U.S. Citizenship Through Marriage

To apply under this eligibility category, you must be 18 years of age or older.

You must be legally married to a U.S. citizen for the entire three years before you apply. The marriage must still be ongoing at the time you file and up through the Oath Ceremony. In the event of a divorce, or even your spouse’s death, you would no longer qualify for this eligibility category and would have to apply under the general provision (five years as a permanent resident).

You must have lived together in a real, continuing marriage for the past three years. USCIS will ask for proof that you reside together and share a life — not just a legal marriage.

Your spouse must have been a U.S. citizen for the entire three years leading up to your application. Even if you were married, time before they became a citizen doesn’t count toward the three years.

You must have your permanent resident status for three years before you can apply for citizenship through marriage. Your time as a permanent resident begins the day you were granted permanent resident status. You can find the date on your green card next to "Resident Since."

However, the rules do allow you to file your Form N-400 application up to 90 days before the three-year anniversary of your admission date. In the example above, a person who has been a permanent resident since 01/01/2010 would meet this requirement on 10/3/2012. That's 90 days before they reach the three-year mark.

You must have lived in the United States as a permanent resident without any long trips abroad. USCIS will presume that any absence of six months or more has disrupted your continuous residence requirement.

You may take temporary trips abroad but must maintain ties to the U.S. and should generally keep your absences less than 90 days if possible. Additionally, you must maintain this requirement from the date of filing the application until the time naturalization is finalized. Again, you may take a temporary trip abroad during the naturalization process, but you cannot relocate your home to another country.

CitizenPath's online service to prepare Form N-400 will help you verify that you meet the continuous residence requirement for citizenship through parents (three years). For a more detailed discussion about this requirement, review our explanation of the Continuous Residence Requirement for Naturalization.

Out of the last three years, you must have been physically present in the U.S. for at least 18 months (about 548 days total). Short trips abroad are okay as long as you meet this total. Physical presence is a cumulative requirement. Therefore, you must add up all the days you have been physically present on U.S. soil.

CitizenPath's online service to prepare Form N-400 will help you verify that you meet the physical presence for citizenship through parents (three years). For a more detailed discussion about this requirement, review our explanation of the Physical Presence Requirement for Naturalization.

You must have lived in the same U.S. state or USCIS service district for at least three months before filing your application.

Therefore, if you have recently moved to a new state, you generally must wait three months before filing Form N-400.

Everybody makes mistakes; you aren't expected to be perfect. The United States wants new citizens to be of good moral character, attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States, and well disposed to the good order and happiness of the United States during all relevant periods under the law. USCIS looks at your record over the last three years to confirm good moral character. Crimes, unpaid taxes, or dishonesty can cause problems, even if they happened outside the U.S.

If you are concerned that your moral character may be in question due to even a minor incident, you should consult an immigration attorney before filing Form N-400.

You’ll need to show basic English skills during your naturalization interview. Additionally, most applicants must pass a short test on U.S. history and government (also known as civics). You shouldn't be intimidated. It's very easy to study for the civics test. For certain applicants, USCIS does provide some English language exceptions and medical disability exceptions. Learn more about these exceptions, get ready for the interview, and see actual practice test questions on CitizenPath's page for How to Prepare for the U.S. Citizenship Test & Interview.