5 Steps to Naturalization | How to apply for US citizenship | N-400 form

Naturalization Process and N-400 form

In today's blog, I will explain how to apply for U.S. citizenship in five easy steps and share some bonus tips so you can apply for citizenship with confidence.

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5 Steps to Naturalization | How to apply for US citizenship | N-400 form

By the end of this video, you will know how to apply for citizenship, how long it takes, and how much it costs. You will also gain access to a guide I created just for you.

1. Naturalization:

Before you do anything, make sure you qualify for naturalization. The two big requirements for naturalization are how long you've had your green card and the residency requirement. If you got your green card through marriage, then you need to have had your green card for three years before you're eligible for naturalization. If you got your green card in any other way, it's typically five years. However, there is a 90 day rule that allows you to apply for naturalization 90 days before you hit these deadlines. So if you got your green card through marriage, you can actually apply once you've had your green card for two years and nine months and four years and nine months, if you got your green card in a different way. To figure out where your clock starts, simply look at the front of your green card and look at the issue date and count three or five years from that date.

The second requirement, the residency requirement is also known as continuous physical presence. What this means is that as a green card holder, you must have been living in the U.S. for the past three or five years depending on how you got your green card. Continuous presence does not mean that you cannot leave the country in that time, but you do need to keep tabs on how much time you're spending out of the U.S. Basically, you need to spend six months out of every year in the U.S. If you did leave the U.S. for more than six months but less than one year, you may still meet the eligibility criteria for naturalization.

However, absences of more than a year typically break the required continuity for citizenship. If you fall into this zone, I highly recommend you speak with an immigration attorney as there are sometimes exceptions to this.

There are also other important requirements that you should make sure you meet. I'm going to link to an article in below, so be sure to check it out as it lists the remaining requirements for citizenship.

2. Filling Form N-400:

This is the main form and the first step in the citizenship process. There are two ways to do this. You can either complete the form online or you may fill it out in its paper form and mail it in with your supporting documents.

So how much does N-400 cost to become a U.S. citizen?

The filing fee for Form N-400 is $640 and your biometrics fee for your fingerprinting is $85, bringing you to a total of $725. If you choose to work with an attorney, there'll be additional legal fees to be paid directly to the attorney.

So how long does it take to become a U.S. citizen?

The average processing time for Form N-400 was 10 months this past year. However, your timeline may be shorter or longer depending on where your reside and which field office is handling your application. Additionally, you'll spend some time waiting on your citizenship interview, test and oath ceremony. So all in all, expect to wait about 10 to 20 months and even a little more in some States.

3. Attending your biometrics appointment:

Once your application has been accepted, you'll receive an appointment notice in the mail with the location and date of your fingerprinting appointment. This notice usually arrives two to three weeks after filing with an appointment date that is another one to two weeks out. Be sure to take this notice with you to your appointment.

4. Attending your citizenship interview:

After your fingerprinting, the USCIS will assign you an interview date. This can be anywhere from 10 to 14 months after filing your naturalization application. As I mentioned before, the timeline really depends on the field office assigned to your case, which depends on where you reside.

At this interview, the officer will conduct the citizenship test, review your application, and clarify any issues. There are two parts to the naturalization test, the English test and the civics test. As part of the civics test, you will be asked 10 questions of which you have to get six correct. These 10 questions are drawn from a bank of 100 questions which you can study beforehand. As for the English test, when I went through the citizenship process recently, I was given one sentence to read and then write as well. If you pass the test, the officer will recommend that your application be approved.

If your application is denied, you will receive a letter in the mail explaining the grounds for denial or the officer may tell you on the spot. Common reasons applicants are denied, include failure to pay taxes or the inability to demonstrate continuous presence in the U.S. or failing the civics or English tests.

5. Being sworn in at an oath ceremony as a U.S. citizen:

Soon after your interview, you will receive an appointment notice with the details of your oath ceremony. This is the moment you become a U.S. citizen and take the Oath of Allegiance. At the end of the ceremony, you will receive your naturalization certificate, which is proof of your U.S. citizenship.

Now you know exactly what to do to file your naturalization application.

For Electronic Diversity Visa (EDV) Interview question: Click here