US Citizenship (N-400) Readiness Checklist & Tracker

Bring your green card, a state ID/driver's license, your current and all expired passports, a complete travel history with exact entry/exit dates, IRS tax transcripts for the last 5 years (3 for the spouse track), and certified court dispositions for any arrest or citation ever — even dismissed ones. Spouse-of-citizen applicants also bring the marriage certificate, proof of living together, and the spouse's proof of US citizenship. This tool builds a personalized list based on your answers.

Applicants who filed Form N-400 on or after October 20, 2025 take the 2025 civics test: a 128-question study pool, 20 questions asked at the interview, and you must answer 12 correctly to pass. If you filed before that date, you take the older 2008 test (100-question pool, 10 asked, 6 to pass). The English test (speaking, reading 1 of 3, writing 1 of 3) is unchanged. Enter your filing date in the tool and it tells you which test and pass bar apply to you. Verify current rules at uscis.gov before relying on this.

You can file up to 90 days before your 5-year green-card anniversary (or 3-year anniversary on the spouse-of-citizen track). You must also have at least 30 months of physical presence in the US over those 5 years (18 months over 3 years for spouses), 3 months of residence in your state/USCIS district, and unbroken continuous residence. Enter your 'resident since' date and the tool computes your earliest filing date and counts down to it.

Yes. A single trip abroad of 6 months or more creates a rebuttable presumption that you broke 'continuous residence', and a trip of 1 year or more breaks it automatically (absent an approved Form N-470). Frequent or long visits to India are a common issue for NRIs, so build a complete, accurate travel log with exact dates before you file — the interview officer will test it against your record.

India does not permit dual citizenship, so naturalizing as a US citizen automatically ends your Indian citizenship. You must surrender your Indian passport for a 'Surrender Certificate', after which you can apply for an OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) card that gives lifelong visa-free travel and most rights except voting, certain government jobs, and agricultural land purchase. This is general information, not legal advice — confirm the current process with the Indian consulate/VFS.

Yes — disclose every arrest, citation, or charge, including dismissed and expunged ones, and bring the certified court disposition for each. USCIS runs an FBI fingerprint check and will see your record; failing to disclose looks like a lack of good moral character and is one of the most common causes of denial. The underlying incident is often forgivable; hiding it usually is not.