Becoming a U.S. Citizen (Form N-400)

Am I Eligible?

Generally, you must have held a green card for 5 years (or 3 years if married to a U.S. citizen), meet continuous residence and physical presence requirements, and show good moral character.

How It Works

You file Form N-400 with USCIS, attend a biometrics appointment, and then an interview that includes the English and civics tests. If approved, you'll be scheduled for an oath ceremony — the final step to becoming a citizen.

What to Expect

Processing times vary by field office — current national estimates run roughly 6 to 14 months. Past issues, like a criminal record or long trips abroad, don't automatically disqualify you, but should be reviewed carefully beforehand so there are no surprises at your interview.

The Civics Test

Which version of the civics test applies depends on your filing date: applications filed on or after October 20, 2025 take the 2025 civics test, and those filed before that date take the 2008 version. Under the 2008 version you'll be asked up to 10 questions from a list of 100 and must answer 6 correctly; under the 2025 version it is 20 questions from a list of 128, with 12 correct to pass. See the N-400 Study Guide for the full breakdown. We help clients study with practice questions tailored to their situation.

The Eligibility Requirements, One at a Time

Naturalization has several separate requirements, and an applicant has to satisfy all of them. People usually focus on the first and are tripped by the others.

Permanent residence for the required period. Five years as a lawful permanent resident, or three years if you have been married to and living with the same U.S. citizen spouse for those three years and your spouse has been a citizen throughout.

Continuous residence. You must have maintained continuous residence in the United States for that whole period, which is a different question from how many days you were physically here.

Physical presence. You must have been physically present in the United States for at least half of the required period — at least 30 months out of five years, or at least 18 months out of three.

State residence. You must have lived in the state or USCIS district where you file for at least three months before filing.

Good moral character, English and civics, attachment to the Constitution, age 18 or older at filing, and willingness to take the oath of allegiance.

You may file up to 90 calendar days before you complete the required five or three years of permanent residence. Filing earlier than that gets the application rejected.

Continuous Residence Versus Physical Presence

These two requirements sound alike and are not, and confusing them is one of the more common ways a naturalization case goes wrong.

Physical presence is arithmetic: add up the days you were in the United States during the statutory period. Continuous residence is about whether you kept the United States as your home without interrupting the period through a long absence.

A single trip abroad lasting more than six months but less than a year creates a presumption that continuous residence was broken. That presumption can be rebutted with evidence that you kept your home, employment, family ties, and financial life in the United States — but it has to be rebutted, with documents.

A single absence of one year or more generally breaks continuous residence outright, which restarts the clock. There are narrow provisions for certain employment abroad, and they require advance approval rather than after-the-fact explanation.

This is why we ask for a complete travel history before filing. A long trip you have half-forgotten is much easier to plan around than to explain at an interview.

Good Moral Character, and What USCIS Looks At

Good moral character is assessed over the statutory period — five years, or three for spouses of citizens — but USCIS may consider conduct before that period when weighing the overall picture.

Some convictions are permanent bars to establishing good moral character. Others create a bar only if they fall within the statutory period. Many issues fall into neither category but still require careful handling, because the application asks about them directly.

The application asks about arrests and citations even where the charge was dismissed, expunged, or never prosecuted. Answer completely. USCIS runs background checks, and a nondisclosure is treated far more seriously than the underlying incident usually is.

Other recurring issues include failure to file tax returns or an unresolved tax debt, failure to pay court-ordered child support, and failure to register for Selective Service where it applied. None of these is automatically disqualifying, and all of them are better addressed before filing.

This is the part of a naturalization case worth a real consultation. An applicant who files without reviewing their own history is asking an officer to be the first person to examine it.

What the Process Looks Like Step by Step

File the N-400 with the required documentation and fee. USCIS issues a receipt notice.

Attend the biometrics appointment if one is scheduled, where fingerprints and a photograph are taken for background checks.

Attend the interview. An officer places you under oath, reviews your application with you question by question, and administers the English and civics tests. The speaking portion of the English test is judged by how you answer the officer's questions about your application, which is why re-reading your own filed N-400 beforehand matters.

Receive a decision. USCIS may grant the application, continue it — for a retest or for more evidence — or deny it. A denial can be appealed through a request for a hearing.

Take the oath of allegiance at a ceremony. You are not a citizen until the oath is administered, so any change in your circumstances between the interview and the ceremony must be reported. At the ceremony you surrender your green card and receive a Certificate of Naturalization.

Processing times vary by field office; current national estimates run roughly 6 to 14 months, and USCIS publishes office-specific figures on its website.

Accommodations and Exceptions

The English requirement has age-and-residence exceptions. Applicants who meet certain combinations of age and years as a permanent resident may take the civics test in a language they speak, with an interpreter, and older long-term residents may qualify for a reduced set of civics questions. The N-400 Study Guide sets these out in detail.

A medical disability exception is available where a physical or developmental disability or mental impairment prevents an applicant from meeting the English or civics requirements. It requires certification from a qualifying medical professional and is submitted with the application.

Disability accommodations for the appointment itself — an interpreter, an accessible location, additional time — are requested separately and should be raised early rather than on the day.

Applicants with U.S. military service have their own provisions, including different residence and presence requirements in some circumstances.

Who This Guide Is Not For

This guide is for lawful permanent residents applying on their own. If your question is how to prepare for the English and civics tests specifically — which version applies to you, how scoring works, and how to study — see the N-400 Study Guide.

If you are not yet a permanent resident, naturalization is several steps away. See the green card process guide for what comes first.

If you hold a two-year conditional card through marriage, address the conditions first; time as a conditional resident does count toward naturalization, but the sequence matters and is worth planning. See the removal of conditions guide.

If you are a child of a U.S. citizen, or became a permanent resident as a child, you may already be a U.S. citizen without filing anything. That is a different analysis and a different form, and it is worth confirming before you file an N-400.