US Citizenship Calculator 2026: N-400 Eligibility Check

This calculator answers one question: do your dates satisfy the residence and presence requirements USCIS applies to Form N-400? It cannot see your criminal record, your tax filings or your travel history beyond what you type, so a green result here is the start of the analysis, not the end of it.

The Three Tests, and Why People Fail the Second

Start by fixing your green card date, because every other clock on this page is measured from it. Naturalisation runs on three separate clocks, and USCIS checks all of them at the interview rather than at filing. Most applicants understand the first one and are surprised by the second.

The residence clock. You must have held permanent residence for five years, or three years if you are married to and living with a US citizen. That clock starts on the date your green card was approved, not the date it arrived in the post, and not the date you first entered.

The physical presence clock. Out of those five years you must have been physically inside the United States for at least half the time — thirty months, or 913 days. Under the three-year rule the requirement is eighteen months, or 548 days, out of three years. This is the test that fails people, because it is cumulative and it counts every holiday, every family visit and every work trip. A green card holder who spends three months a year abroad for five years has lost fifteen months and is fine; one who spends seven months a year abroad is not.

The district clock. You must have lived in the state or USCIS district that has jurisdiction over your address for at least three months before filing. Moving house is not a problem; moving the month before you file is.

All three must be satisfied when USCIS decides the case, not merely when you post the form. That distinction matters because the interview can be a year after filing, and a long trip in between can quietly break a test you had already passed on paper.

Continuous Residence and the Six-Month Rule

Continuous residence is not the same as physical presence, and conflating them is the most expensive mistake in this process. Presence asks how many days you were inside the country. Continuous residence asks whether you kept your life here.

An absence of more than six months but less than a year creates a presumption that you broke continuous residence. It is rebuttable, and USCIS weighs whether you kept a job, a home, a bank account, a driving licence, school-age children in school and tax filings here during the trip. An absence of a year or more breaks continuous residence outright and, in most cases, restarts the five-year clock — which is why a long overseas posting can cost years.

There are narrow statutory exceptions for certain overseas employment: US government service, work for an American research institution, and employment with a US company engaged in foreign trade. These require an application for a preservation of residence benefit, normally filed before the absence, and they are not a general permission to live abroad.

Two practical habits keep this clean. Keep a travel log with exact entry and exit dates, taken from I-94 records rather than memory. And get tax transcripts for the whole qualifying period, because USCIS asks, and a gap in filing reads as a gap in residence.

Filing Ninety Days Early

USCIS allows you to file up to ninety days before you complete the residence requirement. Under the five-year rule that means filing at four years and nine months; under the three-year rule, at two years and nine months.

Filing a single day early is not a minor error. An application filed before the window opens is rejected, the fee is returned, and you file again — which costs weeks rather than months but is entirely avoidable. The ninety days is counted from the anniversary of your green card date, so the safest route is to compute the earliest filing date and then wait a few days.

The reason people file early at all is queue time, not impatience. Field office backlogs mean the gap between filing and oath can run from six months to well over a year, and filing on the first eligible day is the only lever an applicant controls.

Age Exemptions From the English and Civics Tests

Three combinations of age and years as a permanent resident change the testing requirement. They are commonly called the 50/20, 55/15 and 65/20 rules.

The years are counted as a permanent resident, not years in the United States, and the age is your age at the time you file. An applicant who turns 55 three months after filing does not retroactively qualify, so the timing of the filing matters here too.

Separately, applicants with a documented disability may request an exemption from the English test, the civics test or both using Form N-648, completed by a medical professional. It is a medical exception, not a general hardship exception, and it has become harder to obtain in recent years.

Fees and What the Application Includes

Form N-400 costs $760 on paper and $710 online, with biometrics included for most applicants. A reduced fee of $380 is available where household income is at or below 150% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines, and a fee waiver exists in narrower circumstances.

The fee covers the application, the biometrics appointment and the interview. It does not cover the cost of a lawyer, certified translations of documents, or travel to the field office. If the application is denied, the fee is not refunded, and a second attempt means paying again.

Budget for the supporting documents as well: certified translations of birth and marriage certificates, passport-style photographs if your field office asks for them, and tax transcripts, which are free from the IRS but take time to obtain.

What Disqualifies an Otherwise Eligible Applicant?

Meeting all three clocks is necessary but not sufficient. The good moral character requirement looks back five years, or three under the marriage rule, and some bars are permanent.

Permanent bars. If any of these applies you are not eligible for naturalisation regardless of your dates, and no amount of residence makes up for it.

1. A conviction for an aggravated felony.
2. A conviction for a crime involving moral turpitude where the aggregate sentence imposed was five years or more.
3. A drug trafficking offence, including a conspiracy or attempt.
4. A false claim to US citizenship made to obtain an immigration benefit.

Some bars expire and some do not, which is why the exact disposition and sentence matter more than the charge on its own.

Temporary bars. Most other criminal convictions, a drug offence involving a single possession of 30 grams or less of marijuana, and certain probation violations bar naturalisation for a defined period rather than forever. The dates matter enormously, and a lawyer should compute them rather than an applicant guessing.

Conduct that counts without a conviction. Failing to file or pay taxes, failing to register with Selective Service where required, lying to obtain an immigration benefit, and owing court-ordered child support are all assessed under good moral character even though none is a crime.

Registration. Men who were in the United States between 18 and 26 must generally have registered with Selective Service. If you did not, USCIS can require a statement of explanation, and for applicants over 31 the failure is usually treated as not a bar if it was not knowing and wilful.

Documents to Gather Before You File

Gathering these before you start the form saves weeks, because a missing certified translation is the most common reason a filing stalls after it has already been paid for.

1. Permanent resident card, front and back, plus any prior cards if you have held conditions removed.
2. Travel history for the whole qualifying period, taken from I-94 records rather than memory, with exact entry and exit dates.
3. Tax transcripts for the qualifying period, requested free from the IRS, covering every year rather than a selection.
4. Certified translations of birth and marriage certificates where they are not in English, with the translator's certification attached.
5. Court dispositions for any arrest or citation, including dismissed and expunged matters, because USCIS asks about them regardless of the outcome.
6. Selective Service information if you were in the United States between 18 and 26, including a status letter if you did not register.

What Happens After You File

The gap between filing and oath is the part applicants underestimate. It runs from a few months at a fast field office to well over a year where backlogs are long, and each stage has its own failure mode.

1. Receipt notice arrives within a few weeks, with a receipt number you can track online.
2. Biometrics appointment is scheduled, though many applicants now have prints reused from an earlier application.
3. Interview notice follows, typically several months later, and it is the date that matters most — you must still meet every requirement on that day.
4. Interview and tests happen together: the civics questions, the English reading and writing, and a review of your application under oath.
5. Decision is either granted, continued for a specific reason, or denied. A continued case is not a refusal and usually resolves once the missing item is supplied.
6. Oath ceremony completes the process, sometimes the same day and sometimes weeks later. Citizenship begins on the oath date, not the approval date.

Frequently Asked Questions

How We Fact-Check This Page

The residence and presence requirements are those set out in the Immigration and Nationality Act and applied by USCIS on Form N-400: five years as a permanent resident or three years for spouses of US citizens, thirty months of physical presence or eighteen, and three months of district residence. The ninety-day early filing window, the six-month presumption, the one-year break and the 50/20, 55/15 and 65/20 test exemptions are all current USCIS policy. Fees reflect the current USCIS schedule.

This calculator is a screening aid, not a legal determination. It cannot see your travel records, your criminal history or your tax compliance, and USCIS decides on evidence rather than on dates alone.