Green Card to U.S. Citizenship: Requirements, N-400 Filing, and Timeline

To go from green card to U.S. citizenship, the core requirements are five years of continuous residence as a lawful permanent resident (three years if you’re married to and living with a U.S. citizen), enough physical presence on U.S. soil, good moral character, basic English, knowledge of U.S. civics, and being at least 18 when you file. You show all of this on Form N-400, pass an interview and tests, and take the Oath of Allegiance. Below is what each requirement actually looks like in practice.

How Long You Must Hold a Green Card First

Federal law requires at least five years of continuous residence as a permanent resident before you can file.¹ You must also be 18 or older on the filing date.²

Married to a U.S. citizen? The wait drops to three years, but only if you’ve been living in marital union with your citizen spouse the entire time and your spouse has been a citizen throughout that period.³ If the marriage ends before you naturalize, you fall back to the five-year rule.

You can file up to 90 days before you hit the anniversary. USCIS counts back 90 calendar days from the day before you’d first meet the continuous residence requirement, and that’s the earliest possible filing date.⁴ Filing early is usually smart, since processing runs several months.

One more location rule: you have to have lived at least three months in the USCIS district or state where you file.¹ A recent move across state lines can mean waiting or filing in your previous district.

Physical Presence and Travel

Continuous residence and physical presence are two separate tests, and both must be met. Continuous residence means the U.S. has been your primary home. Physical presence is the raw day count on U.S. soil, and the statute requires at least half the residence period: 30 months out of five years, or 18 months out of three years.¹

Short trips are usually fine. The length of any single absence is what matters. A trip of more than six months but less than a year creates a presumption that you broke continuous residence, and the burden is on you to rebut it by showing you didn’t abandon your U.S. home.⁵ An absence of a year or more breaks continuous residence outright, and you must start a new period from the day you return.

These same rules keep running while your N-400 is pending. Keep trips short, carry your green card, your passport, and your N-400 receipt notice (Form I-797C) when you travel, and never miss a USCIS appointment.

Good Moral Character

USCIS evaluates whether you’ve been a person of good moral character during the entire statutory period and continuing through the oath.⁶ That’s five years for most people, three on the spouse track.

Some convictions are permanent bars. A murder conviction at any point in your life disqualifies you, as does any aggravated felony conviction on or after November 29, 1990. The aggravated felony category is broader than most people think, taking in drug trafficking, fraud involving more than $10,000, theft with a sentence of at least one year, and money laundering over $10,000.⁷

Other offenses create temporary bars for the statutory period: controlled substance violations, jail time totaling 180 days or more, and offenses involving dishonesty like fraud or misrepresentation. Officers also have discretion to consider things like unpaid taxes, lying on the application, or habitual drunkenness. A 2025 USCIS policy memorandum reinforced a more comprehensive evaluation that looks beyond a checklist of specific crimes.⁶

Men who lived in the U.S. between ages 18 and 26 generally must have registered with Selective Service. Failing to register can be treated as evidence of lacking the necessary character and attachment to the Constitution, and USCIS can deny on that basis.⁸ If you’re past 26 and never registered, request a status information letter from the Selective Service System explaining the circumstances.⁹

English and Civics

You must show a basic ability to read, write, and speak English and demonstrate knowledge of U.S. history and government.¹⁰ Both tests happen at your interview. The English component has three parts: reading a sentence aloud, writing a dictated sentence, and answering the officer’s questions in English. Civics covers topics like the branches of government, the Bill of Rights, and key events in American history.¹¹

Age-and-residence exemptions:

50/20: age 50 or older with at least 20 years as a permanent resident — English test waived; civics test taken in your native language.
55/15: age 55 or older with at least 15 years — same English waiver.
65/20: age 65 or older with at least 20 years — English waived, plus a simplified civics test covering only 20 of the standard 100 questions, in any language.¹²

The 50/20 and 55/15 exemptions cover only English. You still take the civics test, though you can use an interpreter.¹³

If a physical, developmental, or mental impairment prevents you from learning the material, you can request a full exception with Form N-648. A U.S.-licensed medical doctor, doctor of osteopathy, or clinical psychologist must examine you and certify that your condition prevents you from meeting the requirements.¹⁴

The N-400 Filing Package

The application is Form N-400, available for online filing or download from the USCIS website.¹⁵ It asks for every address, every employer, and every international trip during the last five years, with exact departure and return dates.¹⁶ Incomplete travel records are one of the most common reasons applications stall, so pull this information together first.

