What are the basic eligibility requirements for Lawful Permanent Residents (“green card” holders) for filing the N400 citizenship application?

The applicant must be age 18 or older at the time of filing N400.

The applicant is a permanent resident (“green card” holder) with valid green card for a period of the past 5 years. If married to U.S. Citizen you may apply after 3 years with valid green card. One exception prevails - if an applicant has served in the United States armed forces during war, that individual may obtain US citizenship without first becoming a permanent resident if they were in the United States upon enlistment into the U.S. military.

Applicants wanting to obtain US Citizenship must have maintained continuous residence in the United States for at least five years immediately preceding the applicant's filing for citizenship with form N-400. Continuous residence is not the same thing as physically being present in the United States. An applicants must maintain status as a legal permanent resident (green card holder), but does not necessarily have to be physically in the United States to accomplish this. For instance, if individual is overseas for a portion of this period, maintaining a U.S. address and paying one’s state and federal taxes may help to provide continuity of residence for this eligibility requirement. If the applicant plans to be abroad for several months, it may be wise to file Form I-470, Application to Preserve Residence for Naturalization Purposes, prior to departing the U.S. in order to preserve their continuous and physical residence status. If the applicant is married to a U.S. citizen, only three years of continuous residence is required before filing N400 based on marriage in obtaining the green card.

NOTE: It is required that physical presence is established within the U.S. for a total of at least one half of the period of required continuous residence. That is, two and a half years for most applicants and one and a half years for spouses of U.S. citizens.

The applicant must have resided at least three months at their primary residence within the state where the N400 is submitted before filing their US citizenship application.

The applicant must be able to read, write and speak ordinary English unless they are physically unable to do so due to a disability such as being blind or deaf, or suffer from a developmental disability or mental impairment. Individuals over 50 years of age on the date of filing who have lived in the U.S. for a total of at least 20 years after admission as a permanent resident and those individuals who are over 55 years of age and have been legal permanent residents for at least 15 years are also exempt from this requirement.

An applicant applying for US citizenship must have a general knowledge of the fundamentals of U.S. history and government.

The applicant must be a person of good moral character and willing to abide by the principles of the U.S. Constitution.