{"id":23661,"date":"2025-10-27T23:18:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T23:18:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/23661\/"},"modified":"2025-10-27T23:18:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T23:18:08","slug":"a-process-of-complexity-and-caution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/23661\/","title":{"rendered":"A process of complexity and caution"},"content":{"rendered":"

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas \u2014 The journey to become a U.S. citizen<\/a> is a multi-year process that requires navigating a complex legal system, and immigration experts warn that missteps can have severe consequences, including deportation.<\/p>\n

The most common paths to citizenship are through birthright or naturalization. For those who must naturalize, the first and often most difficult step is obtaining lawful permanent resident status, commonly known as a green card.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people think you can just jump into being a citizen,\u201d said Hugo Pi\u00f1a, an immigration attorney with the Law Offices of Hugo Pi\u00f1a<\/a>. \u201cFor most people, it’s got to be becoming a resident first and it’s very difficult even in the best of circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n

Navigating the path to U.S. citizenship: A process of complexity and caution<\/p>\n

According to U.S. government guidelines, eligibility for naturalization requires an applicant to be at least 18 years old, able to read, write and speak basic English, and be of good moral character, which is reviewed over the five years prior to applying. <\/p>\n

Crucially, an applicant must also have been a permanent resident for at least five years.<\/p>\n

Green cards can be obtained through family or employment sponsorships (work visas). <\/p>\n

After meeting the residency requirement, applicants must file an N-400 form<\/a>, the processing time for which varies by location. The final steps include passing a civics test, with a pool of 128 possible questions, and an English test.<\/p>\n

However, the path is not guaranteed. Pi\u00f1a emphasized that any prior immigration history, such as a previous deportation<\/a>, can jeopardize an entire case.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnybody who’s been deported before is always at risk of being deported again for that,\u201d Pi\u00f1a said. \u201cIt’s called reinstatement. So basically, somebody was deported, they came back. If ICE or CBP detains them, they’re just gonna use that same order to deport the person.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taft family pleads for answers after mother\u2019s detention by U.S. Border Patrol<\/p>\n

Pi\u00f1a strongly advises against traveling through U.S. Border Patrol checkpoints, even for those with pending applications or work permits, unless it is an emergency. He cited a recent increase in detentions at checkpoints, where officials are showing little discretion.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are still asking for people not to cross the checkpoint unless they really need to,\u201d Pi\u00f1a said. \u201cWe heard a lot of people that do have good cases… and a lot of these people are being detained. There is no discretion at this point.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another significant risk comes from seeking help from the wrong places. Pi\u00f1a warned against using notary publics, or “notarios,” for immigration advice, noting that Texas law prohibits them from performing legal work.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a big problem in South Texas of people going to these notary publics,\u201d Pi\u00f1a said. He explained that notarios often file incorrect applications, like asylum claims, just to obtain a work permit for a client. When that person later tries to cross a checkpoint, they discover their immigration status is not in good standing and face detention.<\/p>\n

\"Supreme<\/p>\n

J. Scott Applewhite\/AP<\/p>\n

The Supreme Court is seen in Washington, early Monday, June 15, 2020. (AP Photo\/J. Scott Applewhite)<\/p>\n

Pi\u00f1a\u2019s primary recommendation is for individuals to seek case-specific counsel from a licensed immigration attorney rather than relying on general advice or the experiences of others.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s case by case,\u201d he said. \u201cDon’t listen to what you heard about somebody else. Go to your attorneys, speak to them directly for your case.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the future of birthright citizenship, granted to those born on U.S. soil, remains a topic of legal debate. As of October 27, Texas was among two dozen states supporting the Trump administration’s push to end the practice, a decision that would ultimately rest with the U.S. Supreme Court.<\/p>\n

For the latest local news updates, click here<\/a>, or download the KRIS 6 News App. <\/a><\/p>\n

Catch all the KRIS 6 News stories and more on our YouTube page<\/a>. Subscribe today!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas \u2014 The journey to become a U.S. citizen is a multi-year process that requires navigating…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23662,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[1477,1818,16987,155,157,156,16988,16989,14213,7220,16990,16991],"class_list":{"0":"post-23661","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-corpus-christi","8":"tag-border","9":"tag-border-patrol","10":"tag-citizenship","11":"tag-corpus-christi","12":"tag-corpus-christi-headlines","13":"tag-corpus-christi-news","14":"tag-deportations","15":"tag-deported","16":"tag-detainment","17":"tag-dhs","18":"tag-how-to-become-a-citizen","19":"tag-how-to-become-a-us-citizen"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23661","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23661"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23661\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}