new states may be admitted to the united states only if they are approved by
Admission to the Union The Admission to the Union Clause of the United States Constitution, oftentimes called the New States Clause, and found at Article IV, Section 3, Clause 1, authorizes the Congress to admit new states into the United States beyond the thirteen already in existence at the time the Constitution went into effect.
Permanent residence (United States) A lawful permanent resident can apply for United States citizenship, or naturalization, after five years of residency including a physical presence of 30 months within a five-year period (a lawful permanent resident must be physically present on U.S. soil at least 30 months of a 5-year residency period as defined under Title 8 Code of Federal Regulations Section 316.2 - there are limitations where the physical presence exemption is waived if the lawful permanent resident is employed overseas e.g. with the U.S. Government including military service, U.S. Government contractors, recognized American institutions of research, public international organizations e.g. Christian missionaries, or organizations defined under the International Immunities Act e.g. International Red Cross, World Health Organization, UN). This period is shortened to three years if married to a U.S. citizen (8 CFR 319). Lawful permanent residents may submit their applications for naturalization as early as 90 days before meeting the residency requirement. In the United States, 8.8 million lawful permanent residents are eligible to naturalize.[14] Citizens are entitled to more rights (and obligations) than permanent residents (who are still classified as aliens in this respect). Lawful permanent residents generally do not have the right to vote, the right to be elected in federal and state elections (although even naturalized citizens cannot be elected President under Article II of the Constitution), the ability to bring family members to the United States (permanent residents are allowed to sponsor certain family members,[15] but this is often not practical due to long approval delays),[16][17] or eligibility for federal government jobs. Male permanent residents between the ages of 18 and 25 are subject to registering in the Selective Service System. Permanent residents who reside in the United States must pay taxes on their worldwide income (this includes filing annual U.S. income tax returns), like U.S. citizens.