The new U.S. citizenship rules that took effect on October 20, 2025 center on a redesigned civics test: applicants who file Form N-400 on or after that date draw from a bank of 128 questions instead of 100, are asked 20 questions instead of 10, and must answer 12 correctly to pass. Filing fees were restructured in 2024, and a full fee waiver is now available alongside a reduced-fee option. The underlying eligibility requirements — continuous residence, physical presence, good moral character, English ability, and civics knowledge — have not changed, but the details determine whether you get approved or set back by years.
What Changed in 2025
Anyone who filed Form N-400 on or after October 20, 2025 takes the 2025 civics test.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Check for Test Updates The study bank grew from 100 to 128 questions. At the interview, the officer asks up to 20 questions and stops once you’ve answered 12 correctly or 9 incorrectly.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 2025 Civics Test The 60 percent passing threshold is unchanged, but you must sustain that accuracy across twice as many questions and study more material to get there.
The test remains oral. The officer reads each question aloud and you answer verbally. Topics still cover American government, history, and civic principles, and USCIS publishes the full list of 128 questions with approved answers.3U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 128 Civics Questions and Answers Fail at the interview and USCIS schedules one retest on the portion you failed, between 60 and 90 days later.4U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The Naturalization Interview and Test Fail the retest and the application is denied.
The 65/20 Simplified Version
Applicants who are 65 or older and have been permanent residents for at least 20 years study a shorter list of 20 designated questions rather than the full 128, are asked 10 of them, and need 6 correct.5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12 Part E Chapter 2 – English and Civics Testing They can also take it in their preferred language with an interpreter.
Current Filing Fees and Fee Relief
Form N-400 costs $710 filed online or $760 on paper, and biometrics are included in that fee.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Fact Sheet Form N-400, Application for Naturalization Filing Fees Two forms of financial relief are available, and you cannot claim both:
- A reduced fee of $380 if your household income is below 400% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. You submit documentation such as tax returns or proof of participation in a means-tested benefit program.7U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Additional Information on Filing a Reduced Fee Request
- A full fee waiver ($0) if your household income is at or below 150% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. You request it on Form I-912.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-912, Request for Fee Waiver
Who Qualifies to Apply
The general path requires five years as a lawful permanent resident, with continuous residence in the United States and physical presence for at least 30 of those 60 months.9U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12 Part D Chapter 3 – Continuous Residence If you’re married to and living with a U.S. citizen, the period drops to three years with at least 18 months of physical presence. You can file up to 90 days before you hit the anniversary, but you are not eligible for naturalization until the full period has passed.10U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12 Part D Chapter 6 – Jurisdiction, Place of Residence, and Early Filing
Long trips abroad are where these cases fall apart. An absence of more than six months but less than a year creates a legal presumption that your continuous residence was broken. You can rebut it by showing you kept your job, your family stayed here, and you continued paying rent or a mortgage, but the burden is on you. An absence of a year or more automatically breaks continuous residence unless you filed and had Form N-470 approved before you left, which is only available for certain qualifying employment overseas.11U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. N-470, Application to Preserve Residence for Naturalization Purposes
Military Service
Service members have significantly relaxed rules. Under the wartime provision, in effect continuously since September 11, 2001, they are exempt from both the continuous residence and physical presence requirements and need to show good moral character for only one year before filing.12U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Naturalization Through Military Service The peacetime path requires at least one year of service and still involves residence, physical presence, and five years of demonstrated good moral character.
Good Moral Character Rules
You must show good moral character throughout the statutory period, which runs from five years before filing through the day you take the oath.13U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12 Part D Chapter 9 – Good Moral Character USCIS can also examine conduct from before that window, so a clean five years does not guarantee approval if there is serious history further back.
