Become a US Citizen

Becoming a US citizen is a lengthy process, but it is rewarding in the end. Assuming you have your green card, this article will show you the most common paths to U.S.

10 Second Summary

  • Meet the basic requirements. More ↓
  • Gain citizenship through a green card. ↓
  • Consider marrying a US citizen. ↓
  • Consider serving in the US military. ↓
  • Gain automatic citizenship by being born in the US. ↓

Steps

Method One: Green Card Naturalization

  1. Be a permanent resident. If you are a green card holder of at least 5 years[1], you must meet the following requirements in order to apply for naturalization:
    • To apply for citizenship, you must be 18 or older.
    • Be a green card holder. You must have held a green card for at least 5 years immediately preceding the date of filing Form N-400, the Application for Naturalization.
    • Have lived in state for at least 3 months. Before filing the application, you must have lived within the state or USCIS district with jurisdiction over your place of residence for at least 3 months.
    • Have been a continuous resident of the U.S. Immediately preceding the date of filing your N-400 application, you must have lived in the U.S. continuously as a green card holder for at least 5 years.
    • You must have been physically present in the U.S. for at least 30 months out of those 5 years.
    • Stay in the U.S. Once you apply for naturalization, you must reside continuously in the United States until you are naturalized.
    • Learn the language and history. To become a naturalized citizen, you must be able to read, write, and speak English. You must also possess a knowledge and understanding of U.S. history and government.
    • Be a decent person. To become a U.S. citizen, you must be a person of good moral character, attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States, and well disposed to the good order and happiness of the United States during all relevant periods under the law.

Method Two: Marry A U.S. Citizen

  1. Meet the basic qualifications. You may qualify for naturalization under Section 319(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) if:
    • Your spouse have been a U.S. Citizen for at least 3 years.
    • You have been a permanent resident (green card holder) for at least 3 years.
    • You have been living in marital union with the same U.S. citizen spouse during such time.
    • You meet all other eligibility requirements under this section:
  2. Meet the general eligibility requirements. To apply for citizenship, you must:
    • Be 18 or older. There are no exceptions to this rule.
    • Be a green card holder. You must have held a green card for at least 3 years immediately preceding the date of filing Form N-400, the Application for Naturalization.
    • Have lived in state for at least 3 months. Before filing the application, you must have lived within the state or USCIS district with jurisdiction over your place of residence for at least 3 months.
    • Have been a continuous resident of the U.S. Immediately preceding the date of filing your N-400 application, you must have lived in the U.S. continuously as a green card holder for at least 3 years.
    • You must have been physically present in the U.S. for at least 18 months out of those 3 years
    • Stay in the U.S. Once you apply for naturalization, you must reside continuously in the United States until you are naturalized.
    • Learn the language and history. To become a naturalized citizen, you must be able to read, write, and speak English. You must also possess a knowledge and understanding of U.S. history and government.
    • Be a decent person. To become a U.S. citizen, you must be a person of good moral character, attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States, and well disposed to the good order and happiness of the United States during all relevant periods under the law.
  3. Spouses of U.S. Citizens Employed Abroad. Generally, the spouse of a U.S. citizen who is employed by the U.S. government, including the military or other qualifying employer, whose spouse is stationed abroad in such employment for at least 1 year, may be eligible for naturalization under Section 319(b) of the INA.
    • In general, a spouse of a U.S. citizen employed abroad must be present in the United States pursuant to a lawful admission for permanent residence at the time of examination on the naturalization application and at the time of naturalization, and meet of all of the requirements listed above except that:
      • No specific period as a permanent resident (green card holder) is required (but the spouse must be a permanent resident).
      • No specific period of continuous residence or physical presence in the United States is required.
      • No specific period of marital union is required; however, the spouses must be living in marital union.
    • Note: You must also establish that you will depart abroad immediately after naturalization and that you intend to reside in the United States immediately upon the termination of your spouse’s employment abroad.
    • For more information regarding naturalization for spouses of U.S. citizens, click here.

Method Three: Join The Military

  1. Citizenship for military members. Members and certain veterans of the U.S. armed forces may be eligible for naturalization through their military service under Section 328 or 329 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Additionally, the INA provides for posthumous naturalization under section 329A.
  2. Meet the qualifications: Generally, a person who has served honorably in the U.S. armed forces at any time may be eligible to apply under section 328 of the INA, and the requirements for naturalization may be diminished or waived for qualifying members.
  3. Naturalization during peacetime. Generally, a person who has served honorably in the U.S. armed forces at any time may be eligible to apply for "peacetime naturalization" under Section 328 of the INA. To apply, you must:
    • Be 18 or older. There are no exceptions to this rule.
    • Have served honorably in the U.S. armed forces for at least 1 year and, if separated from the U.S. armed forces, have been separated honorably.
    • Be a permanent resident at the time of examination on the naturalization application.
    • Be able to read, write, and speak basic English.
    • Have a knowledge of U.S. history and government (civics).
    • Have been a person of good moral character during all relevant periods under the law.
    • Have an attachment to the principles of the U.S. Constitution and be well disposed to the good order and happiness of the U.S. during all relevant periods under the law.
    • Have continuously resided in the United States for at least five years and have been physically present in the United States for at least 30 months out of the 5 years immediately preceding the date of filing the application, unless you have filed an application while still in the service or within 6 months of separation. In the latter case, you are not required to meet these residence and physical presence requirements.
  4. Naturalization during periods of hostilities. Generally, members of the U.S. armed forces who serve honorably for any period of time (even 1 day) during specifically designated periods of hostilities (see below) are eligible for naturalization under section 329 of the INA through such military service. In general, to apply, you must:
    • Have served honorably in active-duty status, or as a member of the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve, for any amount of time during a designated period of hostilities and, if separated from the U.S. armed forces, have been separated honorably.
    • Have been lawfully admitted as a permanent resident at any time after enlistment or induction, or have been physically present in the United States or certain territories at the time of enlistment or induction (regardless of whether you were admitted as a permanent resident).
    • Be able to read, write, and speak basic English.
    • Have a knowledge of U.S. history and government (civics).
    • Have been a person of good moral character during all relevant periods under the law.
    • Have an attachment to the principles of the U.S. Constitution and be well disposed to the good order and happiness of the U.S. during all relevant periods under the law.
    • There is no minimum age requirement for an applicant under this section. The designated periods of hostilities are:
      • April 6, 1917 to November 11, 1918
      • September 1, 1939 to December 31, 1946
      • June 25, 1950 to July 1, 1955
      • February 28, 1961 to October 15, 1978
      • August 2, 1990 to April 11, 1991
      • September 11, 2001 until the present
    • The current designated period of hostilities starting on September 11, 2001, will terminate when the President issues an Executive Order terminating the period.
    • Note: current members of the U.S. armed forces who qualify for naturalization under sections 328 or 329 of the INA can proceed with their naturalization application either in the United States or overseas.
    • Naturalization processing for military service members is inclusive and speedy. The USCIS makes every effort to expedite the applications of service men and women. To find out more, click here.

