If you marry a U.S, citizen, you won’t be eligible for U.S. citizenship right away. But you might become eligible for a U.S. green card, which can lead to U.S. citizenship.
However, there are certain requirements that must be met before you can apply for a green card and ultimately for U.S. citizenship after marriage to a U.S. citizen.
U.S. Citizenship Requirements for 3-Year Married Permanent Resident
As a permanent resident who is married to a U.S. citizen, you may be eligible for naturalization after just three years. This is a significant benefit (as it normally requires five years as a permanent resident before applying for citizenship).
To qualify, you must have lived in the U.S. continuously for the three years immediately preceding the date you file Form N-400, Application for Naturalization. You must be married to a citizen the entire time; and your spouse must have been a U.S. citizen for the entire time. The Immigration and Nationality Act (Section 319(a)) details all of the citizenship requirements for a 3-year permanent resident married to a U.S. citizen. We break it down in simple terms here.
An applicant for naturalization after three years of marriage to a U.S. citizen must meet the following citizenship requirements:
Be At Least 18 Years Old
To apply under this eligibility category, you must be 18 years of age or older.
You Must Have Lived in the United States for At Least 3 Years:
You must have your permanent resident status for at least 3 years before filing Form N-400, Application for Naturalization. Your time as a permanent resident begins the day you were granted permanent resident status. You can find the date on your green card next to “Resident Since.”
However, the rules do allow you to file your Form N-400 application up to 90 days before the 3-year anniversary of your admission date. Thus, a person who has been a permanent resident since 1/1/2019 would meet this requirement on 10/3/2021. That’s 90 days before they reach the 3-year mark.
You must have lived with your spouse for at least 3 years:
In addition to living with your U.S. citizen spouse for at least 3 years before filing N-400, Application for Naturalization, your spouse must also have been a U.S. citizen for the entire 3-year period. You must continue to be married for the remainder of the process – through the final Oath of Allegiance Ceremony. In the event of a divorce, or even your spouse’s death, you would no longer qualify for this eligibility category and would have to apply as a 5-year permanent resident.
You must have lived within the State for at least 3 months before filing the application:
You must have lived within the state (or USCIS district with jurisdiction over the applicant’s place of residence) for at least 3 months prior to the date of filing N-400, Application for Naturalization.
Therefore, if you have recently moved to a new state, you must wait 3 months before filing Form N-400.
Have a Continuous Residence in the US as a permanent resident for 3 years before filing the application:
Continuous residence means that the you have maintained residence within the United States for a specified period of time. The continuous residence requirement helps you demonstrate that you have begun to integrate with American community and intend to stay in the U.S. Therefore, you must have continuous residence in the United States as a lawful permanent resident for at least 3 years immediately preceding the date of filing N-400, Application for Naturalization.
You may take trips abroad but must maintain ties to the U.S. For example, during your trip abroad you continue to file taxes, maintain a residence, and intend to return to the U.S. If you plan to apply for citizenship, keep your trips outside the United States less than 6 months. USCIS will presume that any absences of 6 months or more has disrupted your continuous residence requirement.
You must also reside continuously within the United States from the date of filing the application until the time naturalization is finalized. Again, you may take a trip abroad during the naturalization process, but you cannot relocate your home to another country.
If you are engaged in certain kinds of overseas employment — such as working for the U.S. government or U.S. Armed Forces — you may be eligible for an exception to the continuous residence requirement.
Be Physically Present in the US for 18 Months out of the 3 Years before applying:
Physical presence refers to the number of days you must be physically present in the United States during the statutory period and up to the date of filing for naturalization. USCIS wants to know that you genuinely want to become a citizen. Like continuous residence, the physical presence requirement helps you demonstrate that you have begun to integrate with American community and intend to stay in the U.S. Therefore, you must be physically present in the United States for at least 18 months out of the 3 years immediately preceding the date of filing N-400, Application for Naturalization.
Physical presence is a cumulative requirement. Therefore, you must combine the number of days of all your trips outside the U.S. If you are engaged in certain kinds of overseas employment — such as working for the U.S. government or U.S. Armed Forces — you may be eligible for an exception to the physical presence requirement.
Be able to Pass the US English test as well as the US History and Government Test
Generally, you must be able to read, write, and speak English and have knowledge and an understanding of U.S. history and government (also known as civics). You shouldn’t be intimidated. You only need a basic level of English. It’s also very easy to study for the civics test.
USCIS also provides accommodations for individuals with disabilities. Learn more on the USCIS Exceptions & Accommodations page.
