Citizenship Lawyer

Where a lawyer fits in a citizenship case

A citizenship lawyer checks whether you qualify and whether anything in your history could be held against you. At Cruz Gold & Associates, attorney Zachary Gold reads your green card history, your trips abroad, your taxes and any arrest record, prepares your Form N-400, gets you ready for the English and civics test, and stays with your case until you take the oath.

USCIS has looked at citizenship applications more closely since 2025, and an application that shows a deportable offense (USCIS NTA memorandum) or a false claim to U.S. citizenship (USCIS policy alert) can end with a Notice to Appear in immigration court. Cruz Gold & Associates has been a family-run immigration firm since 1995, and our team at the Ewing office works in English and Spanish.

The parts of your past the N-400 asks about

The application covers where you lived and worked, every trip abroad, your taxes, any arrest and any voter registration, and USCIS judges your conduct mainly over the five years before you file (three if you are married to a citizen) and up to the oath (USCIS Policy Manual). These are the points Zachary reads in your file:

• How you got your green card. USCIS checks that your permanent residence was lawfully granted in the first place. A green card approved by mistake, or one obtained with a false statement, makes you ineligible even when the card itself is valid (USCIS Policy Manual).
• Every trip abroad. A trip of more than six months is presumed to break your residence unless you show the ties you kept here, such as your job, your family or your home, and a trip of a year or more breaks it unless an approved Form N-470 preserved it (USCIS Policy Manual). Filing U.S. taxes as a nonresident can be read as giving up your green card.
• Taxes. Unfiled returns or unpaid tax can count against you; filing the missing returns and paying what you owe, or keeping to an IRS payment plan, can fix it (USCIS Policy Manual).
• Every arrest, anywhere. The N-400 asks for all of them, including charges that were dropped, diverted, sealed or expunged, with the court records (USCIS). Marijuana offenses count under federal immigration law even where state law allows marijuana.
• Voter registration. If you ever registered to vote or voted, we look at the form you signed. A form on which you said you are a U.S. citizen counts as a false claim to citizenship, and since August 2025 such a claim leads to a Notice to Appear unless a narrow exception applies (USCIS policy alert).
• Selective Service and child support. Most men who lived here from age 18 through 25 had to register for the draft, and a missed registration can be a problem for applicants under 31. Parents who owe child support must show they paid it.

When we find a problem, we tell you at the consultation whether to file now, wait until a date passes, fix something first, or keep your green card and not apply.

Who can apply for citizenship?

Most green card holders apply after five years. The requirements are set by law (INA 316; USCIS Policy Manual):

• Five years as a permanent resident. You are 18 or older, have lived in the United States as a permanent resident for five years without a break in residence and keep living here until the oath, were physically here for at least 30 months of those five years, and lived in your state or USCIS district for the three months before filing.
• Three years if you are married to a U.S. citizen. You have been a permanent resident for three years, lived in marital union with your spouse for those three years while your spouse was a citizen, were physically present for at least 18 months, lived in your state or USCIS district for the three months before filing, and are still married when you take the oath (USCIS Policy Manual).
• Military service. One year of honorable service can qualify you (INA 328), and any honorable service since September 11, 2001 can qualify you without a set period as a permanent resident (INA 329). Applicants filing under these military provisions pay no filing fee.

Every applicant also needs good moral character for the same period, English, knowledge of U.S. history and government, and attachment to the Constitution. You can file up to 90 days before you reach the five or three years (8 CFR 334.2). The clock usually starts on the day your green card was approved or the day you entered on an immigrant visa; refugees count from their arrival, and asylees from one year before their green card was approved (USCIS Policy Manual).

Ready for the interview, with Zachary beside you

At the interview an officer reviews your N-400 with you and asks about your answers. We rehearse those questions with you, using your own answers on the form, practice the civics test, and Zachary can come to the interview with you. The second review below comes from a green card client; both are quoted as posted on Google.

Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances.

Rated 5.0 on Google from 102 reviews of our Ewing office (October 2026)

Citizenship work we take on

• Naturalization after five years as a permanent resident
• Three-year applications for spouses of U.S. citizens
• Applicants with long trips abroad or homes in two countries
• Applicants with an arrest, conviction, tax debt or missed child support in their past
• Reduced fee and fee waiver requests
• Medical disability exceptions to the test (Form N-648), prepared with your doctor
• English test exemptions for applicants 50 and older with long residence
• Interview preparation and attendance, retests and continued cases
• Hearings after a denial (Form N-336) and review in federal court
• Federal court cases when USCIS has not decided 120 days after the interview
• Certificates of citizenship (Form N-600) for children who became citizens through a parent

How much does it cost to apply for citizenship?

