Permanent residents may apply to become citizens through a process called naturalization. Naturalization is the last step in the immigration process and usually the last time the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will review a person’s file to determine whether the person is eligible for citizenship and whether the person is eligible to remain in the United States.

If you are eligible to become a naturalized citizen, you should strongly consider applying. Citizenship gives you many rights and privileges, including the right to vote, the ability to travel freely outside the United States for long periods of time and return, the right to hold special government jobs, and eligibility for public benefits not available to non-citizens. Perhaps most importantly, citizens cannot be removed or deported from the United States.

To apply for naturalization, you must complete and file Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, with the USCIS Service Center that has jurisdiction over your state. The total filing fee is $675 ($595 filing fee for N-400, plus $80 biometrics fee) and is payable to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

WARNING

It is not always in the best interest of a permanent resident to apply to become a naturalized citizen. When you apply for naturalization, you are giving the government information that may result not only in denial of your citizenship application but may also place you in removal (deportation) proceedings. For example, if you were outside of the United States for a long period of time, you may have abandoned your permanent residency without knowing it. Or you might have a criminal history that makes you deportable, in which case you would definitely want to avoid applying for citizenship. It is always best to consult with a citizenship attorney before filing your naturalization application.

 

Eligibility for Naturalization/U.S. Citizenship

To be eligible to apply to become a naturalized citizen, you must:

• be at least 18 years of age;

• have continuously resided in the United States as a legal permanent resident for at least five years before the date of your citizenship application;

• have been physically present in the United States for periods totaling at least two and a half years or 30 months;

• reside in the state or in the district in which your application is filed for at least three months before the date of your citizenship application; and

• reside continuously in the United States from the date of your citizenship application to the date of your admission to citizenship.

Meeting these eligibility requirements does not mean that you will be allowed to become a naturalized citizen. You must also show that you have "good moral character," pass the English literacy and civics test, and swear attachment to the principles of the U.S. constitution by taking the Oath of Allegiance.

"Good moral character" requirement for Naturalization/U.S. Citizenship

Becoming a naturalized citizen requires that the government find that you are a person of "good moral character" for the five years before the date of your citizenship application.

 

There are two exceptions to this rule:

• If you were convicted of an "aggravated felony" after November 29, 1990, you are not allowed to show that you are a person of "good moral character," even if you were convicted before the five years before the date of your citizenship application. Congress has repeatedly expanded the definition of "aggravated felony," and a variety of offenses qualify as an "aggravated felony." Some state law misdemeanors qualify as aggravated felonies. If you have any sort of criminal history or have ever been in trouble with the police, you should consult with an immigration and citizenship attorney before you apply to become a naturalized citizen.

• Even if you were not convicted of an aggravated felony, the government may look into your life before the five years before the date of your citizenship application if doing so would help it determine whether you otherwise lack "good moral character."

 

English and Civics and History Test for Naturalization/U.S. Citizenship

Before you may become a naturalized citizen, you must show a basic understanding of English and pass a test on the history and form of government of the United States.

If you are physically unable to comply, developmentally disabled, or mentally impaired, you are exempt from both requirements.

If you fail the English and civics test on the first attempt, you are given a second opportunity to pass either one or both tests within 90 days of the first test. If you fail a second time, your citizenship application will be denied.

 

English Test

To meet the English requirement, you must show that you can "read and write simple works phrases." USCIS has made available Sample Sentences for Written English Testing.

Your oral understanding (ability to speak and listen to) of English will be determined by the examiner at your citizenship interview.

Certain groups of people are exempt from the English language requirement. For example, if you are fifty years or older and have been a lawful permanent resident for more than twenty years, you are exempt. If you are over fifty-five years old and have been a lawful permanent resident for more than fifteen years, you are also exempt.

 

Civics and History Test

In addition to the English requirement, you must show "a knowledge and understanding of the fundamentals of the history, and of the principles and form of government, of the United States."

If you take the test during your citizenship interview, the test will probably be conducted orally (spoken) and in English. The examiner will test your knowledge of history and government from a standard list of 100 questions. You will probably only be asked six to ten questions, and the answers must convince the examiner that you have the adequate knowledge. You can usually convince the examiner that you have adequate knowledge by answering six out of the ten questions correctly.

