The application to become a citizen of the United States is made on U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Form N-400, “Application for Naturalization.”
You can fill out this form on your computer or by hand and mail it to USCIS, or you can fill it out using USCIS’s online filing system and submit it that way. This article describes how to fill out Form N-400 on your computer or by hand with the intention of mailing it to USCIS. It describes the version dated 12/23/2016.
If you are filling out the form using USCIS’s online filing system, the experience will be different. Follow the instructions the online system gives you.
If you have a computer with pdf-filling software, the easiest way to fill out Form N-400 is by downloading the latest version from the USCIS website and filling it out on your computer. The form was created in such a way that you can only type certain information into the boxes. If you find that you cannot type what you want into a box, you can leave it blank and then add the information by hand after printing the form.
Filling out the form on your computer allows you to take advantage of some “drop-down” boxes—boxes with a little down arrow on the right side that you can click to select options that will automatically fill the box.
USCIS will accept an N-400 that is filled out completely by hand. If you do that, use black ink and make sure your writing can be clearly read.
You may find that the form does not give you enough space to answer a question. In that case, you will have to type or handwrite your full answer on a separate piece of paper, which you attach to the back of the form. At the top of each extra sheet, put your name and alien registration number (A-number). Indicate the page number, part number, and item number to which your extra information refers.
You may also find that a particular question on the form does not apply to you. An example would be when you don’t have a middle name and the form asks for a middle name. USCIS instructs you to put “N/A” (which means “not applicable”) in the box, except where the form makes it clear you don’t have to. For example, the form may instruct you to skip a section or ask for information only if you have a foreign address. If you see “(if any)” next to a question and you don’t have any, put “N/A.” If a question asks for a numeric response and your answer is zero or none (for example, “How many children do you have?” or “How many times have you departed the United States?”), put “None” rather than “0” or “N/A.”
Keep your answers within the boxes provided. USCIS doesn’t like highlighting, crossing out answers, or the use of “white-out” (correction tape or fluid). Redo the page if you make a mistake.
The N-400 has a space for your A-number on the top right corner of each page. If your A-number has fewer than nine digits after the “A”, place enough zeros before the first number to make a total of nine digits. (For example, type or print number A12345678 as A012345678.) If you fill the form out on your computer, your A-number will automatically appear on every page after you enter it on the first page.
When providing any date, always use two digits for the month, two digits for the day, and four digits for the year, and type or write them in that order, separated by a slash.
There are several different laws governing eligibility for naturalization, and in Part 1 of the N-400, USCIS asks for information so it can determine which one applies to you. Choose only one box. If you’re not sure which box to choose or whether you can take advantage of a different basis for eligibility, consult with an immigration lawyer before filling out Part 1.
Part 2 is where you provide information to identify yourself. Item 4 gives the you the option to legally change your name at the time you become a U.S. citizen, if you want to. (USCIS can’t do this if you’re naturalizing out side the United States, however.)
Item 6 asks for your USCIS online account number. (This is not your A-number!) If you don’t remember signing up for a USCIS online account or getting a notice in the mail saying one was created for you, you probably don’t have such a number.
Item 9 asks for the date you became a permanent resident—you can find that date on your permanent resident card (your green card).
For Item 10, if the name of the country you were born in changed after you were born, don’t give the new name—give the name as it was when you were born. For Item 11, however, give the current name. If the country you were born in no longer exists, give the name of the country with current authority over the place where you were born. If you are stateless (have no current citizenship anywhere and no nationality), give the name of the country (as it is currently exists) where you were last a citizen or national. If you are a citizen of more than one foreign country, give the name of the country that last issued you a passport (or renewed one for you).
Item 12 is for people who need to claim a medical exemption from the English and/or civics testing. Item 13 is where you let USCIS know whether it needs to test your English or give you the full civics exam.
Part 3 is for requesting an accommodation at your interview because of a disability.
Part 4 asks for your phone numbers and email address. If you are hearing impaired and use a TTY telephone connection, put “TTY” after the telephone number.
In Part 5, USCIS wants your address history going back five years from the time you file the N-400. If you have lived somewhere different than your current address in the past five years, list your previous addresses starting with the address where you lived before your current address as “Physical Address 2”, the one before that as “Physical Address 3,” and so forth.
