Maria has lived in the US for eight years with her green card. She pays taxes, follows all the laws, and feels like an American. But when election day comes, she can only watch from the sidelines. When her dream job at the FBI opens up, she’s told “citizens only.” When her elderly mother in Mexico gets sick, Maria worries about traveling because it might affect her status.
Maria’s story shows the big differences between having a green card and being a US citizen. While green card holders have many rights, there are ten major gaps that can really affect your life. Let’s look at what you might be missing.
You can’t vote or have a say in politics (unless it’s on X)
This is probably the biggest difference. Green card holders cannot vote in any elections… Not for president, not for mayor, not for anything. In fact, the USCIS clearly states that permanent residents cannot vote in federal, state, or local elections. Despite what you may have heard during election time, if you vote illegally, you can actually get deported.
You pay taxes just like citizens, but you can’t choose who represents you. Just think about that for a second. You can give up your money to the government, but you can’t vote on laws that affect your daily life. Only 16 small towns in the whole US let non-citizens vote in some local elections. That’s it.
Whether you’re a person that prays you never get summoned or you’re the one who would love to get selected… the reality is, as a green card holder, you can’t serve on a jury. All states require US citizenship for jury duty. This means you’re locked out of another important part of how America works.
You can still be deported
Here’s something that might surprise you because when most people hear this, they are shocked… US citizens can never be deported, no matter what they do. But green card holders? You can lose your status and get sent back to your home country. it doesn’t matter if you have been here for 50 years, paying your taxes and all of that jazz. You can still be deported.
There are many reasons the government can deport green card holders. The law lists crimes involving moral turpitude, drug violations, domestic violence, and even some political activities as grounds for deportation.
A recent real example was a graduate student named Mahmoud Khalil. He had his green card taken away because of his political views about Palestine. A US citizen could say the exact same things with no consequences. So despite being here legally? Having a green doesn’t stop you from being deported.
The crazy thing is, even small mistakes can get you in trouble. Let’s say you don’t tell the USCIS when you move… Or there’s problems with your paperwork., These things can lead to deportation. As crazy as that sounds, it’s unfortunately true. On the flip side of that, US citizens never have to worry about this.
Most government jobs are off-limits
Watched Lioness or another action packed CIA movie recently? Now you want to work for the FBI? The CIA? I have terrible news for you my friend. Most federal agencies / jobs require US citizenship. This mostly includes:
- Police and law enforcement jobs
- Intelligence agencies
- Defense Department positions
- Border Patrol
- Secret Service
Security clearances are generally only available to US citizens. This means you can’t work in many high-paying jobs in defense, technology, and government contracting.
Even if you get hired somewhere that accepts green card holders, you might hit a wall when trying to get promoted if higher positions need security clearances. Imagine working your up, only to be told, “US citizens only.”
Seems to be a recurring theme.
You have to wait 5 years for many benefits
When US citizens need help, they can get government benefits right away if they qualify. As a green card holder, you must wait five years before you can get most federal benefits like:
- Food stamps (SNAP)
- Welfare (TANF)
- Medicaid health insurance
- SSI for disabled people
Healthcare is a big problem. We’re no Canada. And worse? Green card holders face five-year waiting periods for most Medicaid coverage. During those five years, you can only get emergency medical care from Medicaid.
Not to mention that if you leave the US for more than six months, your Social Security payments can stop.
It goes without saying… but citizens can travel anywhere without losing their benefits.
Speaking of travel…
Travel can be risky
US citizens can live anywhere in the world and travel as much as they want, when they want. Well as long as they have money. That’s a topic for another day. Point is, their citizenship never goes away. You on the other hand, have to be much more careful as a green card holder.
If you stay outside the US for more than one year, you might lose your green card. Even shorter trips can cause problems if immigration officers think you don’t really live in the US anymore.
This makes it hard to:
- Take care of sick family members abroad
- Work on international projects
- Travel for long periods
- Retire in another country
Citizens never worry about losing their status because of travel. And so if you live for the Instagram travel reels and YouTube travel bloggers? Dream of one day picking up and becoming nomadic? Think again. Just live vicariously through them OR get your US citizenship.
You can’t bring all your family members
This difference really affects families. US citizens can sponsor many family members with no waiting:
- Spouses
- Children under 21
- Parents
- Married children and siblings (with some waiting)
Green card holders can only sponsor spouses and unmarried children. You can’t bring your parents, married children, or brothers and sisters.
