Generally, United States citizenship may be acquired at birth or by going through the naturalization process.
Citizenship at birth
Individuals born in the United States are citizens. For individuals born abroad, different provisions apply depending on whether they claim United States citizenship through their mother or their father, as well as whether the person was born in wedlock or out of wedlock.
Citizenship through naturalization
In addition to other restrictions and requirements, an applicant for naturalization must establish that he or she:
- Is 18 years of age or older;
- Has resided in the United States as a lawful permanent resident either:
- Five or more years, or
- For individuals who obtained their permanent resident status based on their marriage to a United States citizen, the residency requirement may be reduced to three years;
- Has been physically present in the United States for at least half of the applicable continuous residence period or more before applying for naturalization, with no break in the required continuous residence,
- Such continuous presence must be maintained from the date of filing the naturalization application;
- Has resided in the state in which the application for naturalization is filed for at least three months immediately preceding the date of filing;
- Has been a person of good moral character for the applicable statutory periods; and
- Has knowledge of the English language as well as United States history and government.