U.S. Citizenship and English Practice

Prepare for the U.S. Naturalization Interview with reading, writing, civics questions, and N-400 personal information practice.

About the Application

Posted on Author teacherericPosted in About Citizenship
Image by StockSnap from Pixabay

Review: The Citizenship Test

  1. How many parts are in the citizenship test?
  2. How many sentences do you need to read clearly for the reading test?
  3. How many clear sentences do you need to write for the writing test?
  4. Why does the officer ask you questions about your N400 Citizenship Application?
    • Reason 1:
    • Reason 2:
  5. What information is in the civics test?
  6. How many correct questions do you need?

The N400 Application

The application for citizenship is also called Form N-400. You can find the N400 application online, here.

The application has 14 pages of questions. It is very important to understand the questions and your answers.

If there are mistakes or incorrect information, the application can be denied (stopped, cancelled).

Image by wendy julianto from Pixabay

One important question is about eligibility. This means: can you become a citizen?

If you want to apply to become a citizen, you must:

  • Be a lawful permanent resident for 4 years and 9 months or more
    • Or: Be a lawful permanent resident married to a US Citizen for 3 years or more
  • Lived in the United States for 30 months or more in the last 5 years
  • Never have taken a trip outside of the US that was more than 1 year
  • Lived in your state for 3 months or more
  • Be a good person 😊

Also, some people can take the civics test in their home language:

  • If you are at least 50 years old and have lived in the US with a greencard for 20 years or more
  • If you are at least 55 years old and have lived in the US with a greencard for 15 years or more

Some people can take a simpler version of the civics test, with only 20 questions:

  • If you are at least 65 years old and have lived in the US with a greencard for 20 years or more

SOAR Immigration Legal Services can help people prepare the application. Usually, you can consult with a lawyer or immigration representative for $50.

On the first Monday of every month, SOAR has free citizenship consultations.

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If you apply by yourself, please check all the information online about what documents you should send with the N400.

With the application and documents, most people must send a check or money order for $725 to the Department of Homeland Security. This is the application fee.

There is still a fee waiver that makes the application fee less, or free. SOAR can help answer questions about this, or you can read more online.