Citizenship and Naturalization

There are many advantages to becoming a U.S. citizen—including helping family members immigrate to the United States, traveling with a U.S. passport, and voting in U.S. elections. Millions of lawful permanent residents are eligible to naturalize but need support to take the important step of becoming a U.S. citizen.

The Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) provides critical support to organizations helping immigrants navigate the naturalization process. We provide trainings and technical assistance, publish the top practitioner’s guide, Naturalization and U.S. Citizenship: The Essential Legal Guide, engage in federal and local advocacy. Through the national New Americans Campaign, we also develop and disseminate best practices in providing access to naturalization services.

Latest in Citizenship and Naturalization

A Step-by-Step Guide to Completing FOIA Requests with DHS

12/13/2019

A FOIA request can be an invaluable tool in immigration law to help an immigrant and their representative. This guide details how to complete a FOIA request for USCIS, ICE, OBIM, and CBP. It provides step-by-step instructions on how to complete Form G-639, and also includes tips about alternatives to Form G-639, such as online submission options.

N-400: Annotated Form & Translations

12/13/2019

The last update to Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, was December 23, 2016. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) only accepts the current version of the form. The last major update to the N-400 was on February 4, 2014 , when USCIS announced changes that doubled the length of the form. The increase in length stemmed in part from additional questions related to determinations...

How Travel Abroad Can Affect Naturalization Eligibility and Cause Abandonment of Lawful Permanent Resident Status

12/11/2019

In order to qualify for naturalization, lawful permanent residents must meet several residence and physical presence requirements that are often mistaken for one another and muddled together. Traveling outside of the United States can not only affect these requirements for naturalization, but they can cause United States Citizenship and Immigration (USCIS) officials to find that a person...

ILRC Submits Comment on EOIR Rule

10/04/2019

On August 26, 2019, the Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) published an interim final rule, effective immediately, with a request for public comments by October 25, 2019. ILRC posted a templated comment urging programs to send in their own responses. ILRC has also submitted its own comments. Here are a few important points regarding the rule: The rule portrays...

How to Successfully Administratively Appeal Your Naturalization Denial

10/02/2019

While the best-case scenario would be for United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to approve a person’s naturalization application, receiving a denial after a naturalization interview is not the end of the road. If USCIS denies the naturalization application, persons can seek a USCIS hearing to appeal the denial by submitting form N-336 (informally known as an administrative...