The applicant must be eighteen years of age or older.
The applicant must have been a lawful permanent resident for the previous five years (or only three years if married to a United States citizen, who has been a United States citizen for at least three years, and have been married for at least three years).
The applicant must have been physically present in the United States for at least half of the previous five years (thirty months or two and a half years), or present for at least half of the previous three years (eighteen months) if married to a United States citizen.
The applicant must have had no absences from the United States for no longer than one year. An absence for more than six months but less than one year creates a presumption that the person has broken his or her residence for naturalization purposes even if he had not abandoned permanent resident status.
An applicant must have resided in the state where he/she files the petition for at least three months.
An applicant must have good moral character during the five-year period prior to application (or three years if married to a United States citizen). Negative factors in the determination of good moral character relevant to family relations include willful failure to support dependents, extramarital affairs, etc.
An applicant must be able to read, write and speak English. An exception to this requirement exists for a person over fifty years of age who has been a lawful permanent resident for at least twenty years, or a person over fifty-five years. These individuals can choose the language in which the INS will conduct the examination. Additionally, a person who has a physical or developmental disability or mental impairment is not required to demonstrate an ability to read, write, and speak English.
An applicant must have knowledge of U.S. civics and history. Applicants over 65 years of age whom have been lawful permanent residents for at least 20 years receive special consideration. INS will give this group of applicants a simplified civics exam limited to twenty-five published questions on United States history and government. Applicants will be asked ten questions from the list and must answer at least six correctly.
An applicant cannot be a member of the Communist Party unless the membership was involuntary.
An applicant cannot be in a pending deportation proceeding nor can they have an outstanding final order of deportation.
An applicant must have registered for the U.S. Selective Service.