Citizenship & Naturalization
Becoming a U.S. citizen: naturalization eligibility and the N-400, the citizenship test and interview, dual citizenship, and citizenship passed down through parents.
All Citizenship & Naturalization guides
- What to Do If Your Naturalization Is Denied (Form N-336)
N-400 denied? Learn your options: file Form N-336 within 30 days, ask a federal court to review, or reapply. Deadlines and steps explained.
- Naturalizing as the Spouse of a U.S. Citizen (the 3-Year Rule)
How permanent residents married to a U.S. citizen may naturalize in 3 years instead of 5, and the marital-union rules that apply.
- U.S. Citizenship Through Military Service
How service members and some military family members can qualify for expedited U.S. citizenship, plus posthumous citizenship rules.
- English and Civics Test Exemptions (and the N-648 Medical Waiver)
Who qualifies for the 50/20, 55/15, and 65/20 naturalization test exemptions, and how the N-648 medical waiver works.
- The Child Citizenship Act: Automatic Citizenship for Children
How a child who is a lawful permanent resident automatically becomes a U.S. citizen when a parent naturalizes, and how to prove it with Form N-600.
- Naturalization and the Good Moral Character Requirement
USCIS reviews taxes, Selective Service, child support, and honesty for naturalization good moral character - what can delay or deny your case.
- Citizenship for Children Born Abroad to U.S. Citizens (the CRBA)
How a child born outside the U.S. can be a citizen at birth through a citizen parent, and how to document it with a CRBA or N-600K.
- The Naturalization Ceremony and Oath of Allegiance
What happens at the naturalization ceremony, how to modify or waive the Oath of Allegiance, and how to fix an error on your citizenship certificate.
- The Risk of Registering to Vote (or Voting) Before Citizenship
Registering or voting as a noncitizen — even by DMV mistake — can trigger a false-claim-to-citizenship bar, denial, and removal. Here's the law and what to do.
- How a Criminal Record Affects Naturalization
How a criminal record can block, delay, or permanently bar naturalization - and when applying could risk removal instead.
- How Trips Abroad Can Break Continuous Residence for Citizenship
A trip of 6 months to a year can raise a presumption your residence broke; a year or more usually breaks it outright. What to know before naturalizing.
- Citizenship Through Parents: Derived and Acquired
Some children are already U.S. citizens through a parent, no naturalization needed. How acquisition, derivation, and proof work.
- Can You Lose Your U.S. Citizenship?
U.S. citizenship is hard to lose. Living abroad, dual citizenship, and foreign voting are safe - only intentional renunciation or fraud risk it.
- Denaturalization: When U.S. Citizenship Is Revoked
Denaturalization revokes citizenship only for naturalized citizens who lied or committed fraud to get it — a rare, high-burden federal court process.
- Getting a U.S. Passport After You Naturalize
How to apply for your first U.S. passport after naturalizing, using your Certificate of Naturalization, plus the passport card option.
- Trips Abroad and the Continuous-Residence Rule for Naturalization (Form N-470)
Trips of 6+ months risk your naturalization clock; 1+ year breaks it automatically. How Form N-470 can preserve residence for qualifying work abroad.
- Expedited Naturalization for Spouses of Americans Working Abroad (319(b))
A little-known fast track lets some spouses of U.S. citizens stationed abroad for work skip the usual residence and presence rules to naturalize.
- Naturalization Eligibility and the N-400
Naturalization eligibility basics and the N-400 process explained plainly, with current rules on residence, civics testing, and deadlines.
- Back Taxes and Overdue Child Support at Naturalization
Owing taxes or child support isn't an automatic naturalization bar - what USCIS weighs, and how to document a payment plan.
- Dual Citizenship Explained
Does the U.S. allow dual citizenship? Yes — naturalizing does not require giving up your other nationality, but the other country's laws decide the rest.
- How to Renounce U.S. Citizenship
Renouncing U.S. citizenship requires an in-person oath at a U.S. embassy abroad, a fee, and IRS exit steps. It is final once approved.
- Selective Service Registration and Naturalization
Most men who lived in the U.S. between 18-25 had to register with Selective Service; unregistered men now face a good-moral-character check at naturalization.
- How to Become a U.S. Citizen
The three paths to U.S. citizenship: birth in the U.S., birth abroad to a citizen parent, and naturalization via Form N-400.
- The Citizenship Test and Interview: What to Expect
What happens at your naturalization interview, the English and civics tests, age/disability exemptions, and what happens if you fail a part.
- Certificate of Citizenship vs. Naturalization (Form N-600)
Already a U.S. citizen through a parent? You don't naturalize — you prove it with Form N-600, not the N-400.