Can You Become a U.S. Citizen With a Felony?

Yes, you can become a U.S. citizen with a felony on your record in many cases, but some felonies bar you permanently and others block you until enough time has passed. The outcome turns on what the felony was, when it happened, and what your life has looked like since. And filing the application itself carries a real risk: if USCIS finds you are deportable, it can refer you to immigration court instead of simply denying you.

Felonies That Bar You Forever

Three categories of criminal history permanently disqualify you from establishing the “good moral character” every naturalization applicant must show. No waiver, no waiting period, no rehabilitation argument changes the result.

Murder

A murder conviction at any point in your life is a standalone permanent bar. It does not matter when the conviction happened.¹

Aggravated Felonies On or After November 29, 1990

A conviction for an “aggravated felony” on or after November 29, 1990, is a permanent bar.¹ The term is defined by federal immigration law and is much broader than it sounds. A crime your state called a misdemeanor can still count as an aggravated felony for immigration purposes. The category includes:²

Rape or sexual abuse of a minor
Drug trafficking or firearms trafficking
Money laundering where the amount exceeded $10,000
Fraud or tax evasion where the loss exceeded $10,000
Theft or burglary with a prison sentence of at least one year
Attempt or conspiracy to commit any of the above

An aggravated felony conviction before November 29, 1990, does not trigger the permanent bar, but an officer can still weigh it heavily against you and deny on that basis.¹

Persecution, Genocide, and Torture

Participation in Nazi persecution, genocide, torture, extrajudicial killings, or severe violations of religious freedom while serving as a foreign government official are separate permanent bars.¹

Felonies That Block You Temporarily

Most felonies that do not fall into the permanent bar categories create a conditional bar tied to a look-back window called the statutory period. That window is the five years before you file Form N-400, or three years if you are married to a U.S. citizen.³ A conditional bar blocks you only while certain facts are still true, so waiting until the conviction and its consequences sit outside that window is often the strategy.

Crimes Involving Moral Turpitude

Fraud, theft, assault with intent to harm, and many sex offenses commonly qualify as crimes involving moral turpitude. A conviction (or an admission of the conduct) during the statutory period blocks good moral character.⁴

There is a narrow petty offense exception, but all three of these must be true:⁴

It is the only crime involving moral turpitude you have ever committed.
The sentence imposed was six months or less.
The maximum possible sentence does not exceed one year.

Because felonies almost always carry a maximum above one year, the exception rarely rescues a felony conviction. In practice, a felony involving moral turpitude keeps you from naturalizing until it ages out of the statutory period.

180 Days or More in Jail or Prison

If your combined time in jail or prison during the statutory period reaches 180 days, you cannot establish good moral character, regardless of the underlying offense.⁴ The count is aggregate. Multiple short stays add up, and time served on a probation violation counts even if the original offense predated the statutory period. What matters is when the confinement occurred.

Controlled Substance Convictions

Any controlled substance conviction during the statutory period triggers a conditional bar. This reaches beyond trafficking, which is already a permanent bar as an aggravated felony, and covers simple possession of most drugs. The only exception is a single offense of simple possession of 30 grams or less of marijuana.⁴

Probation, Parole, and Suspended Sentences

USCIS will not approve an application while you are on probation, parole, or serving a suspended sentence.⁵ You must finish every part of your sentence, including supervised release, before filing. Completing it does not automatically clear you, but it removes that specific obstacle.

The practical effect of all these conditional bars is the same: your clock effectively restarts. You want a full three or five years of clean conduct after the bar no longer applies before you file.

