U.S. Citizenship Requirements for 5-Year Permanent Resident

To apply under this eligibility category, you must be 18 years of age or older.

You must have your permanent resident status for 5 years before filing Form N-400, Application for Naturalization. Your time as a permanent resident begins the day you were granted permanent resident status. You can find the date on your green card next to "Resident Since."

However, the rules do allow you to file your Form N-400 application up to 90 days before the 5-year anniversary of your admission date. In the example above, a person who has been a permanent resident since 1/1/2010 would meet this requirement on 10/3/2014. That's 90 days before they reach the 5-year mark.

Continuous residence means that the you have maintained residence within the United States for a specified period of time. The continuous residence requirement helps you demonstrate that you have begun to integrate with American community and intend to stay in the U.S. Therefore, you must have continuous residence in the United States as a lawful permanent resident for 5 years immediately preceding the date of filing N-400, Application for Naturalization.

You may take trips abroad but must maintain ties to the U.S. For example, during your trip abroad you continue to file taxes, maintain a residence, and intend to return to the U.S. If you plan to apply for citizenship, keep your trips outside the United States less than 6 months. USCIS will presume that any absences of 6 months or more have disrupted your continuous residence requirement.

You must also reside continuously within the United States from the date of filing the application until the time naturalization is finalized. Again, you may take a trip abroad during the naturalization process, but you cannot relocate your home to another country.

If you are engaged in certain kinds of overseas employment -- such as working for the U.S. government or U.S. Armed Forces -- you may be eligible for an exception to the continuous residence requirement. For more information review our Continuous Residence and Physical Presence Requirements for Naturalization page.

Physical presence refers to the number of days you must be physically present in the United States during the statutory period and up to the date of filing for naturalization. USCIS wants to know that you genuinely want to become a citizen. Like continuous residence, the physical presence requirement helps you demonstrate that you have begun to integrate with American community and intend to stay in the U.S. Therefore, you must be physically present in the United States for at least 30 months out of the 5 years immediately preceding the date of filing Form N-400.

Physical presence is a cumulative requirement. Therefore, you must combine the number of days of all your trips outside the U.S. If you are engaged in certain kinds of overseas employment -- such as working for the U.S. government or U.S. Armed Forces -- you may be eligible for an exception to the physical presence requirement. For more information review our Continuous Residence and Physical Presence Requirements for Naturalization.

In addition to the continuous residence and physical presence requirements for citizenship, you must have lived within the same state (or USCIS district with jurisdiction over the applicant’s place of residence) for at least 3 months prior to the date of filing Form N-400, Application for Naturalization.

Therefore, if you have recently moved to a new state, you must wait 3 months before filing Form N-400.

Generally, you must be able to read, write, and speak English and have knowledge and an understanding of U.S. history and government (also known as civics). You shouldn't be intimidated. You only need a basic level of English. It's also very easy to study for the civics test. CitizenPath can show you How to Prepare for the U.S. Citizenship Test & Interview.

USCIS does provide some English language exceptions and medical disability exceptions for those who qualify. You are not required to take the English language test if:

• At the time of filing your Form N-400, you are 50 years of age or older and have lived in the United States as a permanent resident for periods totaling at least 20 years. You do not have to take the English language test, but you do have to take the civics test in the language of your choice.
• At the time of filing your Form N-400, you are 55 years of age or older and have lived in the United States as a permanent resident for periods totaling at least 15 years. You do not have to take the English language test, but you do have to take the civics test in the language of your choice.
• At the time of filing your Form N-400, you are 65 years of age or older and have lived in the United States as a permanent resident for periods totaling at least 20 years. You do not have to take the English language test, but you do have to take a simplified version of the civics test in the language of your choice.

USCIS also provides accommodations for individuals with disabilities. Learn more on the USCIS Exceptions & Accommodations page.

Everybody makes mistakes; you aren't expected to be perfect. The United States wants new citizens to be of good moral character, attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States, and well disposed to the good order and happiness of the United States during all relevant periods under the law. Examples of things that might demonstrate a lack of good moral character include but aren't limited to:

• Any crime against a person with intent to harm
• Any crime against property or the Government that involves “fraud” or evil intent
• Two or more crimes for which the aggregate sentence was 5 years or more
• Violating any controlled substance law of the United States, any State, or any foreign country
• Habitual drunkenness
• Illegal gambling
• Prostitution
• Polygamy (marriage to more than one person at the same time)
• Lying to gain immigration benefits
• Failing to pay court-ordered child support or alimony payments
• Confinement in jail, prison, or similar institution for which the total confinement was 180 days or more during the past 5 years
• Failing to complete any probation, parole, or suspended sentence before you apply for naturalization
• Terrorist acts
• Persecution of anyone because of race, religion, national origin, political opinion, or social group

If you are concerned that your moral character may be in question due to even a minor incident, you should consult an immigration attorney before filing Form N-400.