The USCIS fee includes your fingerprints and photo (USCIS fee schedule):

• Form N-400$760 on paper, $710 online
• Reduced fee$380, paper filing only, for household income up to 400% of the federal poverty guidelines (8 CFR 106.2)
• Fee waiver (Form I-912)$0 if you receive a means-tested benefit, your household income is at or below 150% of the poverty guidelines, or you are in extreme financial hardship; paper filing only (USCIS)
• Military applicants (INA 328 or 329)$0
• Hearing after a denial (Form N-336)$830 on paper, $780 online (USCIS)
• Certificate of citizenship (Form N-600)$1,385 on paper, $1,335 online (USCIS)

Paper filings are paid by card or by bank debit. On June 23, 2026, DHS proposed raising the N-400 fee to $1,330 on paper and $1,280 online and ending the reduced fee and fee waivers (Federal Register). As of October 27, 2026 the proposal is not final, and today's fees apply.

Our own fee for a citizenship application is a flat fee that you hear at the free consultation. A file with arrests, long trips or a past denial takes more work and has a higher flat fee, and a hearing after a denial or a federal court case is priced on its own. The page on what an immigration lawyer costs explains how we set fees, and you can pay by credit card.

How long the N-400 takes at each field office

At Mount Laurel, the field office for the Ewing area, USCIS decided 80% of citizenship applications within 10 months, using data from March to August 2026 in its update of October 19, 2026 (USCIS processing times). USCIS assigns your case to a field office by ZIP code (USCIS field office list by ZIP):

• Ewing areaMount Laurel field office, 530 Fellowship Road, Mount Laurel, NJ; 10 months
• Hackensack areaNewark field office, 970 Broad Street, Newark, NJ; 11.5 months
• PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia field office, 30 North 41st Street; 11.5 months
• HoustonHouston field office, 810 Gears Road; 12 months

Your own case can move faster or slower, and our N-400 processing time guide explains what moves the date. While you wait, the N-400 receipt notice together with your green card extends the card for 24 months past its expiration date (USCIS).

How hard is the citizenship test?

The test has an English part and a civics part, and you get two chances to pass each. Which civics test you take depends on when you filed (USCIS):

• Filed on or after October 20, 2025The 2025 civics test. The officer asks up to 20 of 128 questions, and you pass with 12 correct answers.
• Filed before October 20, 2025The 2008 test, up to 10 of 100 questions, and you pass with 6 correct (USCIS).
• EnglishYou read one of three sentences aloud and write one of three sentences the officer dictates, and the officer judges your speaking during the interview (USCIS).

Answers to questions such as who the President is must name the person in office on the day of your interview. If you fail any part, USCIS retests you on that part 60 to 90 days later, and a second failure leads to a denial (USCIS Policy Manual).

Some applicants are tested differently (USCIS exceptions and accommodations):

• Age 50 or older at filing with 20 years as a permanent resident, or 55 with 15 yearsNo English test, and you may take the civics test in your own language with an interpreter you bring.
• Age 65 or older at filing with 20 years as a permanent resident10 questions from a shorter list of 20, and 6 correct answers pass.
• A medical condition that has lasted, or is expected to last, at least 12 monthsA licensed doctor or clinical psychologist completes Form N-648. Since June 13, 2025, the form has to explain how the condition keeps you from learning or showing English or civics; a diagnosis alone is not enough (USCIS).

What can stop a citizenship application?

Some records end a case outright. Others are automatic bars when they fall within the five years before filing (three for spouses of citizens) or before the oath, and older conduct can still be weighed:

• Permanent bars. A murder conviction, an aggravated felony conviction on or after November 29, 1990, or taking part in persecution, genocide or torture (INA 101(f)).
• Bars during the five or three years. Among others: a crime involving moral turpitude (one petty offense can be excepted), a drug offense other than one possession of 30 grams or less of marijuana, 180 days or more in jail, two or more DUI convictions, false testimony to get an immigration benefit, and willful failure to support your children (USCIS Policy Manual).
• Probation. USCIS will not approve the application until probation, parole or a suspended sentence is finished.

Under an August 15, 2025 memorandum, officers look at the whole person: community involvement, caring for family, education, steady lawful work and paying taxes count in your favor, and conduct such as repeated traffic violations can count against you (USCIS policy memorandum PM-602-0188). USCIS has also restarted neighborhood investigations, written into its Policy Manual on August 25, 2026, so an officer may speak with neighbors, employers and others about you. Sending at least two reference letters with the N-400 from people outside your family, preferably U.S. citizens, can help USCIS decide to skip that step; letters from relatives do not count (USCIS Policy Manual).

