For 13 years Rafael Cohen, an immigrant from Mexico, was eligible to become a citizen of the United States. But something held him back.
"I guess I felt I was maintaining more of a connection to my Mexican citizenship by remaining a green card holder than actually becoming a citizen," said Cohen, 36, a musician who moved to the District of Columbia when he was 9 and became a permanent resident in 1994.
Finally, the birth of his daughter last year persuaded him to apply. "Some of the immigration laws that are in place . . . there's these weird situations where you can be deported as a green card holder," he said.