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The Application Process

Anyone who meets the above criteria can make application for citizenship. The first step is filling out the proper forms and submitting the correct accompanying documentation. INS Form N-400 is the standard naturalization form. Applicants must complete the form and send it, along with a fingerprint card, a Biographic Information form (not always required), and two unsigned photographs to the nearest INS office. The fee as of 2001 was $260 (not including any possible charges for the fingerprints).

Once the form has been examined and accepted by INS, the applicant will be contacted for an appointment with a naturalization examiner. Upon arriving at the application examination, the applicant must fill out another form, the Petition for Naturalization (for which a processing fee is paid). It is during the examination that applicants are asked about the United States, about why they wish to become naturalized citizens, and what they feel their responsibilities will be as U.S. citizens. Some of the questions are quite basic, while others are more involved. Among the possible questions are the following:

  • How many branches are there in the U.S. government?
  • Who was the first president of the United States?
  • How many judges serve on the U.S. Supreme Court?
  • Into which branches is Congress divided?
  • Who is the Congressional representative from the applicant’s district?
  • How many amendments are there to the U.S. Constitution?
  • Can the applicant summarize one amendment from the Bill of Rights, other than the First Amendment?
  • Can the applicant recite the Pledge of Allegiance?

If the application examiner determines that the applicant is eligible for citizenship, the applicant must appear before a judge for a final hearing. Applicants who are denied citizenship may appear at the hearing and petition the judge, who will then make a final decision.

If all the conditions for naturalization are met, the judge will ask the applicant to take the oath of allegiance to the United States. Often, a number of people take the oath together in the courtroom. Each new U.S. citizen is given a naturalization certificate; once naturalization takes place the applicant no longer needs to carry or renew a green card.

New U.S. citizens need to understand that many countries do not recognize naturalization as entailing the loss of citizenship in another country. Some people may actually be “dual nationals” whose governments do not recognize them as Americans. In some cases, the individual must actually appear at his or her embassy and renounce citizenship in the native country.

One little-known type of naturalization is posthumous citizenship. This is an honorary citizenship given to non-U.S. citizens who died in the service of the United States (in the armed forces, for example). This is strictly honorary and does not confer any citizenship rights upon the person so honored.


Inside The Application Process