You may become a U.S. citizen (1) by birth or (2) through naturalization.

Generally, people are born U.S. citizens if they are born in the United States or if they are born to U.S. citizens:

1. If you were born in the United States: Including, in most cases, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, you are an American citizen at birth (unless you were born to a foreign diplomat). Your birth certificate is proof of your citizenship.
2. If you were born abroad to TWO U.S. citizens: And at least one of your parents lived in the United States at some point in his or her life, then in most cases you are a U.S. citizen.
3. If you were born abroad to ONE U.S. citizen: In most cases, you are a U.S. citizen if ALL of the following are true:
   • One of your parents was a U.S. citizen when you were born;
   • Your citizen parent lived at least 5 years in the United States before you were born; and
   • At least 2 of these 5 years in the United States were after your citizen parent's 14th birthday. (If you were born before November 14, 1986, you are a citizen if your U.S. citizen parent lived in the United States for at least 10 years and 5 of those years in the United States were after your citizen parent's 14th birthday.)

Your record of birth abroad, if registered with a U.S. consulate or embassy, is proof of your citizenship. You may also apply for a passport to have your citizenship recognized. If you need additional proof of your citizenship, you may file an "Application for Certificate of Citizenship" (Form N-600) with USCIS to get a Certificate of Citizenship.

USCIS will make every effort to make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities who need modifications to the naturalization process to demonstrate their eligibility. For example, if you use a wheelchair, USCIS will make sure you can be fingerprinted, interviewed, and sworn in at a location that is wheelchair accessible. If you are hearing impaired, the officer conducting your interview will speak loudly and slowly, or USCIS will work with you to arrange for a sign language interpreter. If you use a service animal, such as a guide dog, your animal may come with you to your interview and oath ceremony.

If you know in advance that you will need some kind of accommodation, write a letter explaining what you will need and send it to the district office that will interview you after you receive your interview notice. USCIS is continuing to work on better ways to make the naturalization process easier for applicants with disabilities.

The time it takes to be naturalized varies by location. USCIS is continuing to modernize and improve the naturalization process and would like to decrease the time it takes to an average of 6 months.

Processing timings for service centers: California, Nebraska, Texas, Vermont.

You can track this online.

It is important that USCIS has your latest address. If USCIS does not have your current address, you may not get important information from us. For example, USCIS may not be able to notify you about the date and time of your interview or about additional documents you may need to send or bring.

If you move after you have filed your application for naturalization (Form N-400), call the National Customer Service Center's toll-free telephone number at 1-800-375-5283 (TTY: 1-800-767-1833) to report your address change. You should also notify the U.S. Postal Service of your new address to help ensure that any mail already on its way will be forwarded to you.

You can change your name as part of your naturalization if a court in your area conducts naturalization oath ceremonies. Otherwise, no name change can be recorded on your Certificate of Naturalization unless you already changed your name legally (such as by marriage) before completing the naturalization process.

If you decide to change your name, you will be required to complete a Petition for Name Change during your interview. Petitioning the court to change your name may delay the date of your oath ceremony, in some cases. If you petition to change your name, the new name will not be legally binding until after your oath ceremony. Your new name will appear on your Certificate of Naturalization.

The USCIS does not process petitions for a name change after naturalization. However, you still may change your name after naturalization by other legal means.

If you feel that USCIS has wrongly denied your naturalization application, you may request a hearing with an immigration officer. Your denial letter will explain how to request a hearing and will include the form you need. The form for filing an appeal is the "Request for Hearing on a Decision in Naturalization Proceedings under Section 336 of the Act" (Form N-336). You must file the form with USCIS with the correct fee within 30 days after you receive a denial letter.

If, after an appeal hearing with USCIS, you still believe you have been wrongly denied naturalization, you may file a petition for a new review of your application in U.S. District Court.

In many cases, you may reapply. If you reapply, you will need to complete and resubmit a new N-400 and pay the fee again. You will also need to have your fingerprints and photographs taken again. If your application is denied, the denial letter should indicate the date you may reapply for citizenship.

If you are denied because you failed the English or civics test, you may reapply for naturalization as soon as you want. You should reapply whenever you believe you have learned enough English or civics to pass the tests.

You may get a new Certificate of Naturalization by submitting an "Application for Replacement Naturalization/Citizenship Document" (Form N-565) to USCIS. Submit this form with the fee to your local USCIS office. It may take up to 1 year for you to receive a new certificate. If you have one, you may use your passport as evidence of citizenship while you wait for a replacement certificate. You should apply for a passport as soon as you become a citizen.

If you apply for naturalization six months or more before the expiration date on your Permanent Resident Card, you do not have to apply for a new card. However, you may apply for a renewal Permanent Resident Card if you wish by using the Form I-90 and paying the appropriate fee.

If you apply for naturalization within six months of the expiration date on your Permanent Resident Card, or don't apply for naturalization until your card has already expired, you must renew your card.

A child who is born in the United States, or born abroad to a U.S. citizen(s) who lived in (or came to) the United States for a period of time prior to the child's birth, is generally considered a U.S. citizen at birth.