Felonies From Before the Statutory Period

An older felony is not subject to the conditional bars, but it does not vanish. USCIS officers can review your entire history and weigh past offenses against your present character.⁵

The review uses a totality-of-the-circumstances approach. What you have done since the conviction matters most. Steady employment, meeting tax and other financial obligations, family stability, community involvement, and a clean record all weigh in your favor. The regulation specifically points to financial obligations, including taxes, as relevant.⁵ The burden is on you to affirmatively show rehabilitation with documents and evidence. USCIS requires certified court dispositions for any arrest that could make you removable or that might qualify as an aggravated felony, regardless of age.⁶

Why Expungements and Pardons Usually Don’t Fix It

Federal immigration law uses its own definition of “conviction.” You have one whenever a judge or jury found you guilty, or you pleaded guilty or no contest, and the court imposed any form of punishment or restraint on your liberty. It still counts even if the court withheld formal adjudication of guilt.⁷ That means many state deferred adjudication programs designed to keep a conviction off your record still count for USCIS.

A state expungement, sealing, or dismissal under a rehabilitative statute does not erase the conviction for immigration purposes. The Board of Immigration Appeals has consistently held that state actions removing a guilty plea or record of guilt have no effect on the underlying conviction in immigration cases.⁵ You must disclose every arrest, charge, and conviction on Form N-400 even if a state court sealed or expunged it. Hiding a sealed record is treated as false testimony, which is itself a separate bar to good moral character.

One narrow distinction matters. A conviction vacated because of a procedural or substantive defect in the original proceedings, such as ineffective assistance of counsel or a constitutional violation, can be removed for immigration purposes. A vacatur granted purely for rehabilitative reasons or to soften immigration consequences does not count.

A full and unconditional pardon from the President or a state governor can help, but it is not automatic. A pardon received before the statutory period can support good moral character if you also show your rehabilitation occurred before that period began. A pardon during the statutory period requires you to show extenuating or exonerating circumstances.⁵ Foreign pardons carry no weight in U.S. immigration proceedings.

The Risk of Applying: Deportation Instead of Denial

Filing Form N-400 invites USCIS to examine your entire criminal and immigration history. If the review shows you are deportable, USCIS can issue a Notice to Appear, which puts you into removal proceedings in immigration court. The worst-case outcome is not a denial letter. It is losing your green card.

USCIS policy directs officers to issue a Notice to Appear in two situations tied to naturalization. First, when the applicant may qualify to naturalize but is also deportable, such as someone with an aggravated felony conviction before November 29, 1990, or someone convicted of a deportable offense after becoming a permanent resident. Second, when the review shows the applicant was actually inadmissible when they got their green card, which makes them both deportable and ineligible to naturalize.⁸

Deportable criminal offenses are a wide category. It includes aggravated felonies, most controlled substance convictions, certain firearm offenses, crimes of domestic violence, and being convicted of two or more crimes involving moral turpitude not arising from a single incident.⁹ If you have any felony conviction and are thinking about applying, talk to an immigration attorney first. The difference between a planned strategy and an unforced filing can be the difference between keeping and losing your status.

If USCIS Denies Your Application

You have 30 calendar days from receiving the denial (33 if it was mailed) to file Form N-336 and request an administrative hearing. A different officer conducts the hearing and reviews the case fresh, which gives you a chance to submit more evidence, add context, or challenge how the law was applied.¹⁰

If the N-336 hearing also results in a denial, you can petition for judicial review in the U.S. District Court where you live within 120 days of the final USCIS decision. The court makes its own findings of fact and conclusions of law rather than deferring to USCIS, but you must complete the administrative hearing first.¹¹

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 4 – Permanent Bars to Good Moral Character
2
Legal Information Institute. 8 USC 1101(a)(43) – Definition: Aggravated Felony
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 3 – Continuous Residence
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 5 – Conditional Bars for Acts in Statutory Period
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 2 – Adjudicative Factors
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 3 – Evidence and the Record
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1101 – Definitions
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. NTA Policy Memorandum
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1227 – Deportable Aliens
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Request for a Hearing on a Decision in Naturalization Proceedings Under Section 336 of the INA
11
eCFR. 8 CFR 336.9 – Judicial Review of Denial Determinations on Applications for Naturalization