Naturalization looks like a form and a test. It is actually a full review of an immigrant's entire file — every entry, every absence, every tax year, every arrest, every prior application. USCIS reads the N-400 against the whole record, and applicants are sometimes surprised to learn the application exposed a problem that had sat dormant for years. Audu Law Firm prepares naturalization cases the way they are adjudicated: file-first.
What Naturalization Requires
The residence and presence math
Most applicants qualify after five years as a permanent resident — three if married to and living with a U.S. citizen — with continuous residence and physical presence requirements that extended trips abroad can quietly break. An absence of six months or more raises a presumption of disrupted residence that must be rebutted with evidence.
Good moral character
The statutory period is the focus, but USCIS may look further back. Tax compliance, support obligations, honest disclosures, and criminal history are all in scope. Some records are waivable context; others are permanent or conditional bars — and a small set create removability risk that must be identified before filing, not at the interview.
The interview and tests
English and civics testing, with exemptions by age and residence duration and a disability waiver where a qualifying condition prevents testing. The interview also re-examines the N-400 line by line, under oath.
Consultations are conducted by Zoom. Immigration law is federal — we represent naturalization applicants nationwide before USCIS.
USCIS reviews the whole file. Review it first.
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