Citizenship is a goal shared almost universally among the thousands of clients I have had over these past 30 years who are otherwise qualified to naturalize.
The basic requirements for naturalizing
The basic requirements for naturalizing, or becoming a United States Citizen, are that you have been a lawful permanent resident for five years, or, if you obtained residency through your United States spouse, then for three years, or, if you are in the military, then for two years. It is important to remember that if your marriage was less than two years at the time that you received your green card, you will first need to file to lift the conditions on that residency before you will be eligible to file for naturalization on the third anniversary of your green card.
Derivative citizenship
If you were a lawful permanent resident when one of your parents became a U.S. Citizen before you turned 18, you have already acquired derivative citizenship through that parent, if you can prove that you were in their legal and physical custody at that time.
Eligibility issues to address before you file
If you owe taxes which are overdue to the United States Treasury, you won’t be eligible to file for naturalization. If you have children who were under 18 when you file, or in the five years prior to filing, you will need to prove consistent payment of child support. If you are a male and were in the U.S. in any status other than lawful permanent resident between the age of 18 and 26, Selective Service registration is an issue.
Good moral character
You must possess good moral character. That’s the most important driver in naturalizing, and in adjustment of status. Being charged with a crime impacts good moral character. Certain crimes may make you inadmissible, in which case you will be ineligible to file for naturalization. It is the charge, not the disposition, of the crime, which is significant for immigration purposes. All crimes must be disclosed or you will be found to have misrepresented, which will cause more problems, including removal. So even if it was dismissed, or expunged, or even if you were pardoned, if you have been charged with a crime, it must be disclosed. It is important to remember that there is no statute of limitations in immigration. Crimes committed within the first five years of obtaining a green card may be especially problematic, and some make you removable. Certain crimes in that period may cause you to become removable. If you were charged with a crime within the five-year statutory period prior to filing for naturalization, that will make you ineligible to naturalize. If you have a crime from many years ago and no crimes in the statutory period, you may be found to have good moral character. Interestingly, while traffic tickets used to be excluded, because they are not crimes, there are cases holding that you lack good moral character if you fail to disclose them.
The interview & the civics test
When the application for naturalization is fully reviewed, there is an interview. The civics test, which is given first, has increased from 100 questions, of which you had to get the first six of ten chances right. It is now 128 questions, and you have to correctly answer 12.
I taught immigration law for six years at FAU and BCC, and so I love to teach, and I love the Constitution and our history. I tell my clients why the answer is the answer and as a result, they always pass. I’ve never had a client fail the civics test in 30 years.
Why this is work for an experienced immigration attorney
There are many issues in applying for naturalization, so it is important to speak with an experienced immigration attorney, like me, to navigate through all of the issues so that you don’t create more problems for yourself. If you have committed a crime, you should retain an experienced immigration attorney to make the legal arguments necessary to persuade USCIS that the crimes did not deprive you of good moral character.
Dedicated pages for the Broward-County market where local search volume justifies a service-specific landing page:
It depends on the offense, the disposition, and when it occurred. Some charges are an absolute bar; others fall inside the good-moral-character window and can be addressed. Before filing for adjustment of status (Form I-485) or for naturalization (Form N-400), we look at the entire record — court dispositions, immigration history, and prior interactions with USCIS. Crimes, fraud, and misrepresentation can impact good moral character, and there are waivers which may be available depending on the specific issue. For naturalization, in some cases the safer course is to wait until enough time has passed. I do not file for either adjustment of status or naturalization without a clean review of the record first.
Most clean N-400 cases complete in 6 to 12 months from filing to oath ceremony. The fastest go in 4 to 5 months. Cases with criminal-history complications, tax issues, or Selective Service registration questions take longer because the underlying eligibility analysis takes longer. Timeline depends on your local USCIS field office and the cleanliness of the file we submit on day one.
You need to speak, read, and write basic English. The civics test is given in English. The exception is the age-and-residency waiver: if you are 50 or older and have been a lawful permanent resident for at least 20 years, or 55 or older and a resident for at least 15 years, you can take the test in your language of choice with an interpreter. I prep every client through the civics-test material and the most-common interview-style questions before the appointment.
United States law does not require you to renounce your prior citizenship to become a U.S. citizen. Whether your home country recognizes dual citizenship is a separate question and depends on that country's law. The oath of allegiance does include language about renouncing foreign allegiance, but the U.S. does not enforce or follow up on it. If dual citizenship is important to you, we talk about it before you file.
USCIS will reschedule you. The agency expects valid reasons (illness, work emergency, family matter); you should respond to the notice promptly with the reason and request a new date. Missing an oath ceremony without explanation can put your case at risk, but a missed-with-good-cause rescheduling is routine. We help you draft the response if it happens.