Along with the form, you’ll typically need:

A copy of both sides of your Permanent Resident Card.¹⁵
If you’re on the spouse track, your marriage certificate and proof of your spouse’s U.S. citizenship (such as a birth certificate or naturalization certificate).
Federal tax transcripts or copies of returns covering the statutory period.
If you were required to register with Selective Service, your registration acknowledgment or status information letter.
Two identical passport-style photos meeting USCIS specifications, unless you file online and upload them digitally.

Filing Fees and Relief

The N-400 fee is $710 online or $760 on paper. There’s no separate biometrics fee; it’s included.¹⁷

Two relief options exist for lower-income applicants:

Full fee waiver with Form I-912 if household income is at or below 150% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. For 2026, that’s $23,940 for a single-person household in the continental U.S., increasing by $8,520 for each additional member.¹⁸
Reduced fee with Form I-942 if income is above 150% but at or below 400% of the guidelines. The reduced filing fee is $320 plus an $85 biometrics fee, for $405 total.¹⁹

What Happens After You File

You can file online through a USCIS account or by mail to the designated lockbox. USCIS sends a receipt notice (Form I-797C), then schedules a biometrics appointment where your fingerprints and photograph are captured for a background check.

The interview follows. A USCIS officer walks through your application line by line, asks about your background, and gives the English and civics tests. Honesty matters more than polish here. Officers are practiced at spotting inconsistencies between the form and your verbal answers, and a discrepancy that looks like deception can sink an application that would otherwise be approved. Bring originals of every supporting document.

If the officer approves you, the final step is the Oath of Allegiance at a public ceremony. The oath includes pledges to support the Constitution, renounce allegiance to foreign governments, and bear arms or perform national service if required by law.²⁰ After the oath you receive a Certificate of Naturalization, which is your legal proof of citizenship and what you’ll use to apply for a U.S. passport. If you requested a legal name change on the N-400, you’ll need a judicial ceremony so a judge can approve the name change order at the same time.

If You’re Denied

A denial isn’t final. You have 30 calendar days from receiving the denial notice to file Form N-336, which requests a hearing before a different USCIS officer. If USCIS mailed the decision, you get 33 days. Miss the window and USCIS will generally reject the request and keep the fee.²¹

If the hearing officer also denies you, you can seek review in the U.S. District Court with jurisdiction over your residence. The court reviews the case fresh, making its own findings of fact and conclusions of law rather than deferring to USCIS.²² At this point, working with an immigration attorney is practically essential.

Faster Paths for Military Members

Active-duty service members and certain veterans get expedited naturalization with fewer hurdles. Under INA Section 328, a permanent resident who has served honorably for at least one year can apply while serving or within six months of discharge, and is exempt from the standard continuous residence and physical presence requirements. Under INA Section 329, service members who served during a designated period of hostility (which includes September 11, 2001, and after) may qualify with even one day of honorable active-duty service.²³

Children of Naturalizing Parents

Not every path runs through the N-400. Children under 18 automatically derive citizenship when a parent naturalizes, provided the child is a permanent resident, lives in the parent’s legal and physical custody, and resides in the United States. If your child qualifies, you can apply for a Certificate of Citizenship using Form N-600 to get official documentation. The N-600 filing fee is significantly higher than the N-400 fee, so verify the current amount on the USCIS fee schedule before filing.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1427 – Requirements of Naturalization
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1445 – Application for Naturalization
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1430 – Married Persons and Employees of Certain Nonprofit Organizations
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12 Part D Chapter 6 – Jurisdiction, Place of Residence, and Early Filing
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12 Part D Chapter 3 – Continuous Residence
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Restoring a Rigorous Good Moral Character Evaluation Standard for Aliens Applying for Naturalization
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12 Part F Chapter 4 – Permanent Bars to Good Moral Character
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12 Part D Chapter 7 – Attachment to the Constitution
9
Selective Service System. Selective Service System
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1423 – Requirements as to Understanding of the English Language, History, Principles and Form of Government of the United States
11
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Citizenship What to Expect
12
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Civics Questions for the 65/20 Exemption
13
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12 Part E Chapter 2 – English and Civics Testing
14
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. N-648, Medical Certification for Disability Exceptions
15
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. N-400, Application for Naturalization
16
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Form N-400 – Application for Naturalization
17
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Fact Sheet Form N-400, Application for Naturalization Filing Fees
18
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Poverty Guidelines
19
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-942, Request for Reduced Fee
20
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1448 – Oath of Renunciation and Allegiance
21
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. N-336, Request for a Hearing on a Decision in Naturalization Proceedings
22
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12 Part B Chapter 6 – USCIS Hearing and Judicial Review
23
U.S. Army. Military Naturalization Eligibility