Citizenship & Naturalization
Form N-400, the naturalization interview, delays, and how past issues like taxes or a criminal record can affect your case.
How We Help
- Confirm you actually meet the residence, physical-presence, and good-moral-character requirements before you file.
- Tell you whether early filing under the 90-day window applies to your case.
- Prepare you for the interview and civics test, including how officers handle inconsistencies.
- Assess how an arrest, conviction, or unresolved tax issue could affect a good-moral-character finding.
- Map out real next steps if an N-400 is delayed after the interview or denied outright.
When You Should Speak With a Lawyer
- You have any arrest, conviction, or unresolved tax or child-support issue in your history.
- Your N-400 has been pending well past the normal timeline since your interview.
- You received a denial, or a request for additional evidence you're not sure how to answer.
- You are unsure whether you meet continuous-residence or physical-presence requirements after travel.
Start with the question closest to your situation
Who Is Eligible to Apply for U.S. Citizenship?
Most applicants qualify for naturalization through a 5-year path or, if married to and living with a U.S. citizen spouse, a 3-year path. Both require lawful permanent resident status, continuous residence, physical presence, good moral character, and passing English and civics tests. Eligibility is fact-specific — each requirement has its own rules and exceptions worth checking against your actual timeline before filing.
Read moreCan You File Form N-400 Early?
Under INA 334(a) and 8 CFR 334.2(b), you may file Form N-400 up to 90 days before you complete your required period of continuous residence. Early filing only shortens the waiting period to submit the application — it doesn't shorten any other requirement, and you generally still have to meet every eligibility element, including continuous residence and physical presence, by the time of your interview and oath.
Read moreHow Do Travel and Long Trips Affect Naturalization?
A single trip abroad of six months to a year creates a rebuttable presumption that your continuous residence was broken; a trip of a year or more generally breaks it outright, absent an approved Form N-470. Beyond any single trip, USCIS can also look at a pattern of frequent or extended travel and question whether the United States has remained your actual, continuous home.
Read moreWhat Happens at the Naturalization Interview and Civics Test?
At the interview, a USCIS officer reviews your Form N-400 under oath, tests your English reading, writing, and speaking, and asks up to 10 civics questions (you need 6 correct to pass). The officer can approve your case at the interview, continue it for more evidence or a retest, or deny it — and any corrections to your application should be raised at this stage, not afterward.
Read moreWhat Is Good Moral Character, and What Problems Can Affect It?
Good moral character (GMC) is a required element of naturalization, generally assessed over the five years (or three years, on the marriage-based path) before you file, through the Oath — but USCIS can look further back if relevant. Certain conduct — some criminal convictions, false testimony, failure to pay taxes or support dependents, and more — can bar or weigh against a finding of good moral character, and the analysis is fact-specific, not based on a label alone.
Read moreCan You Apply for Citizenship With an Arrest or Criminal Record?
An arrest or criminal record doesn't automatically disqualify you from naturalizing — but it can trigger a good moral character bar, and in some cases filing can expose you to removal risk you didn't have before. Before you file, get your full record (arrests, dispositions, and outcomes, not just what you remember) and have it screened against both the naturalization requirements and any deportability grounds — offense labels alone don't determine the outcome.
Read moreWhy Has USCIS Not Decided Your N-400 After the Interview?
Under INA 336(b), if USCIS hasn't made a determination within 120 days after your naturalization examination (interview), you may ask a federal district court to decide the matter or send it back to USCIS with instructions. That right is tied to the 120-day clock running from your interview date, not your filing date — and whether pursuing it makes sense in your specific case depends on why the delay is happening.
Read moreWhat Happens If USCIS Denies Your N-400?
A denial isn't the end of your case. Under INA 336(a), you generally have 30 days from the denial notice to file Form N-336 requesting a hearing before a different, more senior USCIS officer, who can affirm or reverse the original decision. Depending on the reason for denial, refiling a new N-400 once the underlying issue is resolved may also be an option — but confirm your actual deadline against your specific notice before assuming either path.
Read moreVideos on citizenship & naturalization
A few real videos from the channel that speak directly to this situation.
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