Becoming a U.S. citizen is one of the most meaningful milestones in an immigrant’s life. It means the right to vote, the ability to travel with a U.S. passport, permanent protection from deportation, and the power to sponsor family members of your own. It’s also a process with strict eligibility rules, detailed paperwork, and a test that can feel intimidating if you’re not sure what to expect.
At The Law Offices of Shirley Sadjadi, P.C., we help clients across Elgin and the greater Chicago area move through the naturalization process with confidence, from confirming eligibility to standing for the Oath of Allegiance. Our entire staff is fluent in both Spanish and English, so you can walk through every step of this important process in the language you’re most comfortable with.
Filing Form N-400 is more than filling in blanks. We start by reviewing your immigration history in detail, confirming your eligibility under the correct 5-year or 3-year timeline, and identifying anything that needs extra attention before it becomes a problem: an old arrest, a gap in continuous residence, an unresolved tax filing, or a trip abroad that lasted longer than expected.
From there, we prepare a complete, accurate application and gather the supporting documentation USCIS will expect: your green card, marriage or divorce records if applicable, certified court dispositions for any arrests, and tax transcripts. Small errors, missing dates, inconsistent addresses, and unreported trips are among the most common causes of delay and Requests for Evidence, so we make sure your application is right the first time rather than corrected after the fact. Once filed, we keep you informed as your case moves through biometrics and toward your interview, so you always know where things stand.
The naturalization interview is often the part applicants worry about most, and reasonable preparation makes an enormous difference. We walk you through exactly what the officer will ask, how your N-400 answers will be reviewed against your file, and what the English and civics test actually involves.
The test itself has separate components: civics, English reading, English writing, and English speaking, and we make sure you understand what each one requires rather than walking in unsure of the format. If you qualify for an age – or residency-based exemption, such as the shorter civics list available to long-term senior residents, we confirm that applies to you well before your interview date. And if you don’t pass every portion on your first attempt, we explain how the retest process works, so a difficult interview never feels like the end of the road.
If your application has already been denied, the first thing we do is read your denial notice carefully to understand exactly why. Some denials stem from a fixable issue, an unresolved tax balance, an incomplete continuous residence period, or a failed test, where the right next step is simply resolving the problem and filing a new N-400 once you’re clearly eligible again.
Others may be worth challenging directly. In those cases, we help you file Form N-336 to request a hearing before a different USCIS officer, within the required 30-day window, and we help you gather any additional evidence or documentation that addresses the examiner’s original concerns. We’ll give you an honest assessment of which path, reapplying or appealing, gives you the stronger chance of success, rather than defaulting to the same approach for every case.
Our entire staff speaks Spanish and English fluently, so you're never left guessing what a form or a question actually means.
We look at your full immigration history before USCIS does, so nothing catches you by surprise at your interview.
From your first consultation through your Oath of Allegiance, we stay with your case.
We tell you clearly what to expect, including the aspects of your situation that need extra attention, rather than leaving you to find out at your interview.