Israelis rush to get U.S. citizenship
Here’s an odd story from the Wall Street Journal. Israelis are taking an advantage of an obscure 1994 law to become U.S. citizens: For decades, U.S. citizenship could only be transmitted to a child by a parent. But 1994’s section 322 of immigration law has provided another way in, and Israelis are taking advantage of ...
Here's an odd story from the Wall Street Journal. Israelis are taking an advantage of an obscure 1994 law to become U.S. citizens:
Here’s an odd story from the Wall Street Journal. Israelis are taking an advantage of an obscure 1994 law to become U.S. citizens:
For decades, U.S. citizenship could only be transmitted to a child by a parent. But 1994’s section 322 of immigration law has provided another way in, and Israelis are taking advantage of it. […]
In the first nine months of the 2006-2007 fiscal year, which began Oct. 1, 2006, the U.S. immigration agency processed nearly 4,000 applications for citizenship through grandparents, compared with about 2,000 for all of fiscal 2003-2004. Parents of any nationality can avail themselves of the law, but Israelis comprise 90% of those taking advantage of it, Ms. Tolbert [“an officer in the Chicago branch of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency that processes applications”] estimates.
The article doesn’t explain why so many Israelis are taking advantage of this clause now, but hints that “Middle East strife” could be the reason. Are Israelis that frightened right now?
Blake Hounshell is a former managing editor of Foreign Policy.
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