A child who is:

• born to a U.S. citizen who did not live in (or come to) the United States for a period of time prior to the child's birth, or
• born to one U.S. citizen parent and one alien parent or two alien parents who naturalize after the child's birth, or
• who is adopted and is permanently residing in the United States

can become a U.S. citizen by action of law on the date on which all of the following requirements have been met:

• The child was lawfully admitted for permanent residence*, and
• Either parent was a United States citizen by birth or naturalization**; and
• The child was still under 18 years of age; and
• The child was not married; and
• The child was the parent's legitimate child or was legitimated by the parent before the child's 16th birthday (Stepchildren or children born out of wedlock who were not legitimated before their 16th birthday do not derive United States citizenship through their parents.); and
• If adopted, the child met the requirements of section 101(b)(1)(E) or (F) and has had a full and final adoption; and
• The child was residing in the United States in the legal custody of the U.S. citizen parent (this includes joint custody); and
• The child was residing in the United States in the physical custody of the U.S. citizen parent.

If you and your child meet all of these requirements, you may obtain a U.S. passport for the child as evidence of citizenship. If the child needs further evidence of citizenship, you may submit an "Application for Certificate of Citizenship" (Form N-600) to USCIS to obtain a Certificate of Citizenship. (Note: a child who meets these requirements before his or her 18th birthday may obtain a passport of Certificate of Citizenship at any time, even after he or she turns 18).

If the child meets the requirements of Section 322 of the Immigration and Nationality Act as a child residing outside the United States, you may submit an "Application for Citizenship and Issuance of Certificate under Section 322" (Form N-600K).

*NOTE Children who immigrated under the "IR-3" or "IR-4" categories must have had an immigrant petition filed on their behalf before their 16th birthday; see answers to Question 13 below. All adoptions for any other type of immigration benefit, including naturalization, must be completed by the child's 16th birthday, with one exception: A child adopted while under the age of 18 years by the same parents who adopted a natural sibling who met the usual requirements.

**NOTE - The "one U.S. citizen parent" rule applies only to children who first fulfilled the requirements for automatic citizenship (other than at birth abroad) on or after February 27, 2001. In order to qualify for automatic citizenship (other than at birth abroad) on or before February 26, 2001, all of the child's parents must have been United States citizens either at birth or through naturalization- both parents if the child had two parents; the surviving parent if a parent had died; the parent with legal custody if the parents were divorced or legally separated; or the mother only, if the child had been born out of wedlock and the child's paternity had not been established by legitimation.

A child who is regularly residing IN the United States can become a citizen of the United States only by meeting the requirements listed in the answer to Question 12 above. If a child regularly resides IN the United States and is not a lawful permanent resident, he or she cannot acquire citizenship automatically until he or she is granted lawful permanent residence. If a child who has been lawfully admitted for permanent residence fails to qualify for citizenship under the provisions of law, he or she may apply for naturalization after reaching 18 years of age by filing an N-400, provided that he or she has the required 5 years of lawful permanent residence.

U.S. citizens with children by birth or adoption who do NOT regularly reside in the United States, may apply for citizenship for such a child if all of the following conditions are met:

• The child is under 18 years of age; and
• The child is not married; and
• The child regularly resides outside the United States; and
• The child is temporarily present in the United States pursuant to a lawful admission and is maintaining such lawful status; and
• The child is in legal and physical custody of a parent who is a U.S. citizen; and
• The child is the U.S. citizen's legitimate child, or was legitimated before the child's 16th birthday (stepchildren or children born out of wedlock who were not legitimated before their 16th birthday are not eligible for this procedure); and
• If adopted, the child meets the requirements of section 101(b)(1)(E) or (F) and had a full and final adoption; and
• either of the following is true:
  • The citizen parent has lived at least 5 years in the United States, and at least 2 of which were after the citizen parent's 14th birthday; or
  • If the child's citizen parent has not lived in the United States for at least 5 years, 2 of which were after that parent's 14th birthday, the citizen parent currently has a parent(the child's grandparent) who:
    • is also a U.S. citizen, and
    • lived in the United States for 5 years, at least 2 of which were after the citizen grandparent's 14th birthday; and
    • is still living at the time of the adjudication of the application and the taking of the Oath.

If the foregoing conditions are met, the citizen parent can apply for citizenship and a certificate of citizenship in behalf of the child using an "Application for Citizenship and Issuance of a Certificate under Section 322" (Form N-600K). Both the citizen parent and the child must appear at an interview with an USCIS officer in the United States. The child must meet ALL of the required conditions at the time when he or she takes the Oath of Allegiance (Note: the Oath may be waived if the child is too young to understand it).

A person who owes permanent allegiance to the United States, and who may naturalize based on living in an outlying possession of the United States.

Yes, you can. However, after all the trouble you take to get it, you should consider accepting the US citizenship.

If one takes up citizenship in another country, then the U.S. will consider that person to no longer be a citizen. Incidentally, the same is not necessarily true the other way around. If a person of another country becomes a U.S. citizen then, depending upon the laws of the home country, that country may still consider her/him to be a citizen.

There are situations where the U.S. may recognize dual citizenship. For example, a person may have acquired U.S. citizenship through a parent and still be a citizen of another country. The dual citizenship situations generally pertain to citizenship-by-birth, not when the U.S. citizen naturalizes in another country.