Applicants from the 39 travel ban countries

USCIS put on hold the pending applications of people born in, or citizens of, the travel ban countries: 19 countries from December 2025, then all 39 countries named in Proclamation 10998 from January 2026, among them Haiti, Cuba, Venezuela, Nigeria and Iran, and ordered a new review of some approvals. A federal court in Rhode Island vacated those holds in June 2026, and on August 24, 2026 a federal court in California ordered USCIS to decide the held cases in the normal course; USCIS says it disagrees with the order and will comply (USCIS). If your case or your oath ceremony was held, bring the notices to your consultation.

If USCIS denies or delays your application

You have 30 days from receiving a denial to file Form N-336 and ask for a hearing before a different officer, which USCIS must schedule within 180 days (8 CFR 336.2). If the denial stands, you have 120 days from that final decision to ask the federal district court where you live to review it, and the court decides the case anew (INA 310(c); 8 CFR 336.9). Read the reason in the denial notice first: when it says you are deportable, or that your green card was not lawfully obtained, USCIS may also issue a Notice to Appear, and it cannot approve an N-400 while removal proceedings are pending.

Delay has its own remedy. If USCIS has not decided 120 days after your interview, you can ask the district court to decide or to order USCIS to do it (INA 336(b)), and a case stuck before the interview may be taken to federal court in a mandamus action (28 U.S.C. 1361), depending on how long it has been delayed.

Your children's citizenship

A child under 18 who holds a green card and lives in the United States in your legal and physical custody becomes a U.S. citizen automatically on the day you naturalize (INA 320). The child does not have to apply for anything: you can get a U.S. passport for the child, or a Certificate of Citizenship with Form N-600 (USCIS). Children living abroad apply through a separate process.

Laws, fees, processing times and policies on this page were checked on October 27, 2026 on uscis.gov and the USCIS Policy Manual, the Federal Register, federal statutes and regulations.

Five stages of a citizenship case

1. Your first call. We book a free consultation; bring your green card, passports, any court papers and your recent tax returns.
2. The application. We gather the evidence and file Form N-400 online or on paper.
3. Fingerprints and photo. You go to an Application Support Center; since December 12, 2025, USCIS takes a new photo instead of reusing an old one (USCIS Policy Manual).
4. Interview and test. At your field office, the officer reviews your application and gives the English and civics test.
5. The oath. If a ceremony is available, you take the oath the same day; otherwise USCIS mails Form N-445 with the date. You hand in your green card at check-in, become a citizen when you take the oath, and use your Certificate of Naturalization to apply for a passport (USCIS).

Who prepares your application

Questions green card holders ask about citizenship

Do I need a lawyer to apply for citizenship?

It depends on your history. Certain convictions, a trip of more than six months, filing taxes as a nonresident, a voter form that claimed citizenship, or doubts about how your green card was granted can put the green card itself at risk once you apply, and an arrest or unfiled tax returns can lead to a denial. Those are the cases where a lawyer earns the cost. The law does not require one, and many people with a simple history file Form N-400 on their own.

When can I apply for citizenship after getting my green card?

Five years after you became a permanent resident, or three years if you have been married to and living with a U.S. citizen for that time. You can file up to 90 days before that date.

Can I apply for citizenship with a conditional green card?

You can become a citizen only after the conditions on your green card are removed. In some cases the officer decides your I-751, the petition to remove them, together with your N-400 (USCIS Policy Manual), so the two can move as one case.

What happens if I fail the citizenship test?

You get a second chance. USCIS retests you only on the part you failed, 60 to 90 days after the first interview. If you fail the same part again, the application is denied.

What happens if my citizenship application is denied?

You have 30 days to ask for a hearing with Form N-336, and if the denial stands after the hearing, you have 120 days to take the case to federal court. If the notice says you are deportable, talk to an attorney before the 30 days run out, because USCIS may also send the case to immigration court.

Related pages

• Green card lawyer for every route to permanent residence
• Family-based immigration lawyer for petitions for parents, children and siblings once you are a citizen
• Criminal immigration lawyer when an arrest or conviction stands between you and citizenship
• Marriage green card lawyer for spouses of U.S. citizens
• Adjustment of status lawyer for green card applications filed inside the United States
• N-400 processing time, our guide to each stage from filing to oath
• What an immigration lawyer costs, flat and hourly fees explained
• Immigration lawyers in New Jersey, our Ewing office
• Immigration lawyers in Newark, for cases at the Newark field office
• Immigration lawyers in Philadelphia, our office on South Broad Street
• Immigration lawyers in Houston, our office on Caroline Street
• About attorney Zachary Gold