for citizenship. He or she must also be a person of good moral character during all periods of time referred to above, have no outstanding deportation or removal order and no pending deportation or removal proceeding, and have the the ability to read, write, speak, and understand simple words and phrases in English.

He or she must also have knowledge and understanding of the fundamentals of U.S. history and government, be able to support the principles of the U.S. Constitution, and swear allegiance to the United States.    

Minors born outside the country with at least one citizen parent may be naturalized upon application of the citizen parent. This includes adopted children and is more involved and complicated than is suitable for this article. Please consult a qualified immigration lawyer for explanation about details of this process. 

Naturalization applicants are required to take a literacy test to assess their knowledge of the English language, unless they are unable to comply due to a documented disability, or unless they are older than 50 and have lived in the United States for 20 years or more as a permanent resident alien, or are more than 55 and have lived in the United States for 15 years or more.