When do i become eligible for us citizenship

Please reference the Terms of Use and the Supplemental Terms for specific information related to your state. Lawyer Directory. Call us at 1 For some people who hold a green card lawful permanent residence , it's possible to apply for naturalized U.

If you are married to a U. This assumes the following: you are currently married to and living with a U. If you are an asylee, then you must wait four years after your approval of permanent residence because your year as an asylee counts; in fact, you will notice that your green card is already back-dated one year.

If you are a refugee, you must wait five years from your date of U. You are expected to apply for a green card one year after entering the U. If you are a current or former military member or spouse of a military members who died during active duty in the U. Armed Forces, other special rules apply, which are beyond the scope of this article. See How to Get U. Citizenship Through Military Service. How U. Physical Presence Requirement Might Affect Counting Your Years as a Permanent Resident If your application is based on being a permanent resident for three years, then you must prove that you were physically present in the U.

Timeframe to Get a Nonimmigrant U. You will need to provide proof that you qualify along with your application. This exception applies even if you did not get your green card through this marriage. So, for example, you could have gotten a green card through your employer, then married a U.

You will, however, need to stay married to your U. The exception won't work if you separate or divorce legally prior to being sworn in as a citizen, or even if you choose to stop living with your spouse. Unfortunately, you will also lose the exception if your spouse dies before your naturalization interview. Congress didn't want immigrants to have to stay in an abusive marriage for three years just to obtain the benefit of the three-year exception when they applied for U.

So it created an exception for people who got their green cards through marriage to a U. These immigrants can apply for U. Children can also use this exception, although they must still reach age 18 before submitting their application for citizenship. If you got your green card based on having come to the United States as a refugee, part of your time as a refugee can be counted as if you were a permanent resident known as "rollback".

If you were granted refugee status while you were in another country, use the date you entered the United States as the beginning of your permanent residence. No matter how many years you lived in the United States as a refugee before eventually becoming a permanent resident, those years will count as if you had been a permanent resident the whole time for purposes of calculating when you can apply for naturalized citizenship. See U. Code of Federal Regulations at 8 C.

Check your green card for the date that USCIS recorded your admission as a lawful permanent resident. If you were the principal applicant, USCIS will records your date of admission as either your earliest arrival date to the U. If you are the family member of a principal applicant, USCIS will record your date of admission as either your earliest arrival date to the U.

If you got your green card based on having received asylum in the United States, one year of your time as an asylee counts as if you were a permanent resident known as "rollback". Note, however, that if you waited longer than one year after receiving asylum to apply for your green card, that extra time will not be counted toward your permanent residency period. You will have to wait a full four years from the actual date when you're approved for a green card.

And, somewhat confusingly, you will need to wait a full five years from the date your green card says you became a permanent resident. That's because USCIS will automatically backdate your permanent residence approval date on your green card by one year, in recognition of your rollback rights. See the U.

Code of Federal Regulations 8 C. If your spouse has a job requiring the two of you to live overseas, you may be able to apply for citizenship without five years of permanent residence. If you are willing to come back to the United States to apply, you can file your application any time after you receive your permanent residence.

There are a number of limitations on who can use this provision. You must be regularly stationed abroad due to your spouse's employment. You also must declare an intention to live in the United States when your spouse's employment ends. And finally, your spouse's employer must be either:. A final note of caution: Even if you have spent the required amount of time with a green card, you might need to wait longer before applying for U.

Get certified copies of a Certificate of Naturalization. Replace your Certificate of Citizenship or Certificate of Naturalization if it was lost or stolen using form N If you have further questions, contact U. Dual citizenship or dual nationality means a person may be a citizen of the United States and another country at the same time.

If you're a citizen of another country, contact that country's embassy or consulate for information about its:. For information on dual nationality from the point of view of another country, contact that country's embassy or consulate.

If you have dual citizenship and plan to travel to or from the United States, you must use a U. Information about giving up or losing your U. A licensed attorney skilled in citizenship matters can assist you with questions about your situation. A local bar association can often provide a good referral. If you were born in the U. If you were born outside the United States and your U. Embassy or consulate , you may apply for a U. If you were born outside the U.

Embassy, the U. You were born in a U.