Basically, N-400 Form, also termed the “Application for Naturalization,” is a legal document that residents of any country who possess a Green Card can fill out when they want to become US citizens.
If your progenitors are US citizens either by birth or naturalization or applied for N-400 before turning 18 years old, you are considered a legitimate resident of the United States. Otherwise, you should file this application yourself via USCIS in order not to violate the legislation and to be a lawful resident of the United States.
The primary thing you want to do is to fill out an application in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which is an offshoot of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). It is crucial to take action as soon as possible not to delay the process of naturalization.
Please, inform the USCIS through the application within 10 days if you altered the actual address. It will ensure you don’t miss any important notices.
This article will support you in making the accurate N-400 application for naturalization and will provide you with some essential information you need to know.
Before you apply for the N-400, you want to be familiarized with the conditions and rules. It all, of course, depends on your specific circumstances. However, the general set of rules is universally applicable. Read about them below.
To utilize the N-400 form, naturalization USCIS applicants must meet the basic conditions:
To complete the procedure, you will need to pass the interview and the naturalization (civics) test. A USCIS manager will verify if you can talk, read, and write in English. They will inquire how well you know the US history, whether you have been imprisoned, or have any other issues with the law. You should also provide all the necessary information about your income and travel to become a lawful permanent resident. State if you were legally partnered or modified your name. You will additionally be requested to talk about how you feel about the US Constitution, whether you support its models, and whether you are ready to show loyalty to the country. Don’t forget that after you give the Oath of Allegiance, you can fully and constitutionally become a U. S. citizen.
There is also an opportunity to apply for N-400 on the Internet. You need to create an account on the official USCIS website of the Department of Homeland Security and build the form. But if you are to use it abroad or want to receive any fee reduction, you need to print it out and post it.
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The delivery address for this paper form will depend on which state you are currently in and what delivery you propose to do throughout your naturalization process.
The full table of addresses can be discovered at the Department of Homeland Security (visit the Homeland Security official website to learn more about eligibility requirements, N-400 for the civics portion of the naturalization test filling tips, and other important immigration applications updates). But before you transfer it, don’t forget to obtain a copy of the fully performed document, as all the subsequent examination will be based on the statements you implemented in the N-400. This way, you can equip yourself more thoroughly.
Significant reminder: If you can implement this certificate, present it before your three- or five-year duration period expires. The early requests are submitted 90 days before the expiration date indicated on the permanent resident card. Applying ahead proffers you the chance to prepare more productively for the subsequent naturalization test all applicants should take.
If you ship the lettered form N-400, be certain that:
There are certain fees required to complete the N-400. The cost of such a certificate is now $725. The price covers expenses for biometrics ($85) and the processing itself ($640). Please note that expenses are nonrefundable. Paying a fee doesn’t give you a 100% guarantee that your N-400 form will be accepted.
However, applicants can ask for a Fee Reduction or a whole Waiver to refund the filing fee sum fully or partially. To do this, you need to provide a USCIS with valid information about your current status.
If you apply for more than one N-400, the procedure should be the same at all times. Be sure your payments are submitted accurately; otherwise, the USCIS will have a right to decline them.
To submit this certificate, you may need to attach some other documents as well. When you choose to apply via the Internet, you should attach digital copies or scanned images. What will the attachment to the N-400 necessitate?
1. Green Card image (form I-551, “Permanent Resident Card”)
2. A check of payment of registration fee (indicate your A-number on the backside or credit card details relating to the form G-1450).
3. Documents confirming specific circumstances:
Each N-400 application form requires personal information about the applicant. USCIS provides the free Naturalization questionnaire when it becomes clear whether you are sanctioned to apply for the USA residentship.
As we mentioned before, you require to fund an official fee to submit the form. After that, you decide either to submit it online or to use the mail (it is crucial to print the latest version of N-400).
Despite your choice, there are certain criteria to consider:
1. Name Your Green Card Info
First, write your A-number, which is indicated on the permanent resident card, and then mark the box that corresponds to the reason for obtaining citizenship. If you are married to a U. S. citizen, check B or C boxes, and if you are part of military personnel, check D. Applicants who want to obtain asylum check box A, as they are possessors of a special benefit. Do not forget that you will be required to present evidence that you are suitable for this category.
2. Insert Your Personal Actual Data
Here’s everything clear and very easy to understand. You need to indicate your actual private information, carefully filling the designated empty spaces.
