Clark Hill PLC

U.S. Citizenship

US Permanent Residents (“green card” holders) are eligible to apply for US Citizenship five years after obtaining permanent resident status (or only three years if the status was based on marriage to a US Citizen, and the foreign national is married to the same US Citizen). Obtaining US citizenship, through a process called naturalization, grants the individual all of the same protections as every other US citizen, whether born in the US or born outside the US to US citizen parents (except that he/she cannot be the President of the United States).  The general requirements for a green card holder to qualify for US Citizenship include:


  • Must be at least 18 years old;

  • Must be a person of “good moral character”, and criminal violations can cause significant problems for persons seeking US citizenship;

  • Must have resided in the US for the entire five or three year period, as applicable.  Moreover, the green card holder must not have spent 180 continuous days, or more, out of the US at any one time, during the qualifying five or three years;

  • Must have been physically present in the US for two and one half years out of the last five years, or one and one half years out of the last three years if married to a US Citizen as described above;

  • Must have resided in the same immigration “district” for the past three months;

  • Must reside continuously in the US from the time of application until citizenship is granted.