Some offenses are permanent bars regardless of when they occurred. Murder is one. So is any aggravated felony conviction on or after November 29, 1990, a category that in immigration law is much broader than the everyday meaning of the phrase. It includes drug trafficking, firearms offenses, money laundering over $10,000, fraud over $10,000, crimes of violence with a sentence of a year or more, and theft with a sentence of a year or more, among others.14U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12 Part F Chapter 4 – Permanent Bars to Good Moral Character
Other issues are conditional bars: they block you during the statutory period but do not permanently disqualify. Controlled substance violations are conditional bars, with a narrow exception for simple possession of 30 grams or less of marijuana. Willful failure to support dependents is another, absent extenuating circumstances.15U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12 Part F Chapter 5 – Conditional Bars for Acts in Statutory Period Once enough time passes that the conduct falls outside the statutory period, you may be able to naturalize.
English Test and Age-Based Exemptions
The English portion has three parts. Speaking is assessed as the officer discusses your application with you. For reading, you must read one of three sentences aloud correctly. For writing, you must write one of three dictated sentences correctly.16U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Study for the Test As with civics, a failed English test gets one retest 60 to 90 days later.
Two age-and-residency exemptions let you skip English entirely and take the civics test in your native language with an interpreter:
- 50/20: at least 50 years old with at least 20 years as a permanent resident.
- 55/15: at least 55 years old with at least 15 years as a permanent resident.17U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Exceptions and Accommodations
If a physical or developmental disability or mental impairment prevents you from learning English or civics material, a licensed medical doctor, doctor of osteopathy, or clinical psychologist can certify Form N-648 to request an exception from both tests.18U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Medical Certification for Disability Exceptions
Selective Service Registration for Men
Male applicants who lived in the U.S. between ages 18 and 26 in a status other than lawful nonimmigrant were required to register with the Selective Service System. A knowing and willful failure to register is treated as evidence against good moral character and attachment to the Constitution, and it can block naturalization.19U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12 Part D Chapter 7 – Attachment to the Constitution
How this plays out depends on your age when you apply. If you are under 26, you are generally ineligible if you have not registered and still can. Between 26 and 31, you can no longer register, but USCIS will let you show the failure was not knowing or willful; a Status Information Letter from the Selective Service System helps establish whether you were required to register at all. Over 31, the failure falls outside the five-year statutory period and typically will not block your application.
The Application Through Oath Timeline
The N-400 asks for a five-year residential history with every address, a five-year employment history, and every trip outside the country of 24 hours or longer with exact dates. Gaps and inconsistencies trigger delays. Filing online through the USCIS portal gives you real-time case tracking and always uses the current form version; paper filings go to the Lockbox and can be rejected if pages are missing or come from an older edition.20U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. N-400, Application for Naturalization
After the receipt notice, you attend a biometrics appointment at a local Application Support Center for fingerprinting, photograph, and background checks.21U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Preparing for Your Biometric Services Appointment The in-person interview follows. An officer reviews your application, asks about your background, and administers the English and civics tests.4U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The Naturalization Interview and Test The officer can approve, continue (request more evidence), or deny on the spot. Bring originals of your supporting documents even if you already submitted copies.
Approval is followed by the Oath of Allegiance. Some offices hold same-day ceremonies right after the interview; others schedule a separate ceremony weeks later.22U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12 Part J Chapter 4 – General Considerations for All Oath Ceremonies You surrender your green card at the ceremony before receiving your Certificate of Naturalization.23U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12 Part K Chapter 3 – Certificate of Naturalization If your green card is lost, USCIS can waive that requirement.
If You’re Denied
A denial can be appealed within USCIS by filing Form N-336 within 30 days of receiving the decision, or 33 days if it was mailed to you.24U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Request for a Hearing on a Decision in Naturalization Proceedings (Under Section 336 of the INA) A different officer reviews the case at the hearing, and you can present new evidence. Miss the 30-day window and USCIS will generally reject the request, though it may treat a late filing as a motion to reopen or reconsider if the separate requirements for those are met. If the hearing upholds the denial, you can seek judicial review in federal district court, or simply reapply once you have addressed the underlying issue, paying the filing fee again.