3. Enter the Information About Disability
If you hold official confirmation of your disability, your interview will be changed accordingly. You can ask for a sign language representative, the opportunity to be in a wheelchair, be accompanied by a nurse. You can request for a reduced expecting interview interval and other adjustments to get through the interview most comfortably.
4. Write Down the Contacts
Write down the phone numbers of all your contacts in the USA and their valid e-mail addresses. If you don’t have any, please, write “None.”
5. Enter Your Current Location
In segment A, register your current physical address. You can specify another mailing address in point B if the real one is not reliable enough to get mail. In part C, list your previous places of residency (this is significant since the primary task of Part 5 in the Form N-400 is to make sure that you are qualified to acquire citizenship in the order you have not been abroad for an unacceptable long time).
6. Provide Your Relatives’ Data
This column is crucial because if your parents are US citizens, you will be most suitable to obtain citizenship naturally. State if citizenship is passed on to you by inheritance.
7. Insert Biographical Facts
This part serves to find out if you have been legally sentenced. If you tell lies, you will be subject to serious legal action. If you have had some issues with the law, the USA government and USCIS will find it out anyway. If you think that the USCIS administration can find inappropriate facts, checking your Form N-400, you should unquestionably confer with an immigration lawyer for your individual safety.
8. Provide Information about Your Education and Place of Work
In this segment, you must present comprehensive info about your education and employment for the last five years (or three years) to USCIS. If throughout this interval, you have not worked officially, you should indicate this information in the form. Furthermore, it is imperative to determine whether you have had an illegal job in the United States before obtaining the Green Card.
9. State the Period You Were Abroad
Here are some other topics that you need to cover. Please, be honest when creating this section of the N-400 form and consider adding any of your relevant visa-related information.
10. Provide Your Marital Chronicle
Provide information about your current marital status and list any previous marriage certificates as well. This is essential for the USCIS to understand that you are (were) married to no more than one individual. Double marriage is against the law in the United States. However, if you are married to more than one person at the same time, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has the power to reject your Form N-400 and even terminate the Green Card.
11. Provide Children’s Names
The purpose of this part is clear. However, if you don’t initially include information about a child in Form N-400, the USCIS will suspect you of fraud and assume that you are promoting someone else’s child to get a Green Card.
12. Provide Extra Information
The subsequent table of 50 subjects is given mostly to examine moral aspects of your personality. The result of this part will affect the USCIS’s decision whether to accept your N-400 application or not. Answer honestly and fully. Do not forget that if you have marked “Yes” in one of the lines, you will have to attach a confirmation.
13. Sign the Form N-400
Here USCIS wants you to confirm that you entirely comprehend what this statement is about and that you can understand and communicate in English. If you do not have the possibility to sign this document yourself, put a cross mark in the box with the signature, or ask your lawful trustee to sign it on your behalf.
14. Let the Proxy Sign the Form
If you have a disabled waiver and a trustee or other representative is legally assigned to you, it is essential that they sign and present all the expected data in this section.
15. Provide All the Required Info about Another Applicant
Any other representative or petitioner of this N-400 document must sign this segment, providing their contact info and declaration. If you have managed to fill out the Form N-400 application yourself, leave this section empty.
16. State the Results of the Interview
You can complete this part of the N-400 application only once you have finished with a USCIS interview.
17. Write Rejection of Any Titles
To be a full-fledged legal resident of the United States of America, you will have to leave out titles such as “duke” or “princess.” Do not sign this part, though, until you arrive for an interview at USCIS.
18. Oath of Allegiance
As in the section above, leave it blank until you complete the interview.
Here you will learn the essential documentation that you are required to take to a USCIS meeting:
Do not forget to check out the USCIS and Homeland Security official government website regularly for the topics verification policies government renews from time to time. It’s essential for you to know the latest eligibility requirements and status updates to the naturalization.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) currently sets the price for filing Form N-400 at $640. Furthermore, note that you will have to pay $85 for biometric services (fingerprints and photos). However, you do not need to pay the additional filing fee if you are a military or senior citizen at the age of 75.
This is a legal method by which US permanent residents can become legitimate US citizens. Citizenship of the USA can be obtained subordinate to certain conditions. You can read more relevant and helpful information in our article above.
In addition to Form N-400 itself, the accompanying documents required to take are two photographs, a copy of the permanent resident card, a receipt for payment of the application processing fee, and a birth certificate for each of your children (if you have any), and more. You can see the full list of the supporting papers in the dedicated part of the article above.
Yes, according to the official requirements, it is essential to additionally supply your Form N-400 with two photos sized 2×2 inches.
