CITIZENSHIP & NATURALIZATION FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Generally, one must be a Permanent Resident (green card holder) for five years prior to applying for U.S. Citizenship. Persons married to a U.S. Citizen spouse can apply in three years. In addition to being eighteen years or older, there are continuous residence requirements limiting the length and duration of overseas stays, physical presence requirements during the three or five year period, and a three month in state residency requirement. The applicant must show good moral conduct by complying with criminal and tax laws. Lastly, the applicant must pass a civic and history examine at the interview while demonstrating their proficiency in the English language.

• General Naturalization Requirements
• Applicants must be at least 18 years old.
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  An applicant must have been lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence.
• Has resided continuously as a lawful permanent resident in the U.S. for at least 5 years prior to filing with no single absence from the United States of more than one year;
• Has been physically present in the United States for at least 30 months out of the previous five years (absences of more than six months but less than one year shall disrupt the applicant's continuity of residence unless the applicant can establish that he or she did not abandon his or her residence during such period)
• Has resided within a state or district for at least three months
• Possesses good Moral Character
• Generally, an applicant must show that he or she has been a person of good moral character for the statutory period (typically five years or three years if married to a U.S. citizen or one year for Armed Forces expedite) prior to filing for naturalization.

A person also cannot be found to be a person of good moral character if during the last five years he or she:

• has committed and been convicted of one or more crimes involving moral turpitude
• has committed and been convicted of 2 or more offenses for which the total sentence imposed was 5 years or more
• has committed and been convicted of any controlled substance law, except for a single offense of simple possession of 30 grams or less of marijuana
• has been confined to a penal institution during the statutory period, as a result of a conviction, for an aggregate period of 180 days or more
• has committed and been convicted of two or more gambling offenses
• is or has earned his or her principal income from illegal gambling
• is or has been involved in prostitution or commercialized vice
• is or has been involved in smuggling illegal aliens into the United States
• is or has been a habitual drunkard
• is practicing or has practiced polygamy
• has willfully failed or refused to support dependents
• has given false testimony, under oath, in order to receive a benefit under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

An applicant must disclose all relevant facts to the Service, including his or her entire criminal history, regardless of whether the criminal history disqualifies the applicant under the enumerated provisions.

An applicant must show that he or she is attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States.

Language
Applicants for naturalization must be able to read, write, speak, and understand words in ordinary usage in the English language. Applicants exempt from this 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.