NATURALIZATION & CITIZENSHIP

If you were born in the United States, you probably are a U.S. citizen. If not, you may be eligible for applying naturalization to become U.S. citizen.

Criteria for naturalization are:

1. lawful permanent resident for 5 years (3 years if married to US citizen);
2. must be 18 years old;
3. continuous residence during period of residence;
4. must reside at least 3 months within the state in which the petition was filed;
5. must be physically present in the US for at least one-half of the 5 years (or 3 years);
6. must reside continuously from the date of naturalization application up to the time of admission to citizenship;
7. must not be absent from US for a continuous period of more than 1 year;
8. must have good moral character;
9. must be willing to perform duties as required by law;
10. must have an elementary level in reading, writing, and understanding of the English language; and
11. must understand and know the fundamentals of the history and government of US.

Effective on November 2, 2006, all naturalization exams will be given orally. The questions are not written, multiple choice exams, but short answer oral exams. For example, what do the stripes on the flag represent. These oral exams will now be given nationally while USCIS headquarters reworks the naturalization exams.

If you are a minor and your parent becomes a U.S. citizen, you can obtain derivative citizenship as a minor through your parent without naturalization process. Finally, expedited naturalization is available through military service. 

Test (effective October 1, 2008)

 

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