Method Four: Citizenship Through Parents

  1. Automatic citizenship at birth. In general, you are conferred right of citizenship at birth under the following conditions:
    • Both parents were U.S. citizens at the time of your birth and your parents were married at the time of birth, and at least one parent lived in the U.S., or its territories, or both, prior to your birth.
    • One parent is a U.S. citizen at the time of birth, and you were born on or after November 14, 1986 and your parents were married at the time of birth and the U.S. citizen parent was physically present in the U.S. or its territories for a period of at least five years at some time in his or her life prior to the birth, of which at least 2 years were after his or her 14th birthday.
    • One parent is a U.S. citizen at the time of birth and your birthdate is before November 14, 1986 but after October 10, 1952 and your parents were married at the time of your birth and the U.S. citizen parent was physically present in the U.S. or its territories for a period of at least ten years at some time in his or her life prior to your birth, at least 5 of which were after his or her 14th birthday.
  2. Automatic citizenship after birth but before the age of 18. In general, one is conferred right of citizenship before they are 18 under the following conditions:
    • The child is under 18 or not yet born on February 27, 2001 and at least one parent is a U.S. citizen, the child is currently under 18, and residing in the U.S. in the legal and physical custody of the U.S. citizen parent pursuant to lawful admission for permanent residence.
    • The child was under 18 from December 24, 1952 to February 26, 2001 and The child was residing as a Green Card holder in the U.S. and both parents naturalized before the child’s 18th birthday, or:
    • If one parent died, that the surviving parent naturalized before the child turned 18.
    • If the parents legally separated, that the parent maintaining legal and physical custody naturalized before the child turned 18.
    • If the child was born out of wedlock and paternity has not been established by legitimation, the mother naturalized before the child turned 18.
    • NOTE: The order in which the child meets the conditions does not matter so long as the child meets all the conditions before his or her 18th birthday.
  3. The child was adopted. If the child was adopted by a U.S. citizen parent and the child resides legally in the U.S. in the legal and physical custody of the U.S. citizen parent and meets the following conditions after February 27, 2001 but before his or her 18th birthday:
    • The adoptive parent adopted the child before his or her 16th birthday (or, in some cases, 18th birthday) and had legal custody of the child and resided with the child for at least 2 years, or:
    • The child was admitted to the United States as an orphan (IR-3) or Convention adoptee (IH-3) whose adoption by his or her U.S. citizen parent(s) was fully completed abroad;or:
    • The child was admitted to the United States as an orphan (IR-4) or Convention adoptee (IH-4) who was coming to the United States to be adopted and the child's adoptive parent(s) completed the adoption before his or her 18th birthday.
    • For more detailed information regarding obtaining citizenship through parents, click here.



Tips

  • Don't give up! Adjusting to life in the U.S. is filled with challenges and joys. If you reach out to others who want to help and keep taking concrete steps toward achieving your goal of becoming a citizen, you will succeed!
  • Be sure to practice "small talk" before you have your interview. That is, practice talking about the weather, asking how someone is doing, etc. This shows you can interact with others in basic English.
  • It is very important to read, understand, and be able to explain in your own words the "Oath of Allegiance". You can be asked about this at your interview. An ESL instructor can and should help you with this.
  • Be sure you memorize all the information you have given on your N-400 form. Know your permanent resident number as well as dates of departure and arrival for any trip you have taken outside the U.S. since becoming a permanent resident. Also, be able to provide the reason for the trip (business, vacation, to visit family, etc.) You can and will be asked questions taken from the information you give on your N-400 form, so be sure you know it thoroughly.
  • Interviewers at the citizenship interview will ask you questions from a list of 100 U.S. history and civics questions. You will be asked to answer the questions orally or in written form. You can learn the answers to these questions at the website to reinforce what you learn in your ESL class.
  • When you become a citizen, it's a good idea to register to vote and get your passport quickly.
  • For a list of N-400-related forms and contact addresses, visit the USCIS N-400, Application for Naturalization page.

Warnings

  • Don't trust everything people tell you. Practices change all the time, and much of the information well meaning people volunteer will be outdated.
  • Don't use any "Immigration counseling", "Green Card Service" or similar service unless it's run by a genuine immigration lawyer. Getting the wrong advice can hurt you!
  • Becoming a U.S. citizen (or even permanent resident) will have tax implications if you move abroad. So far, the U.S. is one of the only countries taxing on citizenship basis and not on residence.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.uscis.gov/us-citizenship/citizenship-through-naturalization
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