Curran & Berger

This guide contains a list of documents and general instructions for preparing & filing a N-400 Naturalization Application with the USCIS.  PLEASE NOTE that immigration procedures and filing fees may change.  This guide does not represent legal advice from Curran & Berger.  If you have any questions or concerns about your case, we advise you to speak with an attorney.  You can file your Naturalization Application with the USCIS as early as 90 days prior to your actual date of eligibility.

PLEASE NOTE: The USCIS has announced a new civics component to the Naturalization test that will be implemented in October 2008.

• Forms and a list of fees can be downloaded form the USCIS website.  Please also refer to the USCIS guide to naturalization.
  

Documents you will need to file with the USCIS:

• Form N-400 Application for Naturalization
• Two passport-style photographs (with full name and alien registration number written on back). They must be glossy, unretouched and unmounted, and have a white background.  These photos must be taken within 30 days of submitting to the USCIS. These photos can usually be taken at any local photo shop.  See the photo instructions on the US Department of State website.
• A photocopy of both the front and back of your alien registration card.
• The filing fee and biometric service fee (see USCIS instructions ) in the form of a money order, made payable to "Department of Homeland Security"

If applicable, also include the following:

• If you are a male  and have been a Legal Permanent Resident at any time between the ages of 18 and 25, you must show proof that you have registered for the Selective Service by the time of the interview.
• A name change petition (subject to court approval).
• Form G-325B, if ever in U.S. military.
• Form N-426, if application based on military service.

DO NOT FILE ANY ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS WITH THE USCIS, BUT HAVE THE ORIGINALS IN YOUR POSSESSION IN CASE AT ANY POINT THE USCIS REQUIRES THEM FOR VERIFICATION OF AUTHENTICITY.

REMEMBER TO MAKE A COMPLETE PHOTOCOPY OF ALL DOCUMENTATION YOU SEND TO THE USCIS SERVICE CENTER, FOR YOUR OWN RECORDS.

• Answer all questions by either typing or printing neatly in black ink. If an item is not applicable, write "N/A". If your answer to a question is none, write "none". Leave no areas blank. If you need extra space to answer an item, attach an additional sheet of paper with your full name and alien registration number clearly marked. Also, indicate the number of the item from the application that you are extending to the additional sheet of paper.
• Every application must be properly signed and filed with the correct fee. If you are under 18 years of age, your parent or guardian must sign application.
• If you wish to have your interview scheduled on the same date as another person who is applying for naturalization, request on a separate cover sheet and submit with application documents. Make sure you provide the full name and alien registration number of the other person.

• You have been in lawful permanent resident status for at least five years ; OR
• You have been in lawful permanent resident status for three years, have been married to a U.S. citizen for those three years, and continue to be married to that U.S. citizen; OR
• You are the lawful permanent resident child of U.S. citizen parents; OR
• You have particular qualifying military service;

**Please note that children under 18 years of age may automatically become U.S. citizens when their parents naturalize. This may depend on the particular naturalization process of the parent(s).

• You must not have traveled outside of the U.S. for 30 or more months total, since gaining your lawful permanent resident status. You also must not have traveled outside of the U.S. for any six-month period, in any twelve months, while a lawful permanent resident.
• You must have a comfortable grasp on the English language (in reading, writing, and speaking).
• English waivers are available if: you are 50+ years of age and have been a lawful permanent resident for at least 20 years or you are 55+ years of age and have been a lawful permanent resident for at least 15 years.
• You must be at least 18 years of age with good moral character.

WAIT. Processing times vary tremendously based on workload, priorities and security checks.  The most current processing time report can be found on the USCIS website.  You should receive an I-797 Receipt Notice from the USCIS within 2 months.  You will also receive instructions for having your fingerprints taken at an Application Support Center.  Eventually you will receive a notice with instructions for appearing at a USCIS Field Office for your naturalization interview.

NOTIFY THE USCIS OF ANY ADDRESS CHANGES. If your home address changes at any point after filing your application, inform them in writing using form AR-11 and call the National Customer Service Center 1-800-375-5283 to update your address, or file your change of address through the USCIS website .

STUDY.  Review the Civics and Citizenship Study Materials on the USCIS website, including the sample U.S. History and Government questions .  Also, read the newspaper and keep up on current events. At the time of your interview, if an adult, you must be able to show that you have an understanding of the history, principles, and form of government of the U.S. There is no exemption from this requirement (if you qualify for an English waiver, you can take this portion of the examination in whichever language you choose). You will also be examined on your ability to read, write, and speak English (unless you qualify for an English waiver).

USCIS has begun administering a new, redesigned naturalization test as of October 1, 2008. The following chart will help you determine which test you will take:

What to Bring With You to Your Naturalization Interview:

• Alien registration card and all passports you have in your possession
• All original marriage, divorce, annulment, death certificates
• All original children's birth certificates
• Proof that you have supported all of your children, if applicable
• Federal tax returns from past five years (tax transcripts may be obtained from the IRS if you have not kept copies)
  
• Proof of draft registration (if male, born after 1959, and 18-26 while a lawful permanent resident)
• Impartial interpreter (if exempt from English requirement)

• Bring the original of each document with you to USCIS for your examiner's review. Do not leave any originals with USCIS at the time of the interview. Bring two photocopies of each to avoid surrendering of your originals.
• Arrive promptly at USCIS, dressed conservatively.
• Follow the instructions of the USCIS officers and your USCIS examiner.
• Ask you USCIS examiner his/her name and write it down.

About Getting Sworn in as a U.S. Citizen:

Upon the approval of your application and interview you must take the Oath of Allegiance**. You may choose to have the oath administered in a ceremony conducted by the USCIS or request to be scheduled for an oath ceremony in a court that has jurisdiction over your place of residence. At the time of your interview you will be asked to elect either form of ceremony. You will become a citizen on the date of the oath ceremony and the Attorney General will issue a Certificate of Naturalization as evidence of U.S. citizenship.

** "I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the armed forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God."

If you cannot  promise to bear arms or perform noncombatant service because of religious training and belief, you may omit those statements when taking the oath. "Religious training and belief" means a person's belief in relation to a Supreme Being involving duties superior to those arising from any human relation, but does not include essentially political, sociological, or philosophical views or merely a personal moral code.