FormN-400
Application for Naturalization
Naturalization is the final filing in an immigration life, and it is the one people most often file alone. Most of those applications are fine. The ones that are not tend to fail on facts the applicant did not know mattered.
In plain English
The last filing. Permanent resident becomes United States citizen.
Before we file, we audit the five years behind you — or three, if you are naturalizing through a U.S. citizen spouse. Continuous residence, physical presence, tax filing status, selective service registration, and every trip abroad longer than six months. A naturalization interview is also a review of how you got your green card, and any weakness in that original case surfaces here.
We prepare you for the civics and English examination and for the interview itself, including the questions that follow from travel, taxes, arrests, or a marriage that has since ended.
For applicants who qualify, we file for a disability exception to the testing requirement, or request an accommodation. For applicants over the age of fifty with long residence, we confirm whether the English requirement applies to you at all.
§ 01Sequence
How a Form N-400 case actually moves.
- 01
Eligibility audit
Residence, physical presence, tax status, and good moral character.
- 02
Application
Filed with the complete travel history and supporting record.
- 03
Biometrics
Fingerprints and background check.
- 04
Examination
English and civics test, and interview on the application.
- 05
Oath
Naturalization ceremony and the certificate of citizenship.
§ 02 · Preparation
What you will be asked to gather.
Bring what you have to the consultation, including the documents you are unsure about. Missing items are identified there, not three months into the case.
- Permanent resident card, front and back
- Every passport held since becoming a resident
- A complete list of trips outside the United States with dates
- Tax transcripts for the qualifying period
- Marriage and divorce records, if naturalizing through a spouse
Where these cases go wrong.
Not hypotheticals. These are the recurring reasons a Form N-400 filing is delayed, questioned, or denied.
- 01A single trip abroad longer than six months, unexplained.
- 02Filing taxes as a non-resident after becoming a permanent resident.
- 03An arrest during the good moral character period, including a dismissed one.
- 04Applying when the underlying green card was obtained on a record that will not survive review.
§ 03Related filings
A case is rarely one form.
Most clients file two or three of these over several years. Knowing the sequence in advance is how you avoid paying twice for the same evidence.
- I-130Petition for Alien RelativeProves the family relationship that makes a green card possible.Family
- I-485Application to Register Permanent ResidenceTurns an approved petition into a green card without leaving the country.Green card
- I-751Petition to Remove Conditions on ResidenceConverts a two-year conditional green card into a permanent one.Green card
- I-601Application for Waiver of Grounds of InadmissibilityAsks the government to forgive a bar that would otherwise end the case.Waivers
- I-129FPetition for Alien Fiancé(e)Brings a fiancé(e) to the United States to marry within ninety days.Abroad
- DS-260Immigrant Visa Application — Consular ProcessingThe path to a green card for a relative who is still outside the country.Abroad
Start here
Ask about Form N-400 before you file it, not after.
A short conversation about your record will tell you whether this is the right filing, what it will need, and what could go wrong. That conversation is with the attorney.