Naturalization: A Comprehensive Guide to the N 400 Process

85 questions on naturalization, answered and cited by the UpLaw editorial team.

• Can an applicant satisfy physical presence and still fail continuous residence?
• Can lawful state cannabis work create a good-moral-character problem?
• Can someone naturalize while on probation?
• Can the oath be modified for a conscientious objector?
• Can the oath itself be waived?
• Does an expungement erase a conviction for naturalization purposes?
• Does an immaterial lie at the naturalization interview matter?
• Does a physically expired green card end permanent resident status?
• Does a post-hoc sentence modification help?
• Does the N-400 reopen whether the green card was lawfully obtained?
• Does the oath's renunciation clause end the applicant's other citizenship?
• Do unpaid taxes bar naturalization?
• How can naturalized citizenship be revoked?
• How do absences of different lengths affect continuous residence?
• How do children become citizens without filing an N-400?
• How does an applicant rebut the six-to-twelve-month presumption?
• How does a § 1447(b) delay suit work?
• How does conditional permanent residence interact with naturalization?
• How does immigration law define "residence," and why does intent not matter?
• How does INA § 318 limit the district court's power?
• How do multiple DUI convictions affect good moral character?
• How do the § 316, § 319(a), and § 319(b) paths compare?
• How is a 232-day absence rebutted in practice?
• How many days of physical presence are required?
• How might someone already be a U.S. citizen without knowing it?
• How should an old, pre-LPR misdemeanor be handled in a naturalization case?
• How should practitioners handle the four-years-and-a-day computation?
• How should the N-400's "Have you EVER" questions be answered?
• Is filing an N-336 required before going to federal court?
• Is military naturalization ever revocable?
• Over what period must good moral character be shown, and can USCIS look further back?
• What are the age-and-residence exemptions from the English requirement?
• What are the biometrics and timing deadlines that matter?
• What are the conditional bars in 8 C.F.R. § 316.10(b)(3)?
• What are the elements of the three-year spousal path under INA § 319(a)?
• What are the recurring traps in naturalization practice?
• What are the remaining traps to carry as a checklist?
• What are the requirements for a Form N-648 medical disability exception?
• What are the statutory good-moral-character bars under INA § 101(f)?
• What are the three cautions about Form N-470?
• What are the three post-denial tools, and how do they differ?
• What belongs in the N-400 evidence packet?
• What counts as a "conviction" under immigration law?
• What did Fedorenko, Pangilinan, and Berenyi establish about naturalization?
• What does "attachment to the principles of the Constitution" require?
• What does INA § 312 require, and how are the tests administered?
• What does INA § 316(a) require?
• What does INA § 319(b) do for the spouse of a citizen posted abroad?
• What does INA § 328 offer a peacetime military applicant?
• What does INA § 329 offer for service during hostilities?
• What does "living in marital union" actually require?
• What does naturalization actually buy?
• What does the oath of allegiance require?
• What fee relief is available for the N-400?
• What happens at the naturalization interview, in order?
• What happens if a citizen mistakenly files an N-400?
• What happens if a marriage fails while an N-400 is pending?
• What happens if an applicant fails the English or civics test?
• What is a Form N-14, and when should an attorney attend the interview?
• What is an N-336 hearing?
• What is Form AR-11 and why does it matter to naturalization?
• What is Form N-445, and why is it the last trap?
• What is naturalization, and why is it entirely a creature of statute?
• What is the 90-day early filing window, and what are its limits?
• What is the difference between an administrative and a judicial oath ceremony?
• What is the "four years and one day" reset?
• What is the removal-exposure audit, and why is it not optional?
• What is the three-month state or district residency requirement?
• What is the VAWA carve-out to the marital-union requirement?
• What makes 8 U.S.C. § 1421(c) review the crown jewel of naturalization procedure?
• What permanently bars naturalization?
• What requirements does the statute add outside § 316(a)?
• What should a new citizen do immediately after the oath?
• What three habits make a naturalization case succeed?
• When does the five-year clock start?
• Who can file a Form N-470 to preserve residence?
• Why can two clients with the "same" misdemeanor in different states land on opposite sides of a bar?
• Why does the accuracy of the N-400 matter decades later?
• Why is a DMV voter-registration checkbox so dangerous?
• Why is an applicant with no gaps in an unusually strong position?
• Why is confusing a re-entry permit with continuous residence so damaging?
• Why is filing a Form 1040-NR so dangerous for a green-card holder?
• Why is naturalization simultaneously the most generous and the most exacting thing the immigration system does?
• Why must trip dates on the N-400 be reconciled against CBP records before filing?
• Why should the N-400 be treated as an audit rather than a form?