Naturalization or Citizenship

 

Naturalization is the process by which a U.S. permanent resident becomes a U.S. citizen.

 

To qualify for naturalization, an applicant must fulfill the requirements established by Congress in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Some of the ways in which one may qualify for Naturalization are as follows:

 

• Permanent resident may qualify for citizenship if they have been permanent resident for at least 5 years and all other eligibility requirements are met.. However, one has to be a permanent resident for at least 3 years or more to file as a spouse of a U.S. citizen.

• An individual may also qualify for citizenship if he/ she has qualifying service in the U.S. armed forces and meets all other eligibility requirements

• A child may qualify for naturalization if the child is a U.S. citizen, was born outside the U.S., is currently residing outside the U.S., and all other eligibility requirements are met.

• A child may already be a U.S. citizen and not need to apply for naturalization if the child's biological or adoptive parent(s) became a U.S. citizen before the child reached the age of 18.

 

 

 

Application to Preserve Residence for Naturalization purposes (N-470)

 

To be eligible for making this application, the applicant must have been physically present and residing in the US continuously, without any absence for at least 1 year after admission as a permanent residence, will be required to be absent from the US for 1 year or more and have been in a specific job with the US government, private sector or a religious organization and wants to preserve his or her continuous residence for naturalization purposes.

 

 

If USCIS approves the primary applicant’s application to preserve his or her continuous residence for naturalization purposes, then the spouse and dependent unmarried children will also receive the same benefit if they are members of the same household and reside while residing abroad.