Form N-426 for Naturalization: Certification and Filing with N-400

Form N-426, Request for Certification of Military or Naval Service, is the document your military command signs to prove you are serving honorably in the U.S. Armed Forces. If you are on active duty or drilling in the Selected Reserve and want to naturalize, you complete the first two parts, route the form up your chain of command for certification, and file the certified form together with your Form N-400, Application for Naturalization.¹

Who Uses Form N-426

The form is only for service members who are currently serving when they file for naturalization.² If you have already separated, do not file an N-426. Veterans instead submit a copy of DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) or NGB Form 22 (National Guard Report of Separation and Record of Service), which already document whether the service was honorable.¹

Filling Out Your Parts of the Form

You complete Parts 1 and 2 yourself. The form is available on the USCIS website.¹

Part 1 covers your personal information: full legal name, date of birth, Alien Registration Number (A-Number), and USCIS Online Account Number if you have one. You will have an Online Account Number if you previously filed with USCIS and received a receipt number beginning with “IOE.”³

Part 2 asks for your military service details: branch, current rank, dates of service, and unit assignment. If a question does not apply to you, write “N/A” rather than leaving it blank.

Stop there. The remaining sections belong to your command. Do not fill in the certification portions yourself.

Getting the Form Certified by Your Command

Submit the form through your chain of command. The certifying official must be a commissioned officer at pay grade O-6 or higher (Colonel in the Army, Air Force, and Marines; Captain in the Navy and Coast Guard), or an equivalent civilian official at GS-15 or above. Recruiters cannot certify the form, regardless of their rank.³ Each branch may have its own internal rules about who specifically signs, so check with your unit’s legal office if you are unsure.

The certifying official reviews your service record, confirms your current service status, and notes any disciplinary actions. Department of Defense policy requires the form to be processed and returned to you within 30 days of submission.⁴ If the deadline passes, the certifying official is supposed to document the reasons for the delay. Involving your staff judge advocate can help if things stall.

Watch the clock on the other end too. The certifying official’s signature must be dated no more than six months before you file your N-400 with USCIS.¹ If you wait too long after certification, you have to start the certification process over.

Filing the Certified Form with Your N-400

Once your command returns the certified N-426, you submit it together with your Form N-400. The two forms must be filed at the same time.¹ You can mail the paper package to the USCIS lockbox address designated for N-400 filings, or file through the USCIS online portal.

Include supporting documents such as a copy of your military identification and evidence of lawful permanent resident status. USCIS will issue a receipt notice confirming they received your application.

There is no filing fee. Federal law prohibits charging any fee for filing the N-400 or issuing the certificate of naturalization when the application is based on military service.⁵

Biometrics are also streamlined. USCIS can use fingerprints already on file from your enlistment processing or a previous immigration filing, which can spare you a trip to an Application Support Center.⁶

Which Eligibility Track Your Certified Service Supports

The certified N-426 is your evidence of honorable service, but the amount of service it needs to reflect depends on which statute you naturalize under.

Under INA Section 328 (peacetime service), you need at least one year of aggregate honorable service. You are exempt from the usual continuous residence and state residence requirements, but you still have to show good moral character and pass the English and civics tests. If you have already separated, you must file your N-400 within six months of discharge to keep those reduced requirements.⁷

Under INA Section 329 (service during hostilities), there is no minimum length-of-service requirement. Even a single day of qualifying service during a designated hostility period can establish eligibility, and the continuous residence and physical presence requirements do not apply. There is no minimum age.⁸

Under either track, you must have been lawfully admitted as a permanent resident at some point after enlistment, or physically present in the United States or certain territories at the time of enlistment or induction.⁹

A Warning About Later Discharges

If you naturalize under Section 329 and are later discharged under other than honorable conditions, your naturalization can be revoked. The statute specifically allows revocation when the discharge occurs after citizenship has already been granted. This is one of the few situations in U.S. immigration law where citizenship can be taken away based on post-naturalization conduct unrelated to fraud. Your military conduct keeps mattering after you take the oath.

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form N-426, Request for Certification of Military or Naval Service
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Naturalization Through Military Service
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Form N-426, Request for Certification of Military or Naval Service
4
United States Marine Corps. Processing Time for Certification of Honorable Service for Purposes of Naturalization
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. Office of the Law Revision Counsel – 8 USC 1439 Naturalization Through Service in the Armed Forces
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual – Biometrics Collection
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12 Part I Chapter 2 – One Year of Military Service During Peacetime (INA 328)
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual – Military Service During Hostilities (INA 329)USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12 Part I Chapter 1 – Purpose and Background
9
eCFR. 8 CFR Part 329 – Special Classes of Persons Who May Be Naturalized