You want your citizenship application to be correct and complete. Complete applications include required documents. Below are two lists that can help you make sure you have included the right documents with your citizenship application.
All citizenship applicants must include the following three items with their application:
- Photocopies of each side of your permanent resident card (green card) — If you lost your green card, include a photocopy of the receipt showing that you applied for a replacement card with Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Residence Card.
- Two identical color passport-style photographs — The photographs should be two-inch by two-inch in size and picture you in front of a white background. Your face must be showing even if your religion requires you to wear a veil. Remember to write your name and Alien Registration Number (A-number) on the back of each photo. Write lightly with a pencil or felt pen so you don’t damage the picture.
- A check or money order — The application requires payment of two fees. The total amount due is $680. One fee is the $595 application fee, and the other fee is the $85 biometrics services fee. Biometric services are when you get your fingerprints, photograph and signature taken to prove your identity. Not all applicants are required to pay the biometrics fee, included applicants aged 75 or older, people residing outside the U.S. when they apply, and members of the military.
Sometimes fees change, so it’s always a good idea to call first and ask about the current price before you file. You can ask the U.S. Customs and Immigration Services (USCIS) National Customer Service Center for current citizenship application fees by calling 1-800-375-5283.
To help ensure that USCIS receives your payment, send a check or money order from a U.S. bank. Never send cash. Residents of Guam should make the check or money order payable to “Treasurer, Guam.” Virgin Islands residents should make the fee payable to “Commissioner of Finance of the Virgin Islands.” All other applicants should make their checks and money orders payable to “Department of Homeland Security.”
The citizenship application also requires you to include any of the following documents that apply to you:
- Name-change documents — If your name at the time you submit the application has been legally changed from the name on your green card, the application requires a copy of the court document that made the name change, such as a marriage certificate or divorce decree.
- Divorce documents — If any marriage or marriages of yours have ended, the application requires copies of the court documents that ended the marriage(s), such as divorce decrees, annulments or death certificates.
- Marriage documents — If you are applying for citizenship because you’ve married a U.S. citizen, the application requires the following four types of documents:
- A copy of a document showing your husband or wife has been a U.S. citizen for at least three years (his or her valid birth certificate, naturalization certificate, citizenship certificate, a copy of the inside of the front cover and signature page of his or her current U.S. passport, or Form FS-240, Report of Birth Abroad of a Citizen of the United States of America)
- A copy of your current marriage certificate
- If your husband or wife was ever previously married, divorce documents for all of your husband or wife’s previous marriages (divorce decrees, annulments, or death certificates)
- Documents that refer to you and your husband or wife together (tax returns, bank account records, leases, mortgages, birth certificates of children, Internal Revenue Service (IRS)–certified copies of the income tax forms you both filed for the previous three years, or an IRS tax return transcript for the previous three years)
- Documents about dependents — If your husband, wife, or any of your children don’t live with you, the application requires you submit copies of two types of documents:
- Any court or government order requiring you to financially support a relative (such as an order to pay child support)
- Documents showing that you financially support the relative (canceled checks, receipts, court or agency printouts of child support payments, garnished-wages documents, or a letter from the parent or guardian who cares for the dependent child)
- Arrest records — If you have ever been arrested or detained (held at a police station for questioning about a crime) by a law enforcement officer, the application requires you to send an original statement from the arresting agency (police, FBI, CBP, etc.) or from a court that charges weren’t filed against you. If charges were filed, send an original or court-certified copy of the complete arrest record and the resolution of each incident (such as a conviction record or dismissal order).
- Conviction and alternative-sentencing records — If you were ever convicted of a crime or placed in an alternative-sentencing program (for instance, if a court sent you to drug rehab or community service), send two additional documents:
- An original or certified copy of the sentencing record for each incident
- Documents showing you completed your sentence (such as a rehab program completion certificate or original or certified copies of your probation or parole records)
- Expunged or vacated crime records — If a court removed an arrest or conviction from your record, the application requires you to send documents showing that a record was removed. You can send an original or court-certified copy of the court order removing the incident from your record or an original statement from the court that no record exists.
- Tax documents — If you have not filed your taxes at any time since becoming a green card holder, send copies of all communication with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) about the incident. If any of your federal, state or local taxes are past due, you should send a copy of your payment arrangement with the IRS or state or local tax office. You must also include a document from the tax office showing the current status of your repayment program. You can ask for copies of federal tax information through www.irs.gov.
- Attorney’s notice — If an attorney is helping you with your application, make sure he or she sends Form G-28, Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Accredited Representative with your application.
- Disability documents — If you have a disability and do not want to take the citizenship test, you should include Form N-648, Medical Certification for Disability Exceptions. Your doctor must complete Form N-648 within the six-month period before you submit your citizenship application.
- Selective service records — If you are a male aged 26 or older and you were a green card holder living in the U.S. between the ages of 18 and 26, you must include a “Status Information Letter” from the Selective Service. You can call 1-847-688-6888 for information about Selective Service status.
Making sure your citizenship application includes all required documents will give you peace of mind.
