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Residence Requirements |
 Naturalization is the process where an alien becomes a US citizen
(see Final Passport rule). If an alien
is not married to an American citizen, he must reside in the U.S. for a
continuous period of five years after lawful admission to the U.S. as a
permanent resident. If an alien is married to a U.S. citizen, he must reside in
the U.S. for a continuous period of three years following lawful admission to
the U.S. as a permanent resident. The alien must be in marital union with the
spouse citizen for three years before the alien's citizen exam date, and the
citizen spouse must have been a citizen during that time. |
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Eligibility |
To qualify, one must:
- be 18 years old;
- be lawfully admitted for permanent residence;
- have five years of continuous residence as a lawful permanent residence;
(For spouses of U.S. citizens, the period of continuous residence is reduced
to three years)
- have been physically present in the U.S. for at least half that time;
- have resided continuously in the U.S. from the date of application up to
the citizenship ceremony;
- have resided for at least three months in the USCIS district where the
application is being filed;
- be a person of good moral character (see
crime involving moral turpitude);
- demonstrate basic literacy in the English language;
- demonstrate knowledge of U.S. civics and history;
- take an oath of allegiance to the U.S.
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Language Requirements |
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The naturalization application must demonstrate that he has an
ability to read, write, and speak ordinary English. This is
determined by testing by an immigration examiner. The language
requirement can be waivered if the alien is physically unable to
comply due to disability, mental impairment, is at least fifty years
old at the time of filing and lived in the U.S. as a permanent
resident for at least 20 years or the alien is at least 55 years old
and lived in the U.S. as a permanent resident for at least fifteen
years. Note: New Naturalization Examination Questions.
On September 27, 2007 USCIS
announced the 100 questions and answers that comprise the civics component
of the new naturalization test to be administered beginning October 8, 2007.
more info
»
Applicants exempt from this language requirement are those
who on the date of filing:
- have been residing in the United States subsequent to a
lawful admission for permanent residence for periods totaling 15 years or more
and are over 55 years of age;
- have been residing in the United States subsequent to a
lawful admission for permanent residence for periods totaling 20 years or more
and are over 50 years of age; or
- have a medically
determinable physical or mental impairment, where the impairment affects
the applicant’s ability to learn English. See
Michael Aytes memo issued on May 10, 2006 and
Donald Neufeld memo issued on September
18, 2007.
Naturalization Self Test >> |
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| Knowledge and Understanding of U.S. History and Government |
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The alien must have knowledge and understanding of the fundamentals
of U.S. history and government. This is determined by the
administration of a multiple choice test. In general, those exempt
from the English requirement must still meet this requirement.
Exceptions are those who are mentally and physically impaired and
special considerations can be given to those who are exempt from the
English requirement based on age and length of stay. Those special
considerations are usually a test in modified form.
Click here for 100 Sample
U.S. History Questions with Answers. Click
here for Sample U.S.
History and Government Questions (Chinese Version). |
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Children of U.S. Citizens
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Birth Abroad to two U.S. Citizen parents in wedlock: A child born abroad to two
U.S. citizen parents acquires U.S. citizenship at birth under section 301(c) of
the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). One of the parents must have resided
in the U.S. prior to the child's birth. No specific period of time for such
prior residence is required.
Birth abroad to one citizen and one alien parent in wedlock: A child born
abroad to one U.S. citizen parent and one alien parent acquires U.S. citizenship
at birth under Section 301(g) INA provided the citizen parent was physically
present in the U.S. for the time period required by the law applicable at the
time of the child's birth. (For birth on or after November 14, 1986, a period of
five years physical presence, two after the age of fourteen is required. For
birth between December 24, 1952 and November 13, 1986, a period of ten years,
five after the age of fourteen are required for physical presence in the U.S. to
transmit U.S. citizenship to the child.)
To qualify for automatic acquisition of citizenship under the legislation
enacted in 2000, one must meet all the following requirements (for children who
are not U.S. citizens at birth):
- At least one parent must be a U.S. citizen (whether by birth or
naturalization),
- The child must be under eighteen years of age,
- The child must be residing in the U.S. in the legal and physical custody
of the citizen parent pursuant to a lawful admission for permanent residence.
Citizenship vests automatically upon the occurrence of all relevant
conditions. A child becomes a U.S. citizen on the date the last condition is
fulfilled. |
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