The USCIS has made available Civics and Citizenship Study Materials.

Five-year Continuous Residency Requirement for Naturalization/U.S. Citizenship

To become a naturalized citizen, you must have five years of continuous residence after the date you became a permanent resident. 

Your five years of residence before the date of your citizenship application must be continuous. Absences of less than six months do not matter for the five years of continuous residency requirement. But any absence between six months and one year creates a presumption that you violated the continuous residency requirement. You can overcome this presumption if you show that you had no intention of giving up residence in the United States during your absence. Usually you can show this if you applied for a Re-Entry Permit before you left the United States. 

If you are outside the United States for more than one year, there is a presumption that you have abandoned your permanent residency in the United States. To prevent this from happening, if you know you will be absent from the United States for more than a year and want to keep your permanent resident status, you should always apply for a Re-Entry Permit before you leave the United States. 

In addition, some persons may receive derivative U.S. citizenship because their parents obtained U.S. citizenship via naturalization before the child's 18th birthday. The parent should apply for a certificate of citizenship, N-600, for the child in this situation prior to the child's 18th birthday.

 

Administrative Review of Denial of Citizenship Application, N-336 Request a Hearing on a Decision in Naturalization Proceedings

If your citizenship application is denied by a United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) examiner, you may ask for a hearing before a new immigration officer. The new immigration officer will review your citizenship application and conduct another examination, which may include a new test of your English ability and a new civics test. The new immigration officer may affirm the original decision to deny your application, or redetermine the original decision, in whole or in part. 

You must file a request for an administrative review within 30 days of the date you are notified of the denial of your citizenship application. To request an administrative review, you must file Form N-336, Request for a Hearing on a Decision in Naturalization Proceedings with the local USCIS district office that denied your citizenship application. You must include the filing fee with your request. The current filing fee is $605. If your request for an administrative review is properly filed, USCIS will schedule a review hearing within 180 days from the date your request was filed.

You may submit a brief and additional evidence in support of your N-336 request. A good brief should summarize how the citizenship rules apply to the facts of your case and explain why you are eligible for citizenship. If you think your naturalization application was improperly denied and would like to speak to a citizenship attorney about filing an N-336 appeal, please contact the Law Offices of Bashir Ghazialam.

  

Federal District Court Review of Denial of Citizenship Application

If your citizenship application remains denied after the administrative review, you may ask a federal district court to review your application. To seek judicial review of your application by a federal district court, you must file a petition for review in the federal district court where you live. 

Judicial review by a federal district court of a denial of a citizenship application is de novo (from the beginning). The federal district court will make its own findings of fact regarding your citizenship application and draw its own conclusions of law. If you request, the court will also hold a hearing on the review of your citizenship application. 

The regulations require that you file the petition for review within 120 days after the final administrative denial of your citizenship application. However, the Tenth Circuit (Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah) has applied a six-year statute of limitations to a petition for review.

  

Mandamus Relief for Delays in Deciding Citizenship Applications

In a small percentage of cases, USCIS is delaying by years the granting or denying of citizenship applications, or the scheduling of an initial interview for a citizenship case. If you are in this situation, you can file a petition for mandamus relief with a federal district court. By filing for mandamus relief, you are asking the court to order USCIS to make a decision on your citizenship application. You are not asking the court to approve or deny your application.

 A mandamus lawsuit must be filed in the federal district court that has jurisdiction over the director of the local USCIS office that has refused to take action on the application. The court may grant or deny your naturalization application, or the court may send your case back to USCIS with instructions to make a decision on your application.

 USCIS blames the FBI name check process for the delay. Regardless of who is to blame, most FBI name checks are completed within six months, and no name check should drag on for years and years. The Immigration and Nationality Act requires USCIS to grant or deny your citizenship application within 120 days of your naturalization interview. Like courts around the country, the Ninth Circuit has ruled that whether the FBI name check is complete or not, the law requires that USCIS make a decision within 120 days of the interview.

 If more than 120 days have passed since your citizenship interview and USCIS has failed to make a decision on your application or if you believe USCIS is unreasonably delaying the scheduling of your citizenship interview, please contact The Law Offices of Bashir Ghazialam to speak about your case.

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