How long does it take to get citizenship in United States?

The naturalization process in United States takes 5–29 months on average (12 months typical). You need 5 years as permanent resident (3 if married to US citizen) before applying.

What are the steps to get United States citizenship?

1. N-400 filing (0–1 months). 2. Biometrics appointment (1–4 months). 3. Interview (3–18 months). 4. Oath ceremony (0.5–6 months)

What is the residency requirement for United States citizenship?

You need 5 years as permanent resident (3 if married to US citizen) to be eligible for naturalization in United States. Processing varies by USCIS field office (6-18 months from N-400 to oath).

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Immigration Tracker

United States — Citizenship Timeline

5 years as permanent resident (3 if married to US citizen) → 4 processing steps → passport

Average Total

12mo

Range

5–29mo

Speed Rank

#9 of 20

Residency Req.

5 years as permanent resident (3 if married to US citizen)

Processing Steps

1N-400 filing0.5mo avg (0–1 months)

2Biometrics appointment2mo avg (1–4 months)

3Interview8mo avg (3–18 months)

Civics test (100 questions, must answer 6/10) + English test at interview

4Oath ceremony1.5mo avg (0.5–6 months)

Total processing time

Moderate12 months average

Important Notes

Processing varies by USCIS field office (6-18 months from N-400 to oath). Must pass civics and English tests. Employer-sponsored green card processing averages 3.4 years (Cato Institute, 2025). EB-2/EB-3 backlogs for India/China can exceed 10+ years due to per-country caps.

N-400 Processing by Field Office

Office	Avg Months	Speed
Small offices (avg)	5mo	Fast
National median	5.5mo	Fast
Los Angeles	8mo	Fast
Chicago	8mo	Fast
Houston	10mo	Fast
Miami	12mo	Moderate
New York City	18mo	Moderate

How United States compares

Average naturalization processing time, all 20 countries. United States highlighted.

Key Insight

PERM alone takes 15+ months; NYC N-400 up to 18mo

Based on 1,000 community-tracked data points.

Source: USCIS.gov official processing times, boundless.com · Last updated: 2026-08

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