Today was a pretty low-key day at the office. I spent most of the day filling out a document for one of the clients. I transferred information from birth certificates, tax papers, and just basic personal information. It took quite a bit of time to fill out because there were sections that I was not sure if I should fill out. Some of the spaces I ended up leaving blank because the documents didn’t hold the information to fill out those sections. Since they are empty, the attorney has to go back and ask for that information as they have to send in a completed form. I learned a decent amount about the differences between cases, especially when they deal with different things. For example, there is the classic I type of document or petition, but there is also a N document or petition. The I stands for Immigration, and all documents that have that have to do with receiving a green card or a visa. The N stands for Naturalization, and all documents that have that have to do with citizenship. It is really interesting the different forms of citizenship there are and all the different ways to receive it.
An example of one form of citizenship is when you are born on U.S. soil. That means you are granted automatic citizenship because it is considered a “birth right”. Something interesting I learned today is that if a child holds a green card, and there parent received their U.S. citizenship, that makes the child an automatic U.S. citizen. Rather than applying for a classic N-400, they would apply for a N-600 which is specific to those kinds of cases. I provided an image of the worksheet that would be needed to be filled out, and it is very important to realize all the different steps that are necessary to take when applying to receive a certificate of citizenship. This is necessary because those who become automatic citizens through their parents need a form of identification, so the certificate is detrimental to their stay in the U.S.
I also learned about this thing called an Alien Number. Apparently, when applying for a green card, each person is given a unique number, and the number is never repeated. This number stays with the person forever and is normally 8 digits. Recently, due to the large influx of immigrants, the amount has gone up to 9 digits. Most of the time the 9th digit is a 0. After today, I can’t wait to see what is in store for the rest of my time at the firm. I am very excited for tomorrow and I hope to be doing a lot of helpful and impactful work on my last day of my WE!