When can you get citizenship after green card

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a section of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is responsible for the qualifications and determination of eligibility to become a naturalized as a U.S. citizen. The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) is the federal law that defines U.S. immigration policy and citizenship and naturalization eligibility. If you are a U.S. legal permanent resident (LPR) – you have a green card –  and you want to become a citizen, you cannot apply for U.S. citizenship to become naturalized until you have lived in the United States for at least five years as a legal permanent resident.

If you are married to a U.S. citizen that statutory as a legal permanent resident may be reduced to three years. In order for this exception to apply, you must be a legal permanent resident that was married to a U.S. citizen during that three-year period.

If you are a conditional resident, not a permanent resident, due to a recent marriage to a U.S. citizen or through a business investor visa, your two years as a conditional resident count towards your total time as a permanent residence. Generally, you must remove your conditions prior to USCIS granting your naturalization application.

Qualifications to Become a U.S. Citizen

In addition to being a legal permanent resident for 5 years, to become a naturalized American citizen you must meet the following requirements.

Residency Requirements

• • You must have lived in the state or USCIS district where you will be applying for citizenship for at least 3 months.
• • You must prove continuous residence in the U.S. for the previous 5 years.
• • You must have been physically present in the U.S. for at least 30 months out of those five years.

Eligibility Qualifications

• • Applicants must be able to speak, read, and write the English language at a basic level, and
• • Applicants must be able to demonstrate knowledge of U.S. history and government by taking a naturalization test.
• • Applicants must be of good moral character and support the beliefs and values expressed in the U.S. Constitution.

There are other exceptions to the residency requirements and other citizenship qualifications; an experienced immigration and naturalization lawyer can assess your case and provide personal advice or assistance with the application process.

The attorneys at Godoy Law Office work with you to evaluate your immigration status and guide you in your journey to becoming a US citizen. If you need help with an immigration issue, please contact our office online.

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You are eligible to apply for Singapore Citizenship if you:

NOTE: ICA has no affiliation with any other external migration agency which claims to be the Singapore immigration specialist/consultant or partner. ICA does not support or endorse services by self-proclaimed professional immigration consultancy service providers for Singapore Citizenship application.

ICA takes into account factors such as the individual's family ties to Singaporeans, economic contributions, qualifications, age, family profile and length of residency, to assess the applicant's ability to contribute to Singapore and integrate into our society, as well as his or her commitment to sinking roots.

National Service Obligation

Under the Enlistment Act, all male Singapore citizens and Permanent Residents, unless exempted1, are required to serve National Service (NS). Following the completion of full-time NS, they will become Operationally Ready National Servicemen (NSmen). An NSman’s obligation will end at the age of 50 years (for Officers) or 40 years (for other ranks).  

NS-liable persons are required to register for NS upon reaching 16 1/2 years old and will be scheduled for enlistment at the earliest opportunity upon reaching 18 years old. MINDEF allows students to attain educational qualifications up to the ‘A’ Levels certificate, the polytechnic diploma or an equivalent before they are required to serve NS. They are enlisted at the earliest opportunity when they have finished such courses, or after turning 18 years old, whichever is later. MINDEF does not grant deferment for university studies, regardless of whether such studies have begun. All male applicants are required to access www.cmpb.gov.sg for information on NS deferment, pre-enlistment process and Exit Permit requirements, before proceeding with the application.

For further enquiries, please contact:
Central Manpower Base
Email:
Contact no: 1800-3676767 (local) or 65-65676767 (overseas)

1Male applicants who are granted PR status under the Professionals/Technical Personnel and Skilled Workers Scheme or the Investor Scheme are exempted from NS.

All processing fees will be collected online when you apply. Successful applicants will pay the additional fees at the time of Registration. Online fees are payable using:

• Visa or MasterCard credit/debit card or,
• American Express (AMEX) credit card or,
• Internet Direct Debit (DBS/POSB, OCBC, UOB and Standard Chartered Bank Internet Banking accounts in Singapore) or,
• PayNow.

Please select the relevant checklist for the documents you will need to upload when completing your Singapore Citizenship Application. When preparing your documents, please ensure that each document file size does not exceed 2MB.

• Adult
• Child
• Aged Parent

All Singapore Citizenship applications must be submitted online using the e-Service. Please prepare the required documents provided in the document checklists for submission online via the e-Service.

You will require a Singpass account to submit an application. If you are applying under the sponsorship of your spouse/Singapore citizen parent, your sponsor would need to log in via his/her Singpass account.

You are strongly encouraged to submit your Singapore Citizenship application using a desktop. Please refer to the User Guides and Relevant Lists when applying for Singapore Citizenship. You are recommended to read the User guide before you start:

• User Guide
• Occupation List
• Industry List

Singapore Citizenship applications usually take 12 months to process. For children born overseas to Singapore citizens, the general processing time is within two months from receipt of complete documents. We will process your application upon receiving all required documents. We strive to meet the following processing time but seek your understanding that some applications may take longer to process. 

To check the application status or view application status updates, the main applicant/sponsor can log in to MyICA. For any clarifications or status updates, ICA will send an email to the main applicant/sponsor. Please provide a valid email address at the time of application.

Successful applicants will receive an Approval in Principle letter to complete the Singapore Citizenship Journey (SCJ)*. On completion of the SCJ, applicants will receive the final approval letter indicating the appointment date and time to register for Singapore Citizenship.

*The Singapore Citizenship Journey is a mandatory programme for Singapore Citizenship applicants, aged 16 to 60 years old, who have been granted in-principle approval for Singapore Citizenship.

For more information on what is required at each stage, please view the Singapore Citizenship Roadmap.

Change of Particulars:

• Address – Changes of address should be updated promptly via our e-Service. For more information, please click here. For new Citizens who have yet to collect your Singapore Identity Card, please email Citizenship Unit at  after updating your address. 
• Name – For Singapore Permanent Residents holding a Singapore Identity Card, you are required to change your name in your foreign passport first before applying for change of name. For more information on change of name please view here. Once your application has been submitted successfully, do email a copy of your supporting document(s) as listed, where applicable, to for processing. The original copy of the supporting document must be produced during collection of your new NRIC.
• Deed poll (for a change in name, including ethnic names)
• Baptism / Religious Certificate (for the insertion of religious names)
• Marriage Certificate / Certificate of divorce (for the amendment of married name and/or marital status)

REMINDER: Your foreign passport must reflect your updated name before you approach ICA.

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