Naturalization applicants must meet the age requirements of being 18 years or older of age.

In general, an applicant for naturalization must be at least 18 years old and must establish that he or she has been lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence at the time of filing the naturalization application.An applicant is not lawfully admitted for permanent residence in accordance with all applicable provisions of the Immigration Nationality Act if his or her permanent resident status was obtained by mistake or fraud, or if the admission was otherwise not in compliance with the law.

In determining an applicant’s eligibility for naturalization, USCIS must determine whether the permanent resident status was lawfully obtained, not just whether the applicant is in possession of a Permanent Resident Card. The Permanent resident card alone, however, is insufficient to establish that the applicant has been lawfully admitted for permanent residence in accordance with all applicable provisions of the Immigration Nationality Act. If the status was not lawfully obtained for any reason, the applicant is not lawfully admitted for permanent residence in accordance with all applicable provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act, and is ineligible for naturalization even though the applicant possesses a permanent resident card.

A permanent resident must reside in the U.S. for certain number of years before applying for naturalization. The duration of continuous residence requirement depends on the type of application.

   I.    If you have been a permanent resident for the last 5 years and have no other special conditions, you must reside in the U.S. for a continuous period of 5 years after lawful admission to the U.S. as a permanent resident.

   II.   If you are currently married to and living with U.S. citizen, AND have been in the marriage with the same U.S. citizen for the last 3 years, AND your spouse has been the U.S. citizen for the past 3 years, you must reside in the U.S. for a continuous period of 3 years after lawful admission to the U.S. as a permanent resident.

Mere possession of a permanent resident card for the period of time required for continuous residence does not in itself establish the applicant’s continuous residence for naturalization purposes. The applicant must demonstrate actual maintenance of his or her principal dwelling place in the United States through testimony and documentation.

Absence from the U.S. for prolonged period of time might break the continuity of the applicant’s residence in the U.S. Get familiar below how duration of your absence may affect the continuity of the residence requirement:

1. Absence from the U.S. for 6 months or less. If you have left the U.S. for less than 6 months, you continuous residence has not been broken for naturalization purposes.
2. Absence from the U.S. for more than 6 months but less than 1 year. An absence of more than six months (more than 181 days but less than one year (less than 365 days)) during the period for which continuous residence is required is presumed to break the continuity of such residence. This includes any absence that takes place prior to filing the naturalization application or between filing and the applicant’s admission to citizenship.
   An applicant may overcome the presumption of loss of his or her continuity of residence by providing evidence to establish that the applicant did not disrupt his or her residence. The evidence may include, but is not limited to, documentation that during the absence: (1) the applicant maintained his or her employment in the United States or obtain employment while abroad; (2) the applicant’s immediate family remained in the United States; (3 )The applicant retained full access to his or her place of residence in the United States.
3. Absence from the U.S. for 1 year or more. An absence from the United States for a continuous period of one year or more (365 days or more) during the period for which continuous residence is required will break the continuity of residence. This applies whether the absence takes place prior to or after filing the naturalization application. If continuous residency is broken, you may apply for naturalization in 4 years and 1 day (or 2 years and 1 day if the 3 year period applies to you) following the date of your return to the U.S. to resume your continuous residency.

So, if you are planning to spend more than 1 year outside the U.S., it is advisable to obtain a Reentry Permit in order to preserve your permanent residency status in the U.S. If you fail to obtain reentry permit and spend more than a year outside the U.S., you risk to abandon your legal permanent resident status and be put in removal proceeding by Customs Border Protection for coming to the U.S. without any immigration status.

Physical presence refers to the time you actually spend in the U.S. Most applicants must be physically present in the U.S. for at least one half of the total required period of continuous residence. This means most applicants would need to show 30 months of physical presence in the U.S. out of the 5 years. The spouse of a U.S. citizen, applying after 3 years of residence status, would need to show 18 months of physical presence.

The applicant must demonstrate actual physical presence in the United States through documentation. USCIS will review all of the relevant records to assist with the determination of whether the applicant has met the required period of physical presence. The applicant's testimony will also be considered in determining whether the applicant met the required period of physical presence.

In general, an applicant for naturalization must file his or her application for naturalization with the State or Service District that has jurisdiction over his or her place of residence. The applicant must have resided in that location for at least 3 months prior to filing.

In cases where an applicant changes or plans to change his or her residence after filing the naturalization application, the applicant is required to report the change of address to USCIS so that the applicant’s A-file (with application) can be transferred to the appropriate office having jurisdiction over the applicant’s new place of residence.

An applicant for naturalization must show that he or she has been, and continues to be, a person of good moral character. In general, the applicant must show good moral character during the 5-year period immediately preceding his or her application for naturalization and up to the time of the Oath of Allegiance. Conduct prior to the 5 year period may also impact whether the applicant meets the requirement.

While USCIS determines whether an applicant has met the good moral character requirement on a case-by-case basis, certain types of criminal conduct automatically preclude applicants from establishing good moral character and may make the applicant subject to removal proceedings An applicant may also be found to lack good moral character for other types of criminal conduct (or unlawful acts). For more information about immigration consequences of criminal acts, please read here.

In order to be admitted to citizenship, naturalization applicants must take the Oath of Allegiance in a public ceremony. At that time, an applicant declares his or her attachment to the United States and its Constitution. In order to be admitted to citizenship:

• The applicant must understand that he or she is taking the Oath freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion.
• The applicant must understand that he or she is sincerely and absolutely renouncing all foreign allegiance.
• The applicant must understand that he or she is giving true faith and allegiance to the United States, its Constitution and laws.
• The applicant must understand that he or she is intending to make the United States his or her permanent home where he or she will fully assume residency.
• The applicant must understand that he or she is discharging all duties and obligations of citizenship including military and civil service when required by the law.

The applicant’s true faith and allegiance to the United States includes supporting and defending the principles of the Constitution by demonstrating an acceptance of the democratic, representational process established by the U.S. Constitution, and the willingness to obey the laws which result from that process.

The naturalization test consists of two components:

• English language proficiency, which is determined by the applicant’s ability to read, write, speak and understand English.
• Knowledge of U.S. history and government, which is determined by a civics test.

An applicant has two opportunities to pass the English and civics tests: the initial examination and the re-examination interview.

If an applicant fails any portion of the English test, the civics test, or all tests during the initial naturalization examination, USCIS will reschedule the applicant to appear for a second examination between 60 and 90 days after the initial examination.

In cases where the applicant appears for a re-examination, the reexamining officer must not administer the same English or civics test forms administered during the initial examination. The officer must only retest the applicant in those areas that the applicant previously failed. For example, if the applicant passed the English speaking, reading, and civics portions but failed the writing portion during the initial examination, the officer must only administer the English writing test during the re-examination.

If an applicant fails any portion of the naturalization test a second time, the officer must deny the application based upon the applicant’s failure to meet the educational requirements for naturalization.

An applicant may be eligible for an exception to the English requirements if he or she is a certain age and has been a lawful permanent resident for a certain period of time. In addition, an applicant who has a physical or developmental disability or mental impairment may be eligible for a medical exception of both the English and civics requirements. For more information about an Exception to the English and Civics Requirement please read here.