Be a person of good moral character
Everybody makes mistakes; you aren’t expected to be perfect. The United States wants new citizens to be of good moral character, attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States, and well disposed to the good order and happiness of the United States during all relevant periods under the law. Examples of things that might demonstrate a lack of good moral character include but aren’t limited to:
- Any crime against a person with intent to harm
- Any crime against property or the Government that involves “fraud” or evil intent
- Two or more crimes for which the aggregate sentence was 5 years or more
- Violating any controlled substance law of the United States, any State, or any foreign country
- Habitual drunkenness
- Illegal gambling
- Prostitution
- Polygamy (marriage to more than one person at the same time)
- Lying to gain immigration benefits
- Failing to pay court-ordered child support or alimony payments
- Confinement in jail, prison, or similar institution for which the total confinement was 180 days or more during the past 5 years
- Failing to complete any probation, parole, or suspended sentence before you apply for naturalization
- Terrorist acts
- Persecution of anyone because of race, religion, national origin, political opinion, or social group
If you are concerned that your moral character may be in question due to even a minor incident, you should consult an immigration attorney before filing Form N-400, Application for Naturalization.
The Green Card Application Process
As the spouse of a U.S. citizen (whether same-sex or opposite sex), you are what’s called an immediate relative in immigration law lingo. That’s good news, because there are no annual numerical limits on the green cards issued under this category, and therefore no waiting lists before you can apply.
The U.S. citizen spouse must start the process for you, by submitting a visa petition on Form I-130 to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The form must be accompanied by evidence of the marriage being legally valid, namely a marriage certificate, as well as proof that the marriage is bona fide, not merely a sham to get you a green card.
How the rest of the application process will be handled is more complicated.
If you, the immigrant, are living in the U.S. after a legal entry (i.e. on a visa or under the Visa Waiver Program), and you didn’t arrive for the purpose of getting married (which would be visa fraud), then you should be able to adjust status. Adjustment of status (AOS) is the process of applying for a green card without leaving the U.S.; you submit all your paperwork to, and attend your interview at, offices of USCIS. In fact, you don’t have to wait for approval of the I-130 before submitting your AOS application. It can all be mailed in as one package.
If you are living overseas, then you must wait for the I-130 to be approved and for further communication from the National Visa Center (NVC) and your local U.S. consulate. The consulate will call you in for an interview, at which your immigrant visa will hopefully be approved. You’ll use that visa to enter the U.S. and become a permanent resident (or a conditional resident, if your marriage is less than two years old when you enter the U.S.).
You cannot adjust status unless you are among a rare few who fall under some old laws (Section 245(i)). But if you leave the U.S. for processing through a U.S. consulate, you risk being found inadmissible due to your past unlawful stay, and being unable to return to the U.S. for either three or ten years. (Three years if your unlawful stay was at least 120 days; ten years if your unlawful stay was at least 365 days.) There is a waiver you can apply for before you leave, however (the “provisional waiver”), which an attorney can help you determine your eligibility for and prepare the application and supporting documents.
Will Being Inadmissible Prevent You From Getting a Green Card?
It’s important to understand that, even though you’ve married a U.S. citizen, you have to meet certain criteria on your own before you can be granted a green card. This includes that you not be found “inadmissible.” Intending immigrants can be found inadmissible for any of the reasons described in Section 212 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (I.N.A.).
Some of the grounds of inadmissibility that most often cause trouble are those barring entry to people who have committed certain types of crimes, developed certain physical or mental illnesses, broken U.S. immigration laws, or appear likely to become a public charge (receive public assistance due to financial need).
When You Can Apply for Citizenship
As the spouse of a U.S. citizen, you’re lucky. You don’t have to wait until you’ve had a green card for five years to apply for citizenship through the process known as naturalization. Assuming you stay married to and living with your U.S. citizen spouse the whole time, you can apply for citizenship three years after obtaining a green card.
You’ll also need to meet other requirements, such as having good moral character, having spent the majority of those three years living in the United States, being able to speak, read, and write English, and being able to pass a U.S. civics test.
The application for naturalization must be made by submitting Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, to USCIS.
You’ll need to attend an interview at a USCIS office. There, your application will be reviewed and you’ll be tested on your knowledge of English and civics.
Getting Help
Marriage to a U.S. citizen does not guarantee a green card or U.S. citizenship. Applications for U.S. green cards through marriage are scrutinized carefully, because the government takes fraudulent marriage very seriously. An experienced immigration attorney can guide you through the complex maze of U.S. immigration laws and procedural requirements.
