If you are living in Louisiana on a green card, you are already familiar with the processes involved in dealing with immigration issues. Filling in immigration forms and attending intimidating interviews may not be the most fun thing to do, but in the end it gets results, and success is well worth the effort you have to put in. After you have your green card, it may be tempting just to sit back and relax and live indefinitely as a permanent resident. While the process of applying for US citizenship may not sound appealing, the citizenship itself is most certainly a fantastic reward for going through the process of the citizenship application.First of all, it is important understand that there is no such thing as "permanent residency" in the United States. While a green card will certainly give you some peace of mind in terms of your immigration status, it does not give you the indelible right to remain in the United States forever. Only United States citizens enjoy full rights and the protection of the government, and this alone is worth the price of admission, as it were, in terms of the trouble you have to go through to attain your citizenship. You will also then be able to enjoy certain rights like the right to vote, which allows you to have a greater say in how your life is governed than you would if you were just a resident.The application for citizenship in Louisiana is much the same as it is in any other state, as the federal government regulates citizenship applications across the nation. If you are above 18 years of age, are already living in Louisiana on a green card, and have been in the United States for longer than five years, you can start the process of application for citizenship by having your lawyer start gathering the necessary documents and forms. Please note that the residency requirement of five years is not waived if you are married to an American citizen. Despite what you might have seen in the movies, every immigrant to the United States who wants to go through the naturalization process must fulfill the residency requirement, though if you are married to a United States citizen it is reduced to three years instead of five years.Once your attorney has put in your application forms and appropriate documents, you will be assigned an appointment for an interview. It is very important that you prepare for this by being ready for the questions they will ask and the skills they will ask you to demonstrate. You must be able to show that you have a good working knowledge of the English language, both spoken and written. You must also show that you know some basic facts about United States history and government. You must also show in your application that you are of strong moral character and are law-abiding. In other words, many of the requirements for citizenship are much the same as the ones for the green card.