The USCIS Applicant Information Worksheet is an internal intake form used in military legal offices to collect a service member’s biographical, family, residence, and service information before that data is transferred onto Form N-400, Application for Naturalization. The worksheet itself is never filed with USCIS. It exists so a Judge Advocate General attorney, legal assistance office, or Command Citizenship Representative can cross-check what you’ve written against your DD Form 214, N-426, and military orders, and fix any discrepancy before the government sees the application.
Because it isn’t an official USCIS form, you won’t find it on the USCIS website. Ask your installation legal office, your unit’s Command Citizenship Representative, or call the USCIS Military Help Line at 877-CIS-4MIL (877-247-4645) to get a copy.
Know Which Statute You’re Filing Under
Two provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act govern military naturalization, and the one that applies to you changes what the worksheet needs to capture.
- INA 328 (peacetime service, 8 U.S.C. 1439): You qualify with at least one year of honorable service. If you file while still serving or within six months of an honorable separation, the usual five-year continuous-residence and physical-presence requirements are waived. After that six-month window, those residency requirements apply.
- INA 329 (service during hostilities, 8 U.S.C. 1440): Any period of honorable service during a designated period of hostility qualifies. There is no minimum length of service, and no residency or physical-presence requirement. You must have been in the United States, a U.S. territory, or a lawful permanent resident at the time of enlistment or at some point afterward.
The current designated period of hostility began September 11, 2001, and remains open. Both tracks are fee-exempt: no filing fee, no biometrics fee.
Documents to Have in Front of You
The worksheet is only useful if you fill it in from your actual records rather than memory. Pull these together first:
- DD Form 214 or NGB Form 22. If you have separated, you need the discharge document for every period of service, showing the type of separation and character of service. On the DD Form 214, that information sits on the Member-4 copy.
- Form N-426, Request for Certification of Military or Naval Service. If you are currently serving, your chain of command must complete and certify this form. Only authorized military personnel may sign it, and each branch sets its own rules on who is authorized.
- Current military orders, especially if you are stationed overseas.
- Two passport-style photos if you reside outside the United States.
- Selective Service confirmation. Male applicants between 18 and 25 who are not on continuous full-time active duty must register. If you enlisted after 18 or left active duty before 26, verify your registration status before the interview.
If you have separated, also gather your residence and employment history for the last five years. The N-400 asks for it. Active-duty applicants filing under INA 329 do not need to document continuous residence or physical presence.
What the Worksheet Asks For
The fields mirror the N-400, arranged so the coordinator can check each one against your records:
- Your full current legal name, exactly as it appears on your legal documents. Not a nickname.
- Social Security number, if you have one.
- Service history: dates of each enlistment period, branch, and character of service for every tour.
- Residence history for the relevant period, including overseas addresses during any tours abroad.
- Marital and family information: current marital status, number of marriages, and information about your spouse and children.
Write from the source documents in front of you. The coordinator will compare each entry against your DD Form 214, certified N-426, and orders. A wrong separation date, an omitted period of service, or a mismatched duty station gets caught here rather than after USCIS opens the file.
What Happens After the Worksheet
Once your coordinator has verified the worksheet, the information is transferred onto Form N-400 and the packet is mailed to the USCIS Chicago Lockbox at the address for military N-400 filings. No fee is submitted.
After USCIS accepts the packet, background and security checks begin. Fingerprints may come from prior immigration prints on file, from FD-258 cards completed by military police or U.S. embassy staff if you are overseas, or from a walk-in visit to a USCIS Application Support Center with your military ID. USCIS then schedules an interview, administers the English and civics tests, and, if approved, schedules the Oath of Allegiance. Former service members must complete both the interview and the oath ceremony in the United States. Case-specific questions go to the Military Help Line at 877-CIS-4MIL or militaryinfo@uscis.dhs.gov.
Why Accuracy on the Worksheet Matters
The worksheet exists to catch problems before they reach USCIS, and getting it right protects more than your filing timeline. Naturalization obtained through concealment of a material fact or willful misrepresentation can be revoked, even years after the oath. The legal standard asks whether the misrepresentation “had a tendency to affect the decision,” not whether it actually changed the outcome. An omission counts the same as an affirmative false statement.
If you realize after submission that something on the worksheet or the N-400 is wrong, tell your coordinator or USCIS as soon as you notice. A voluntary correction is far less damaging than an inconsistency the interviewing officer finds on their own.