Difference Between Permanent Resident and Citizen

Permanent Resident vs Citizen

Permanent residents and citizens are people who have the visa status of permanent residency or citizenship. There are many different laws for different countries. Here, we will discuss the difference as observed in the Unites States.

A person is called a permanent resident when he or she is allowed to reside or live in the country indefinitely when they are not a citizen. A person is called a citizen when the person has specific duties, privileges, rights, and benefits offered by the United States.

Citizen
When one is a citizen of the United States, they are entitled to receive government services and federal assistance. They have the right to live in the U.S. and work in the U.S. Multiple citizenship is allowed here which means a citizen of the U.S. can be a citizen of another country too. A citizen can restore his citizenship or renounce it. The citizen has to owe allegiance to the U.S. Citizens have the right to vote, travel on an American passport, and hold government jobs. Citizenship is not considered abandoned if the citizen chooses to live in some other country for very long periods of time.

There are three ways of getting citizenship in the U.S. They are citizens automatically if born in the U.S., or they can go through the process of naturalization to attain citizenship. The naturalization process involves the requirement of a green card for a particular time period. Three years of green card usage is required for people who attain permanent residence through marriage to a U.S. citizen, and five years by people who attain permanent residence through other methods. A green card does not necessarily make a person eligible for citizenship.

For children who are born overseas to U.S. citizens, they do not need the naturalization process. They just need to apply for a U.S. passport. The proof of parentage and the parents’ citizenship is required to go through the process. Finally, “derivation” also makes a person a citizen. This means one of the parents of the child is an American citizen.

Permanent resident
Being a permanent resident requires the person to obtain a green card first. Once you have the green card, it gives a person the right to live in the U.S., leave, and come back and work. These are the things you can do when you are a permanent resident. There are many things which a permanent resident cannot do like vote, cannot hold government jobs in some states, or some job which requires a security clearance. The green card needs to be renewed if stolen and renewed every ten years. One can be deported if one commits some crime. The status can be revoked as well.

Summary:

1.A person is called a citizen when the person has specific duties, privileges, rights, and benefits offered by the United States. A person is called a permanent resident when he or she is allowed to reside or live in the country indefinitely when they are not a citizen.
2.Citizens can vote, hold federal and government jobs of all kinds, and have many more rights which permanent residents don’t have. Permanent residents cannot vote, cannot hold government jobs which require a security clearance, can be deported, and their status can be revoked.
3.There are three ways of attaining citizenship: by birth, naturalization, and derivation. Permanent residence can be attained by getting a green card for a particular period of time.

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