If you're a foreign national with U.S. lawful permanent residency (a green card), you may wish to take the next step in securing your right to remain in the U.S., by applying to become a U.S. citizen. The naturalization process gives you the chance to enjoy nearly all of the rights and privileges that come with native-born U.S. citizenship. (Becoming president is a notable exception.)
The process isn't fast or easy, though. There are a number of requirements you have to meet in order to qualify for U.S. citizenship. Among the most complicated of these are the residency requirements, which look at how long you've been living in the U.S. and your immigration status during that time.
Specifically, you must show that you:
Having status as an LPR basically means having a green card. It comes with the right to live and work in the U.S. on a permanent basis, so long as you don't do anything that makes you deportable, such as committing a serious crime.
Conditional residence also counts (for example, if you got your green card based on a relatively new marriage to a U.S. citizen, and had to go through a two-year testing period), so long as you converted to permanent residence at the end of that time.
When you file your naturalization application with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), you'll be asked to provide a copy of your green card to prove your LPR status.
"Continuous residence" is a legal term within U.S. immigration law. The word "residence" means where you actually live, that is, your dwelling or home. Residence "in the U.S." can include living in any of the 50 states or U.S. territories (Guam, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands).
Unless you're married to a U.S. citizen, you have to reside continuously in the U.S. for five years after you become a LPR before you're eligible for naturalization.
But some immigrants are credited with time before they actually held their green card. Refugees can count all the time since entering the U.S. as though they were LPRs, so long as they received a green card before applying for naturalization. Asylees can count one year of their time before green card approval (in fact, their green cards will show that extra year; it will be backdated one year from the actual approval date).
If you're married to a U.S. citizen, you need only three years' continuous residence with a green card before applying to naturalize. However, there are additional requirements:
Now let's look at whether your U.S. residence was "continuous." If you spend too long a stretch of time outside the U.S. during this period, you can be said to have "broken" your continous residence. If you are away from the U.S. for up to six months it's typically not a problem. If you're absent for any time between six months and one year, you'll have to explain the absence to USCIS.
If you've been out of the country for more than one year, you likely won't meet the continuous-residence requirement unless the absence is excused. For instance, if: (1) you've been in the U.S. for at least one year already, and (2) you began certain types of work after you became an LPR, then your employment-related absence from the U.S. shouldn't count against you, so long as you were employed by either:
You need to apply in advance to stay outside the U.S. for more than year on this basis. Also, even if your absence is excused for residency purposes, it doesn't excuse you from meeting the physical presence requirement described below.
You also need to have continuous residence from the time you file your application (Form N-400) until you're finally granted citizenship. So, after you file, make sure you don't leave the country for too long.
MAJOR CAUTION: If USCIS finds that during ANY of your absences, no matter how short, you left with the intention of giving up your U.S. residence and making your home elsewhere, it can find that you abandoned your U.S. residence and are no longer eligible to keep your green card, much less receive U.S. citizenship. See an attorney for details and a personal analysis.
You have to be actually, physically present in the U.S. before you file your application for naturalization. The time period is based upon your five- or three-year period, depending upon your marital status. If you:
Like many green card holders, you might have traveled in and out of the U.S. a good deal. That's fine, but you'll need to count the total days in order to meet this requirement.
You need to have resided continuously in the state (or the USCIS district) where you will file your naturalization application (Form N-400) for three months beforehand. Unless you move to another state, you'll likely satisfy this requirement as you build up your three or five years of continuous residence.
