N-400 U.S. Citizenship Application Statistics

USCIS has released an interesting report from its field offices on the processing times and statistics of N-400, Application for Naturalization, filings for the fiscal years 2010 through 2012 (or, October 2011).

Number of N-400 Applications

The report breaks down, for each field office processing N-400 applications, the number of receipts, approvals, denials and pending cases for both military and non-military N-400 filings.   The statistics are provided for fiscal years 2010, 2011 and YTD 2012.

Average N-400 Processing Times

The report also provides average processing (or cycle) times for N-400 applications, calculated on a service-wide basis.   As of October 2011, the average service-wide processing time for N-400 application was 4.2 months for military N-400 case and 4.9 months for non-military N-400 case.

Please note that these average processing times are calculated on a service-wide basis, taking into account all field offices (including ones with very little load).   A more reliable (and accurate) way to obtain specific field office processing times is to check the field office processing times for N-400 cases on USCIS website.

Overview of N-400 Naturalization Interview and Test

Our practice handles a number of N-400, Application for Naturalization, cases for U.S. lawful permanent residents seeking to obtain U.S. citizenship.    In addition to preparing and filing a complete Form N-400 application with USCIS and submitting to a biometrics appointment, the N-400 naturalization process includes a personal interview and a naturalization test.

While the information below should not be a substitute for the personal preparation by an immigration attorney for the naturalization interview and test, we are hoping to provide our clients and readers with an overview of the naturalization interview and test and to, hopefully, allay any anxieties an upcoming interview may cause.

The Naturalization Interview

During the naturalization interview, an N-400 applicant (who would be placed under oath) is asked to confirm the validity and correctness of key information submitted on the N-400 application.   The N-400 applicant is also asked to produce originals or copies of relevant supporting documents expressly requested in the interview notice or generally required for the N-400 process.   It is always a good idea to bring original documents of any copies submitted as part of the N-400 filing; in addition to bringing additional (and more updated) documents.     A good overview of the case (and any issues) should identify any additional items that may need to be brought.   It is difficult to over-prepare for an interview.

The Naturalization Test

In addition, the USCIS office would seek to test the applicant’s knowledge of civics and the applicant’s ability to speak, understand, read and write English.

Verbal English.  The applicant’s ability to speak and understand English is normally tested in the course of the interview by the USCIS officer who often asks questions and seeks input from the applicant.   It is often obvious, after a short conversation or after a few questions, whether an applicant has a sufficiently good command of the verbal English language.

Written English.  For the written portion of the English language test, the applicant is normally given a reading and a writing test.  The applicant must be able to read 1 out of 3 sentences correctly and must be able to write 1 out of 3 sentences correctly to pass the written English test.

Civics.  Finally, the civics portion of the test, the applicant may be asked up to 10 questions from a list of 100 civics questions.  Answering 6 out of 10 correctly is the passing rate.

Preparing for the Test, Retaking and Passing Rate

There are many websites providing study resources for the naturalization test.   USCIS provides good resources and free study materials for the English and the civics portions of the test.    USCIS also offers a number of free educational products and resources such as vocabulary flash cards, list of the 100 civics questions (in English and in other languages) and civics flash cards.  There are also commercial test preparation books and software, in addition to many websites providing free or paid naturalization test preparation assistance.

Before the naturalization interview, we recommend N-400 applicants to try the Naturalization Self Test (offered for free by USCIS).  While the format of this self-test is different than the format of the actual test (which may be verbal), the self-test helps an N-400 applicant assess his or her level of preparedness for the actual interview and test.

If an applicant does not pass the English and/or civics test, he or she is given another (but only one additional) appointment within 60 to 90 days to be retested on the section which was failed.   If the component is failed again, the N-400 application may be denied.    According to USCIS data, the passing rate as of June 2011 is 92 percent.

Video of the Interview Process

USCIS has also produced a video of the naturalization interview process.   Please see the embedded video window below or watch on YouTube.

Although there are variances in the procedures followed by different USCIS centers, the video is a very good (and helpful, we think) representation of what an applicant should expect to happen during an N-400 naturalization interview.   We recommend that every N-400 applicant watches the video in preparation of (or even before filing) the N-400 interview.

Conclusion

As mentioned above, these resources are very helpful to preparing for the N-400 interview and test but are not intended to replace a thorough N-400 review and preparation by an attorney.   Our office is happy and ready to help N-400 naturalization applicants with their process of applying to become a U.S. citizen.   Please do not hesitate to contact us if we can be of any help.

USCIS Revises Naturalization Certificate

Effective Monday, October 25, 2010, USCIS started issuing a redesigned U.S. naturalization certificate (Form N-550).  The new certificate includes enhanced security features and, important for some, it is designed to be “a higher-quality certificate, which will now be easier to showcase in a standard 8 ½ by 11 inch frame.”  See a sample.

New Features

The naturalization candidate’s digitized photo and signature are embedded in the security-enhanced certificate. Its background features a color-shifting ink pattern that is difficult to recreate. Additionally, USCIS will use a more secure printing process, making it more tamper-proof.

Production Begins October 25

The USCIS offices in Atlanta, Denver and Baltimore will begin to utilize the automated production process this week, including digitizing photos and signatures on all certificates.  USCIS will deploy the automated production system agency-wide by the end of the calendar year when all new N-550 naturalization certificates will feature the new design.

Older-Design Naturalization Certificates Remain Valid

It is important to note that naturalization certificates issued and printed using the older design remain valid and unaffected.   Only new naturalization applications (upon approval) and replacement applications would be issued with the new design.

Citizenship and Naturalization Numbers for FY2009

Our office continues to handle an increasing number of naturalization and citizenship applications so it is interesting to share with our clients and readers some recent numbers on the citizenship statistics for Fiscal Year 2009 (FY2009).

During FY2009, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) received 743,715 applications for naturalization (in comparison to the 1,046,539 during FY2008 and 660,477 in FY2007).  Some of our readers would conclude that there is a sharp drop in the naturalization applications in FY2009 compared to the fiscal year prior; however, FY2008 was the year when USCIS instituted a substantial Form N-400 fee increase, which prompted a higher-than-normal filing numbers.  FY2009 is actually substantially higher than FY2007 and FY2006 (660,477 and 702,589, respectively).    Based on these statistics, it is important to show that the citizenship and naturalization applications are increasing.

Most of the applicants (74%) resided in 10 states: California, New York, Florida, Texas, New Jersey, Illinois, Virginia, Massachusetts, Washington and Maryland.   The largest metropolitan area of residence was New York-New Jersey (15%), Los Angeles (11%), Miami (7.3%).

The top countries of origin of naturalization applicants were Mexico, India, Philippines, China and Vietnam.

Video on Naturalization Interview and Test

USCIS has released a 16-minute video on the naturalization process including the eligibility requirements, application process, preliminary steps, interview, English tests and U.S. history and government test (civics).   The video also includes two simulated interviews.

USCIS Naturalization Interview and Test Video

This video should  be very helpful to naturalization applicants  to become familiar with the interview and test process and to get a better sense of what they should expect.