What the law asks of you
- Permanent residence — generally five years as a green card holder, or three if you are married to and living with a United States citizen.
- Continuous residence — you must not have broken the continuity of residence — long absences can, and a year or more generally does.
- Physical presence — you must have been physically in the country for at least half of the qualifying period.
- Good moral character — for the statutory period, and the officer may look further back.
- English and civics — unless an age-and-residence exemption or a disability waiver applies.
- Attachment to the Constitution — and willingness to take the oath of allegiance.
An N-400 is a review of your whole record
This is the part people underestimate. The application is short, but filing it invites a careful look backwards: how you obtained residence, every trip you have taken, every address and employer, your tax filings, your Selective Service registration, and every arrest — including ones that were dismissed, expunged or never charged.
A problem found at that stage does not merely deny the application. It can put an existing green card at risk, and in the worst cases it starts removal proceedings. That is why we review a record before an application goes in.
The interview
You will be tested on English reading, writing and speaking, and on civics, and the officer will go through the application with you under oath, question by question. Answers that differ from what is on the form are where trouble starts.
We prepare clients on the specific parts of their own record that will be asked about, and on the civics material. Clients who know what is coming do not find the interview difficult.
Why naturalise at all
Beyond the vote and the passport, citizenship ends the possibility of removal, lets you petition for parents, married children and siblings, and removes the risk that a long trip or an old conviction quietly costs you your status.
For many families it is also the step that finally makes the rest of the family's petitions move.
Questions we are asked about this
I have been outside the country for long periods. Is that a problem?
It can be. Absences of more than six months raise a presumption that continuous residence was broken, and absences of a year or more generally do break it. There are ways to preserve residence for certain work abroad, but they have to be set up in advance.
Do I have to disclose an arrest that was dismissed?
Yes. The question asks about arrests, not convictions, and answering it incorrectly is far more damaging than the underlying incident usually is. Bring us the records and we will tell you what it means.
Can I apply if I owe taxes or child support?
Owing money is not automatically disqualifying, but ignoring it is a serious problem for good moral character. A documented payment arrangement being honoured is a very different thing from an unaddressed debt.