Citizens’ immediate family members get processed right away, while green card holders’ family members always have to wait in line.
Military career limits
Green card holders can join the military, but they can never become officers. Federal law says only US citizens can be commissioned officers or warrant officers.
This is a big deal for your career and paycheck. About 75% of Air Force jobs and 60% of Navy jobs need security clearances, which green card holders usually can’t get.
The top enlisted person makes about $80,000 per year. Senior officers make about $150,000. I don’t know about you, but there’s a huge difference between making $80k and $150k. Imagine the difference over your entire career?
Which takes us to the topic of money…
Some investment options are citizens only
Here’s something that might surprise you… some investment companies only let US citizens open certain accounts. Let’s say you want to invest in crypto which is all the rage at the time of writing this article. Unfortunately, companies like Fidelity require that you be a US citizen to open an account to buy Bitcoin.
Recently, one of our community members faced this exact problem. Despite spending over 20 years in the country, saving a quarter million in a 401k account, and being a green card holder and upstanding person, they were told they couldn’t invest their $50,000 into Bitcoin because “you have to be a US citizen.”
So they just had to watch as Bitcoin soared from $76,000 to $98,000 to over $111,000… Missing out on this generational wealth opportunity. That’s a potential gain of over $70,000+ (I’m not a stock broker or anything but it’s still a lot of fmoney) that was off-limits simply because of citizenship status.
Taxes are mostly the same
We’ve been talking about all the differences between a green card holder and US citizen. Most of it was terrible news. But there is some good news in all this… Both green card holders and citizens pay the same taxes on worldwide income. You don’t get a tax break for being a citizen. How you feel about this depends on whether or not you’re a glass half full or half empty person.
But we have to cover one important difference when it comes to taxes… When you give up your green card, if you’ve had it for 8 years or more? You might have to pay special “exit taxes” when you give it up. This treats some of your property like you sold it.
At this point you either want to run to become a citizen or you’re thinking this is good and all but…
How long does it take to become a US citizen?
Most people need to wait 5 years after getting their green card before they can apply for citizenship. If you’re married to a US citizen, you only need to wait 3 years.
You have to take tests on English and US civics (history and government). The whole process usually takes 8-14 months from when you apply to when you take the oath.
Military service can speed things up – you might only need 1 year of permanent residence, or sometimes you can apply right away during wartime. But since we can’t figure out if we are in WWW III or not, you probably should follow the former.
Why these differences matter
Going back to Maria’s story… She eventually decided it was far more beneficial for her, to become a US citizen. Now she can:
- Vote in every election
- Work for the FBI (her dream job)
- Travel to see her mother without worrying about losing her status
- Never fear deportation
- Bring her parents to live in the US
The biggest difference is security. Citizens can never lose their status, no matter what. Green card holders like you will always have that worry in the back of your mind.
If you’re someone who wants to vote or serve on a jury? You’re watching democracy happen around you but can’t participate.
If you’re someone who’s focused on your career, the job restrictions can be huge. Many of the best-paying, most interesting government jobs are citizens-only.
And if you have family abroad, the travel restrictions and limited sponsorship options can be really hard.
Making your decision
Don’t get me wrong… Having a green card is great! You get to live and work in America permanently. But citizenship gives you the full package. Complete security, full participation in democracy, better job opportunities, more family options, and access to all investment opportunities even if you think you missed out on Bitcoin.
If you’ve had your green card for close to 5 years (or 3 if married to a citizen), it might be time to start thinking about whether you want to become a US citizen or not… The civics test might seem scary… the process might seem difficult.. and the application? Well it can be costly… but if you’re willing to spend at least 15 mins per day, save the money you need for the application and you believe in yourself?… you can be like most people and pass.
What’s next?
If reading about all these missing rights has you thinking about citizenship, you’re not alone. Thousands of green card holders decide to naturalize every year to unlock these benefits and finally have complete security in America.
The biggest hurdle? The civics test. But here’s the good news: we’ve created a FREE study guide that makes preparing simple and straightforward. The goal of our app is to help thousands of people just like you pass the US citizenship test on your first try.
Get instant access to our free US citizenship test study guide and start your journey to full American citizenship today. Don’t let another election, job opportunity, or investment chance pass you by.
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