If an address doesn’t have a street name or number, put “no street address.” If an address doesn’t have a state or province, enter the name of your city again in that box. If an address doesn’t have a ZIP or postal code, enter “00000” in the ZIP or postal code box.
Victims of domestic violence are not required to disclose the confidential address of a shelter or safe house. If you do not feel safe providing your current address, you may provide a “safe address” where you are able to receive mail. (Do not provide a post office box number unless that is your only address.) If you are not currently residing in a shelter or safe house, but have resided in a shelter or safe house for any part of the five-year period, you may provide just the name of the city and state where the shelter or safe house is located.
You can skip Part 6 completely and move on to Part 7 if neither of your parents is a U.S. citizen. If you do have a U.S. citizen parent, USCIS asks some questions about them to determine whether you might already be a U.S. citizen and not need to naturalize.
Part 7 asks for some information about you so the Department of Homeland Security knows it has the right person when it conducts background checks on you.
For item 1, “Hispanic or Latino” means a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race. In Item 2, you can choose more than one race. “White” means a person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa. “Asian” means a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam. “Black or African American” means a person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. “American Indian or Alaska Native” means a person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America), and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment. “Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander” means a person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.
Part 8 asks for information about where you worked, were self-employed, were unemployed, or studied during the five years before filing the N-400. Start with your current situation and go backwards in time. If you worked for yourself, write “self-employed” in the Employer or School Name box and leave the address box blank. If you were unemployed, write “unemployed” in the Employer or School Name box and leave the address box blank.
Part 9 is where you tell USCIS about all the time you spent outside the United States in the five years right before filing the N-400. When counting “days spent outside the United States,” don’t count any day that you were in the United States for any part of that day. That means most travel days won’t count.
Unfortunately, Part 9 is not written for people taking advantage of the three-year rule for spouses of U.S. citizens. They only need to account for time outside the United States in the last three years, not five. Such applicants who came to the United States less than five years previously can safely answer Part 9 by providing information about the last three years only. Applicants taking advantage of the three-year rule who have been living in the United States for more than five years can do the same or provide information about the previous five years if they want.
Part 10 asks for information about marital history. If you select “Single, Never Married” in Item 1, you are done with Part 10 and can move on to Part 11.
Item 3 asks how many times you have been married. If you were married to the same person more than one time, count each time as a separate marriage.
Part 11 asks for information about your children. Read the definition of “children” in Item 1 to make sure you are including everyone. In Item 2 where it asks for the child’s address, you can put “Child Residing With Me” in the “Street Number and Name” box if your son or daughter is living with you. If your son or daughter is missing or deceased, put “Child Missing” or “Child Deceased” in the “Street Number and Name” box.
Part 12 is a series of questions that go towards your eligibility for U.S. citizenship. It is very important to answer these questions accurately. If any part of a question applies to you or has ever applied to you, you must answer “Yes.” If you answer “Yes” to any of the questions in Items 1 through 44, you will have to attach a separate sheet of paper on which you explain why the answer is “Yes.” You should answer “yes” if there is any doubt and explain the situation on a supplement sheet and at your naturalization interview. Do the same if you answer “No” to any question in Items 45 through 50.
Item 23 asks about arrests. You can safely consider that a traffic stop in which you were given a ticket was not an arrest, unless you were taken into custody at some point. Consult with an attorney specializing in criminal law if you are not certain whether an incident was an arrest or not.
Part 13 is where you sign and date the form. Make sure you read what you are certifying by your signature. You do not have to sign your name in any particular way, so long as what’s in the box is identifiable as your own personal signature that you customarily use. This is the only place you sign the N-400 before mailing it to USCIS.
You complete Part 14 only if you used an interpreter to be able to understand and provide answers on the Form N-400. USCIS needs the interpreter’s contact information and his or her signature certifying competency to translate.
You complete Part 15 only if you had help filling out the form, including if someone else filled everything out for you. USCIS needs the preparer’s contact information and his or her signature certifying that you requested the preparer’s help, you supplied all the information, and that after the form was filled out, the preparer showed the completed form to you for your approval.
Do not do anything with Parts 16, 17, and 18. Leave them blank. You’ll see them again at your interview.
