Naturalization is the process whereby an immigrant seeks to become a U.S. citizen when they are eligible. The naturalization process is generally the longest immigration procedure, and the N-400 is one of the most lengthy forms to fill out. In applying for naturalization, non-citizens go through an entire new round of vetting and an adjudicating USCIS officer reviews their entire immigration history, mainly their time spent living legally in the United States.
And for many different reasons, the USCIS can deny an applicants N-400. Some of these include:
- The applicants N-400 contains inconsistent information with what the USCIS has on file (green card record).
- The applicant has committed a crime while living legally in the U.S. and have become ineligible for citizenship based on their failure to produce certain court documents.
- The applicant has provided false information about their marital status or their current U.S. address.
- The applicant has either failed to pay taxes owed to the IRS in a previous fiscal year or has failed to pay child support for a dependent.
- The applicant has not continuously resided in the United States over the past 3-5 years.
Whatever the case, applicants who are trying to become U.S. citizens will still have another chance at proving their eligibility if they can request an immigration hearing on their naturalization decision (denial). This is done via the N-336 application, which is available on the USCIS website.
What is the N-336?
The N-336 is a USCIS application that can be found here: https://www.uscis.gov/n-336. You can download the form by scrolling to the bottom of the page, but you can also file directly online. On the form, you will need to fill out some basic biographical information, and provide the USCIS with your N-400 Receipt number, as well as the date the denial was issued, and the corresponding USCIS office that issued the denial.
Part 4 of the application is arguably the most important part. In this section, the USCIS is asking for applicants to clearly explain why they requesting a hearing on their N-400 application. In this section, the USCIS gives applicant a full page to explain the issue/reason they believe they were denied. Legal experts advise that if an applicant targets a certain issue, they should back up their claims made in Part 4 with supplementary documentation attached to the application for the USCIS to review.
All N-336 forms need to be filed within 30 days of the applicants denial notification. The N-336 filing fee is $700. Once the USCIS receives your N-336, a court hearing is generally scheduled within 180 days.
