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Form guide

Form N-400, Application for Naturalization

Form N-400 is the application for naturalization — the form that takes a green card holder to citizenship. It reviews your years as a resident: your time, your travel, your taxes, and your character, and it ends with the English and civics tests at the interview.

Filing fee$760 · $710 onlineUSCIS schedule, edition 09/09/2026
Who files itThe green card holder applying for citizenship
Filled by our softwareFrom your answers, checked before filing

Part by part

What the form asks

  1. Your basis

    The five-year path, or the three-year path for spouses of U.S. citizens.

  2. Residence and travel

    Where you have lived and every trip outside the U.S. — long trips raise continuous-residence questions.

  3. Moral character

    Taxes, arrests, and the yes/no history section. Truthful answers with explanations beat silence.

  4. The tests

    English reading, writing, and speaking, plus the civics test — practiced ahead with the free tool.

Watch for

Where cases go wrong

An incomplete travel list — USCIS has entry records and compares

Unaddressed tax issues instead of documented payment plans

For men who lived in the U.S. between 18 and 26: the Selective Service question left unexplained

Filing earlier than the 90-day early window allows

Every one of these is a completeness problem — the kind the software checks for before your packet is marked ready.

Where it appears

Petitions that use N-400

Naturalization (N-400)The standard 5-year pathCitizenship through marriageThe 3-year path for spouses of citizensThe civics test2008 or 2025 version, by filing date

Form N-400

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More about N-400

InstructionsHow is it filled out?FeeWhat does it cost to file?Processing timeHow long does it take?ChecklistWhat goes with it?Common mistakesWhat goes wrong?
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