Citizenship & Long-Term Status
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The N-400 from filing to oath — and the residence math that decides when you can file.
The N-400 step by step — filing, biometrics, interview, oathNaturalization is one form — the N-400 — and a predictable sequence after it: biometrics, an interview with the tests, and the oath ceremony. Knowing the sequence, and the 90-day early-filing rule, takes most of the fear out of it.
The two clocks: continuous residence and physical presenceNaturalization runs on two different clocks that travel can break: continuous residence (an unbroken life based in the US) and physical presence (a raw day count on US soil). Long trips abroad are where settled applicants get burned.
The naturalization test — what's really asked, and who's exemptThe test is two parts folded into the interview: English (speaking, reading a sentence, writing a sentence) and civics (up to 10 questions from a published list of 100). All the study material is free from USCIS — never pay for the questions.
Dual citizenship — the US position and your home country'sThe United States tolerates dual citizenship: naturalizing here does not require you to hand over your old passport as far as US law is concerned. The real question is your HOME country's law — some allow it, some strip citizenship automatically.