Filing an N-400 Application: Timing Issues

Both your basic eligibility for naturalization and the timing of your U.S. citizenship application are important to success.

By , J.D. · University of Washington School of Law

The N-400 form, produced by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), is what U.S. lawful permanent residents must fill out in order to apply for U.S. citizenship through the process known as naturalization. However, both your basic eligibility and the timing of your application are important to understand before submitting this form (and paying the high fee for it; a minimum of $640 in early 2024, going up to a minimum $710 on April 1, 2024).

With rare exceptions, people who haven't yet become permanent residents are not allowed to apply to naturalize at all. And once you've become a U.S. permanent resident, you'll need to consider the following timing issues:

  • your age
  • how long you've been a U.S. permanent (or conditional) resident
  • whether you've been physically present in the United States for the required amount of time before applying to naturalize
  • whether you've broken the continuity of your U.S. residence with any long stays outside the United States
  • whether you've lived in the same U.S. state for the required amount of time before applying to naturalize, and
  • when you actually submit the application.

We'll cover these in more detail below.

Your Age When Applying to Naturalize

You must be at least 18 years of age in order to apply for naturalized U.S. citizenship. (However, there are situations in which younger people can obtain U.S. citizenship automatically, through their parents.)

How Long You've Been a U.S. Permanent (or Conditional) Resident Before Applying to Naturalize

You are required to have lived in the United States as a lawful permanent resident for at least five years before applying to naturalize—though exceptions exist, as described next.

If you got your U.S. residence as a refugees or asylee, you will benefit from something called "rollback," which allows you to count some of the time before you actually applied for your green card as if you already had permanent residence. If you entered the U.S. as a refugee, you can count all the time starting on your day of entry in the U.S., no matter how long it took you to apply for your green card. If you received asylum within the U.S., you can count one year of your asylum status toward your permanent residence. (Note: In either case, your green card will show the rolled-back date, so you'll still need to count five years from that date.)

Spouses of U.S. citizens, who have been married and living with the citizen for the last three years, can apply to naturalize after three, rather than five years with a green card.

And battered spouses who got their green cards based on marriage to a U.S. citizen, but who filed independently based on a law called VAWA (using Form I-360) due to the abuse, can also use this three-year exception.

U.S. military personnel and their spouses (or widows and widowers) can also make use of various exceptions. For example, those who have served honorably for one year and got an honorable discharge can apply to naturalize without waiting beyond the date they get their green card—but must apply within six months of discharge. And people who served in certain conflicts (including all the major wars in the last century) can apply for U.S. citizenship even without getting a green card first.

How Long You've Been Physically Present in the United States

You must have lived in the United States for at least half of your five years of permanent residence. Or, if an exception allows you to apply to naturalize in less time, you must have lived in the U.S. for half that amount of time—18 months for spouses of U.S. citizens, for example.

Whether You've Maintained Continuous Presence in the United States Before Applying to Naturalize

You'll need to have not only lived and been "physically present" in the United States for a certain number of years, but not have broken up your residency with any long absences. An absence of six months or more will raise a presumption that you've broken your continuous presence by living in another country. In the worst case, U.S. immigration authorities could decide that you abandoned your U.S. residence altogether, and thus effectively gave up your right to a green card (in which case you'd be placed in removal proceedings, in immigration court).

How Long You've Lived in the U.S. State Where You Plan to Submit Your N-400 Application

Three months is the minimum time in which you need to have lived in a particular state within the United States, or particular USCIS service district, before submitting an application to naturalize. That's because, although your application is initially sent to a central processing center, it will ultimately be reviewed by the nearest USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) office to you, and you'll attend your interview there.

If you move to a new state that's close to where you lived before, you might find that you get lucky and remain within the same "service district" over which one USCIS office has jurisdiction. (This is more likely to happen in the Northeast, where states are small and one USCIS office might serve a large area.) The easiest way to check your service district is to enter your new and old zip codes into USCIS's field office locator, and see if the same USCIS office serves both.

Also, if you live in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), those fall within the definition of a "state" for purposes of this naturalization requirement.

The Earliest You Can Submit Your N-400 Application

You must submit the completed Form N-400 either online or to the USCIS service center having jurisdiction over your place of residence in the United States. (USCIS's N-400 page will give you the exact address.) Because USCIS tends to be quite delayed, you're allowed to submit the application up to 90 days before you've actually reached your five years (or fewer years, if you fall into an exception).

There's no upper limit on how long you can wait to submit Form N-400. Many permanent residents live in the U.S. for decades before deciding to become citizens.

What Happens After Submitting Form N-400 to USCIS

The time it takes USCIS to process an N-400 form is typically several months , and over a year in some cases. This can vary by region and depending on the number of people who apply at the same time. Check the USCIS processing times page for the latest in your region.

After USCIS does a basic review to make sure the application you've sent in is complete, and that you've paid your fee, you will be asked to report for fingerprinting and other data collection (biometrics).

Several weeks after that, USCIS will call you in for a personal interview, at which you'll be examined on your English and tested on your knowledge of U.S. history and government. The official will then decide whether you qualify for U.S. citizenship.

If you do, then you'll later be called in for a swearing-in ceremony, where you'll actually receive a Certificate of Citizenship.

Getting Legal Help With Your Naturalization Application

If you have any doubts about any aspect of your eligibility or the proper timing of your N-400 application, consult an experienced U.S. immigration attorney. The attorney can assist you in all aspects of the naturalization process and accompany you to the interview.