In addition to holding their green cards for a 3-year or 5-year minimum, lawful permanent residents of the United States must also meet specific requirements to naturalize as U.S. citizens. This article details each requirement for naturalization, how to meet it as a naturalization applicant, and any exemptions that may apply.
To qualify for the naturalization process, you must meet various eligibility requirements. These naturalization requirements include:
Once you meet the qualifications in all these categories, you can become a naturalized citizen!
The minimum age requirement is one of the many naturalization requirements required by the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The INA is the central immigration law of the United States. To apply for naturalization, you need to be at least 18 years old. This requirement doesn’t apply if you are naturalizing based on any period of wartime military service. In that case, you can naturalize as a U.S. citizen at any age.
You need to have physically lived in the United States for at least two and a half years, or 913 days, for your U.S. citizenship application. If you are married to a U.S. citizen, you need to have physically been in the United States for at least a year and a half, or 548 days.
If you travel abroad, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) counts the days you left and returned to the United States as days you were physically present here. For example, if you left on January 1 and returned on July 1, both days count for your “physical presence” in the United States. Even though you can meet the physical presence requirement even after taking trips outside the United States, keep the “continuous residence” requirement in mind.
You need to have continuously lived in the United States for at least five years as a green card or permanent resident card holder. If you have a U.S. citizen spouse, you need to have continuously lived in the United States for three years with permanent resident status.
Continuous residence means any trips you took outside of the United States during the 3–5 required years must have been shorter than six months. It also means that you cannot take any trips abroad longer than six months during the period when USCIS is processing your U.S. citizenship application. If you leave the United States for more than six months, USCIS considers you to have abandoned your permanent residence. They will deny your citizenship application.
Even if you did not leave for over six months, USCIS can deny your application for other reasons, such as frequent trips abroad. The decision is ultimately up to USCIS and can be arbitrary. Even if you were abroad for an extended period of time, you still have a chance of success. It depends on how long you stayed abroad, your reason for not returning, and the discretion of the USCIS officer who evaluates your application.
Suppose you stayed abroad for 181 to 364 days. In that case, you need to convince the USCIS officer that you didn’t intend to abandon your permanent residence during your absence from the United States. You need to prove that you maintained strong ties to the United States. For example, you could do this by showing that:
But if you stayed abroad for one year or longer, USCIS automatically assumes you abandoned your permanent residence. They will deny your citizenship application, and you have to wait before reapplying. If you had to wait for five years to apply for citizenship, you need to wait at least four years and one day after returning from your trip abroad to reapply. If you had to wait three years to apply for citizenship, you need to wait for at least two years and one day after returning from your trip to reapply.
To avoid breaking continuous residence, you should consider the following precautions before leaving the United States.
If you think you will need to remain abroad for at least one year, you need to apply for a re-entry permit with Form I-131 before leaving the United States. Form I-131 is also the application for a typical travel permit. But a re-entry permit and a travel permit are not the same. A travel permit is for green card applicants, and a re-entry permit is for green card holders.
You can ask to pick up your re-entry permit from the U.S. embassy or U.S. consulate in the country you are visiting. But you will need to provide biometrics while in the United States. The re-entry permit is valid for only two years, and you cannot extend it. If you stay abroad for longer than two years, you most likely cannot re-enter the United States as a permanent resident.
According to immigration law, you can keep permanent resident status if you stay abroad for one year or longer because of your job. However, it must be for a specific type of work approved by USCIS. To apply for the preservation of your permanent resident status, you must submit Form N-470 to USCIS and apply for a re-entry permit.
If you didn’t anticipate staying abroad for over a year due to unforeseen circumstances, like a medical emergency, and you didn’t apply for a re-entry permit, you need to apply for a returning resident visa. You should contact your nearest U.S. embassy or consulate at least three months before you plan to return to the United States and follow their instructions. Usually, you’ll have to complete Form DS-117 and an interview with a consular officer.
This requirement is separate from the physical presence and continuous residence requirements noted earlier. For this requirement, you need to have been a resident of the state or USCIS district where you plan to apply for citizenship for at least three months before applying for naturalization. For this requirement, the “state” also includes the following:
“USCIS district” is the geographical area that a specific USCIS field office serves. The “current physical address” you provide on your application must be where you established residency (for example, where you pay taxes or registered to vote), but there are exceptions. For example, if you are a student and depend on your parents for financial support, you can apply for naturalization from where you attend school or from your family’s home.
If you move after you file Form N-400 or Application for Naturalization, you need to alert USCIS within 10 days of relocating to your new home. USCIS will forward your naturalization file to the appropriate field office for your new home. Even if you apply for naturalization 90 days early, your residency is the location you name as your “current physical address” on Form N-400.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) defines good moral character as character that matches the standard for average citizens. The government decides this on a case-by-case basis, but generally, it means:
Usually, USCIS determines if you are a person of good moral character based on the original criminal sentence and not postsentencing charges.
You need to pass two parts of a naturalization test to become a U.S. citizen. This test includes:
If the United States ever asks you to serve in the U.S. military or perform other civil services, you must be willing to do so. If you are male and of a certain age, you need to enroll in the Selective Service System. This program collects information about individuals who may serve in the U.S. armed forces if there is a draft.
You need to register if you are a male who has lived in the United States or received your green card and are between 18 and 26. You usually need to register within 30 days of turning 18 but not after 26.
You don’t need to register if:
If you are not yet 26 and haven’t yet registered for the Selective Service, it’s essential to do so before applying for naturalization. Otherwise, USCIS will likely deny your naturalization application.
You can register online, at your local post office, or by completing and returning a Selective Service registration card you received in the mail. You can check your registration online or call 1-847-688-6888. After you register, Selective Service will send you a registration acknowledgment card by mail as proof.
Sometimes USCIS sends your information to Selective Service when applying for a green card. However, sometimes this registration isn’t complete. To check if you have already registered, you can request a status information letter from Selective Service.
If you didn’t register before turning 26, you no longer can. However, what to do moving forward depends on how old you are when applying for naturalization. If you apply for naturalization between the ages of 26 to 31, you need to convince USCIS of the following:
If you weren’t required to register or were exempt, you need to request a status information letter from Selective Service to prove this and send a copy to USCIS. If you didn’t know you were supposed to register, you need to send the following to USCIS, along with the status information letter:
If you intentionally did not register because you refused or ignored this requirement, USCIS may deny your citizenship application, but they may also consider your age at the time of your application:
The U.S. government requires you to register for Selective Service if you haven’t yet turned 26 during the three- or five-year wait period before applying for naturalization. However, if you are past 26, USCIS may consider other factors, such as years of demonstrating good moral character.
If you demonstrated this for three or five years before applying for naturalization, USCIS might overlook your lack of registration. Some applicants wait to file for naturalization until they turn 31, or 29 if they satisfy all other naturalization requirements.
You will need to demonstrate your “attachment” to the U.S. constitution. This means you believe, support, and will defend the constitution. It also means you agree to support the democratic process and obey the law.
You will attend a public ceremony to recite the Oath of Allegiance. This is the final step in the naturalization process. During the ceremony, the official will verify that you understand the following:
This ceremony is the final step of the process and the final requirement to meet for naturalization.
Need immigration help?Get free answers to your immigration questions.