What Happens If You Fail the U.S. Citizenship Interview and Test?

At the end of or soon after your naturalization interview, United States Immigration and Citizenship Services (USCIS) will either grant or deny your application for citizenship. Some applicants are lucky, and receive an on-the-spot approval for U.S. citizenship, after which they proceed to their swearing-in ceremony. Others might be asked to send in more documents and evidence before USCIS makes its decision. In any case, if USCIS ultimately denies your naturalization application, you will be given a Form N-14 setting forth an explanation.

Naturalization applicants are typically denied for one of three broad reasons, as described below. Understanding the basis of why you were denied will be helpful in figuring out the most strategic next steps.

Failure to Meet Basic Eligibility Requirements for Naturalized U.S. Citizenship

The most common basis upon which USCIS denies a citizenship application is because the person was not actually eligible to naturalize. The basic eligibility requirements are that you:

• be 18 years of age or older
• have held lawful permanent residence (a green card) for at least five years before applying for naturalization; or three years if you’ve been married to and residing with a U.S. citizen all that time.
• have been continuously residing in the United States for your required period of permanent residence (five or three years)
• have been physically present in the United States for at least half your required period of permanent residence (so, either 30 months out of 5 years or 18 months out of 3 years)
• be able to pass tests of your knowledge of the English language and of U.S. history and government, and
• be a person of good moral character, particularly during your required years of permanent residence.

As simple as these requirements sound, USCIS often denies applications because they were not satisfied. Of particular concern for many applicants is having spent too much time abroad or having a criminal record. In the worst case, USCIS can find that not only does the applicant not meet the basic eligibility requirements for U.S. citizenship, but that their green card (permanent residence) should be taken away. The person will end up in removal (deportation) proceedings,

In less dire cases, however, such as for minor moral-character issues or excessive time spent outside the United States, the problem might be solved by waiting a few years to reapply.

Failure to Property Prepare Your Naturalization Application

An application for naturalized U.S. citizenship normally includes a completed and signed USCIS Form N-400, two passport photographs (if you live overseas), a copy of your green card (front and back), a copy of your marriage certificate to your U.S. citizen spouse (if claiming an exception on this basis), the appropriate fee, and various other forms of documentary evidence, depending on your immigration situation and other factors in your life.

If you do not include the required form, supporting documents, or fee, USCIS is most likely to follow up with a Request for Evidence (RFE) asking that you send them within a certain number of days. If you fail to respond appropriately, or if what you sent in is deemed inadequate, USCIS could deny your N-400 application on this basis.

Failure to Pass the English or Civics Exam During Your Naturalization Interview

At your interview, the USCIS officer will test your knowledge of spoken, written, and reading English, and test whether you can answer 6 out of 10 questions about U.S. history and government correctly. (The USCIS website provides all 100 possible questions for your study.) Simply talking to the interviewer in English is an important part of this exam.

If you fail either the English or civics and government test at your first naturalization interview, USCIS will not deny your citizenship outright. Instead, it will schedule you to return to its offices on another day (within the next 90 days). At that time, you will be given another opportunity to pass the test(s).

If you do not pass at that time, you cannot become a naturalized U.S. citizen at this time, and USCIS will deny your application.

Next Steps

If you are denied U.S. citizenship, you are allowed to either appeal or submit a fresh new Form N-400 application. (This assumes you haven't been put into removal proceedings based on an issue with the validity of your U.S. permanent residence, in which case that’s your first priority, and you should see an attorney right away.)

However, neither an appeal nor a new N-400 application will do you much good if you have not yet corrected the underlying issue that led to your denial, or if only time will cure the issue. Consider meeting with an immigration lawyer to review your entire case history. The attorney can tell you whether and when you might be eligible for naturalized U.S. citizenship and make sure your N-400 application packet is complete.