Jul 22, 2006 12:11 am US/Mountain
CBS4 Examines The Process Of Gaining Citizenship
Tough Question: How hard is it to become a U.S. citizen?
By CBS4 Reporter Alan Gionet
by Alan Gionet
DENVER (CBS4) ―
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On Sunday, July 16, CBS4 launched a new franchise called Tough Question. It's an opportunity for reporter Alan Gionet to drill past the basic facts of a story and give it some depth and perspective. Gionet started the series with seven parts on immigration
Becoming an American is a difficult process that takes years due to many variables. Refugees and spouses of American citizens normally get preference but others have to wait longer.
Generally, the process begins with an application for a visa and permanent residency card, known as a "green card."
Following that is a 5-year period before they can apply for citizenship.
For people wanting to emigrate from Mexico and the Philippines, which both have huge numbers coming to the United States, the wait is much longer.
The federal government allows only a certain number of visas per country each year. Immigration officials are now looking at requests from Mexicans filed 14 years ago.
Maria Lopez recently went through the citizenship process after living in the country for more than 20 years. She arrived as an illegal immigrant as a teenager with her family in 1985 when, according to Lopez, things were much different.
"I'm going to be honest with you because I'm being truthful," Lopez said. "It was like a joke. I was a teenager and they just told me to go through the line and say that I was an American citizen and Immigration, they saw me young, I don't know it was easy. They didn't ask anything."
Lopez said she walked right through the line. She and her family made a living by working the fields and doing back-breaking labor including picking raspberries.
She said the family was nervous that they would be found out and sent back to Mexico.
"I was afraid," Lopez said. "Yeah, like a lot of people are living here like that."
In 1986, there was an amnesty granted under the Reagan Administration and Lopez was able to get her green card which allowed her to live and work in the United States. She received many more through the years but Lopez still didn't apply for citizenship.
Mario Ortiz, head of Denver's office of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration, believes the American society needs to realize immigration is a good thing as long as it's legal.
Ortiz said he knows the process is slow.
"And when you have a certain number of Visas that you give to these countries and you have so many coming in, then after a while the visas numbers will become what we call over-subscribed," Ortiz said.
It may take 10 or 15 years or longer for that person to become a permanent resident, according to Ortiz. Each system has a built-in delay process. Ortiz had a stack of files on his desk of people he's denied.
"It's simply that many who are here illegally cannot adjust their status and are not eligible to become permanent residents of this country," Ortiz said. "It's not for lack of motivation."
At Denver's immigration office alone, they were receiving 480 applications a month.
"It's now skyrocketed to 780 applications per month since January," Ortiz said.
He believes it may be related to the immigration debate and said many think Congress may be about to make it even harder to become an American.
CBS4's Alan Gionet asked Ortiz if there's consistency to the rules.
"There is consistency but you have to figure out which path, you're going to choose," Ortiz said.
It took Lopez 21 years to get to the swearing in ceremony, but she said she feels proud and happy to be an American years after coming to America's door as a teenager.
(© MMVI CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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