U.S. Citizenship Application Made Easy: The Latest from USCIS You Need to Know

If you live in the United States and are planning to apply for citizenship, we suggest you consider this faster and more efficient option that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has adjusted for you.

Starting April 1, 2024, individuals who submit Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, will be able to adopt a faster and more efficient method without needing to visit a Social Security office to update their immigration status.

“…applicants who file Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, will have the option to request a Social Security Number (SSN) or original or replacement card and update their immigration status with the Social Security Administration (SSA) without having to visit an SSA office.”

USCIS reported.

According to the agency’s publication, those who choose to apply using the updated form in January 2024 will also have the option to request their SSN or original or replacement card and update their immigration situation without adding another procedure.

And it clarifies that, although the SSA may request some other information it deems pertinent, with the aforementioned form, they would not have to visit an SSA office to prove their new citizenship status, so important not only for obtaining citizenship but also for securing employment and SSA benefits and others promoted by the government.

Those about to start the process should know that if they use the form issued in September 2017, they would not have this option as it does not include the SSA-related matter, an improved initiative only available in the new version.

The updated N-400 Form will be available online on the next April 1, and you can also apply through this channel.

For this, applicants must create a USCIS online account free of cost, a modality in line with the purposes of the new document: ease, convenience, security in payments, and process tracking.

Setting up such an account will give the user the ability to access several features that facilitate the process, including communication with the agency using “a secure inbox and responding to requests for evidence online.”

Another thing to consider is that with the new adjustments, the fees charged for procedures will also change, and all applications made from April 1 must include them, or they will not be accepted.

If you submit the previous edition of the form from April 1, 2024, you must also include the new filing fee.

If you choose the online option, you must submit your online application and drafts of the current version of Form N-400 by March 31, 2024, at the latest, a requirement only applied to Form N-400.

USCIS informs that from April 1, it will delete all draft forms that are in progress, and the application will need to be restarted.