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DIFFERENCES BETWEEN U.S. CITIZENSHIP AND PERMANENT RESIDENCY
Permanent Residency provides your wife with most of the benefits of citizenship, with a few notable exceptions.
She has the right to work and pay taxes. Oh boy!
One difference is that she cannot vote in elections, which may be a big
deal or not depending on your personal philosophy on the subject.
Another difference is that a permanent resident cannot work for the US
Government. So if your desire is to have your wife working at the Post
Office, she will need to become a naturalized citizen first.
By the way, your wife will be eligible to become a US citizen as a
spouse of a US citizen in as little as three years from the time she
became a Permanent Resident.
One main reason for her to become a US citizen is if she wants to
petition to bring other members of her immediate family, such as her
mother or father, or brothers or sisters, to America under a permanent
visa. She must be a US citizen in order to do so.
She can petition to bring her immediate family here under a tourist or
visitor’s visa under her permanent residency, but she cannot petition
for permanent residency for them until she is a citizen.
Another difference between a permanent resident and a citizen is how you are handled in the event you are convicted of a crime.
A felony is defined as a crime where the punishment for the crime, if convicted, is a year or more in prison.
A citizen who is convicted of a felony may serve a sentence and may
lose certain citizenship rights such as voting and the right to carry a
firearm, but they do not lose their citizenship.
A permanent resident that is convicted of a felony has the same
sentencing requirements as a citizen, but after serving their sentence,
they may lose their right to be in the United States, and may be
deported.
I know of a man who has a Russian spouse whose wife likes to shoplift.
If you followed the recent Wynona Ryder shoplifting case, you are aware
of the fact that she was convicted of a number of felonies.
If she had been a permanent resident rather than a citizen, Wynona may have been subject to deportation.
If this man’s Russian wife were to take more than $500.00 worth of
goods from a store, she could be prosecuted for grand theft, which is a
felony. If she gets caught, she may be on a plane back home before she
knows it.
I am not excusing her behavior, but I’m only warning you of the
consequences of certain behavior. Shoplifting, or possession of
controlled substances, or any other crime that may seem innocuous to
someone, may still be a felony, and may result in your wife’s
deportation.
Consider yourself warned.
by John Kunkle
John has been successfully married to a Belarussian wife for over five years. He has traveled extensively through Russia and other CIS countries. He will tell you why you should consider Russian women, how to meet them, how to bring your special woman home, and how to survive married life.
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