Status as of October 26, 2026. Most green card holders can apply for U.S. citizenship with Form N-400 after five years as lawful permanent residents. Some spouses of U.S. citizens can apply through a three-year route. USCIS generally permits filing up to 90 days before the required continuous-residence anniversary – but that does not waive the other eligibility rules. People filing N-400 now normally take the 2025 civics test: 12 correct answers out of up to 20 questions drawn from 128.
Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, is the application most adult permanent residents use to become U.S. citizens. It is not the form for someone who already acquired U.S. citizenship at birth or through a parent. Start with the official USCIS N-400 application page. This step-by-step guide focuses on when to apply, how to prepare the application, the citizenship test, and what happens before the oath. For an overview of citizenship pathways, read FACTUM's U.S. Citizenship and Naturalization hub.
When can you apply for citizenship after getting a green card?
Five-year rule: Most applicants must be at least 18 and have held lawful permanent residence for at least five years. They generally must have lived continuously in the United States for that period, spent at least 30 months (913 days) physically inside the country, and resided for at least three months in the relevant state or USCIS district before filing.
Three-year rule for spouses: Some permanent residents may apply after three years when married to a U.S. citizen who has been a citizen throughout the required period. The applicant generally must have been married and living in marital union with that spouse for the required three years, meet continuous residence, and have at least 18 months (548 days) of physical presence. Marriage alone does not make every green card holder eligible after three years. See USCIS's official N-400 instructions for exceptions and details.
Other routes: Certain U.S. military service members and other special applicants may have different rules. People who may already be citizens through a parent should check citizenship documentation procedures rather than assuming they need N-400.
Can you file N-400 90 days before five or three years?
Generally yes, but the early-filing provision applies to the required period of continuous residence, not to every condition for naturalization. For example, a spouse relying on the three-year rule must already satisfy the separate marriage and marital-union requirements at filing. Filing 90 days before three years of marriage, when the marriage itself has not reached three years, can be too early. Other eligibility requirements must also be met when required by law. Check the USCIS Early Filing Calculator rather than subtracting three calendar months; 90 days is not necessarily three months.
Do trips abroad affect the citizenship waiting period?
Continuous residence and physical presence are different tests. Physical presence counts time actually spent in the United States; continuous residence asks whether the applicant maintained residence in the country. An absence of more than six months but less than a year during the qualifying period generally raises a rebuttable presumption that continuous residence was broken. An absence of one year or more generally breaks continuity unless a statutory exception or approved preservation procedure applies. Multiple shorter trips can also leave someone short of the 30- or 18-month physical-presence minimum.
Review all passport stamps and travel history before filing. Maintaining a valid green card during a long trip does not automatically satisfy citizenship residence requirements. USCIS also generally requires continued residence during the period between filing and taking the oath.
What documents do you need for Form N-400?
The supporting evidence depends on your eligibility basis and history. Use the current form instructions and checklist, not an unverified checklist from a commercial site. Common preparation steps include:
Confirm the “Resident Since” date on your green card and the relevant five- or three-year basis.
Prepare the requested identity and permanent-residence information, address and employment history, and dates of every trip abroad covered by the form.
If using the three-year spouse route, prepare proof of the spouse's U.S. citizenship, qualifying marriage and marital union. Prior marriages or name changes may require records.
Answer all questions on criminal history, taxes, immigration history, affiliations, and other good-moral-character issues fully and accurately. Obtain certified dispositions or other records if your circumstances require them; do not hide arrests even when a case was dismissed.
Confirm current fees, the correct form edition, payment method and filing option. Depending on eligibility, an applicant may file online or by mail. Certain reduced-fee or fee-waiver requests require a paper application and supporting request.
USCIS continues to evaluate good moral character, including conduct during the applicable statutory period and relevant earlier conduct. If you have arrests, lengthy trips, unpaid obligations, voting or registration issues, or immigration-status complications, consider qualified advice before submitting N-400 rather than guessing about eligibility.
How much does N-400 cost in 2026?
At the time this guide was checked, USCIS listed different filing fees for online and paper submissions and provided qualifying reduced-fee or fee-waiver routes. A June 2026 proposed rule would increase naturalization fees and eliminate most reduced-fee and waiver options, but a proposal is not itself an effective final fee. Before paying, use the official USCIS Form G-1055 Fee Schedule and current N-400 instructions for the amount, exemptions and payment method applicable to your submission. Do not pay a service advertising a “guaranteed approval.”
What happens after you file N-400?
USCIS receipt: retain the I-797 receipt notice and your account number or case receipt number. Update your address with USCIS if you move.
Biometrics, if required: follow the appointment notice. USCIS may reuse previously collected biometrics in appropriate cases.
Naturalization interview: an officer reviews your application, identity, residence, travel and eligibility, and normally administers the English and civics examinations. Bring the documents requested in your appointment notice, including your green card and travel documents.
Decision: USCIS may approve, continue for evidence or retesting, or deny, explaining the decision and any available hearing rights.
Oath ceremony: generally, you do not become a U.S. citizen until taking the Oath of Allegiance. After the ceremony you receive a Certificate of Naturalization.
The complete citizenship timeline is not simply the five- or three-year residence rule plus a fixed number of USCIS months. The residence period is eligibility before filing; case processing, an interview and the oath occur after filing. Local USCIS workloads vary. For a current estimate select N-400 and your field office in USCIS Case Processing Times, and check your actual case through Case Status Online. Do not interpret an estimate as a guaranteed oath date.
What citizenship test will you take in 2026?
If you filed N-400 on or after October 20, 2025: the 2025 naturalization civics test applies. The official question pool has 128 questions; the officer asks up to 20 orally, and you must answer 12 correctly. The officer stops once you have 12 correct or nine incorrect answers. If you filed before October 20, 2025: the older 2008 test generally applies: 100 questions to study, up to 10 asked, with six correct required. It is the N-400 filing date, not the interview date, that determines which test applies.
Most applicants also demonstrate basic English speaking, reading and writing. Study using USCIS's official test-preparation page and its 128-question 2025 civics list, rather than old prep videos that may use the wrong test version. Some civics answers change after elections and appointments; confirm current answers shortly before the interview.
Can you take the citizenship test without English?
Some applicants qualify for exceptions or accommodations. The 50/20 exception (age 50 or older with at least 20 years of permanent residence) and the 55/15 exception (age 55 or older with at least 15 years) generally remove the English test requirement; applicants still must pass civics, usually with an interpreter. Under the 65/20 rule, applicants age 65 or older with at least 20 years as permanent residents receive special civics consideration: a list of 20 selected questions, 10 asked, six correct to pass. Qualifying medical disabilities may support an exception through Form N-648. Age/time eligibility for these exceptions generally must exist when N-400 is filed. See USCIS Exceptions and Accommodations.
Questions people ask before filing N-400
Can I apply if my green card has expired?
Expiry of the physical 10-year card does not by itself end lawful permanent resident status. Some N-400 receipt notices can extend evidence of card validity, but verify the actual receipt wording and your need for current documentation. You still must meet all naturalization requirements.
Does marrying a U.S. citizen guarantee citizenship after three years?
No. The three-year route has separate requirements for the marriage, citizenship of the spouse, residence, physical presence, moral character and other eligibility conditions.
Can I apply for N-400 while asylum is still pending?
A pending asylum application by itself does not qualify someone for naturalization. The usual N-400 routes generally require lawful permanent residence first; people who may already be citizens through a parent have a different process.
Is the N-400 interview the day I become a citizen?
Usually not. Approval at the interview is not the final citizenship event: the oath generally completes naturalization, either later or at a same-day ceremony if USCIS offers one.