Revised US Citizenship Form N-400

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (“USCIS”) announced that they have released the revised FormN-400, Application for Naturalization.  The main changes in the new N-400 form are the new questions required by anti-terrorism and child soldier prevention statutes, the (according to USCIS) clearer eligibility instructions and the addition of a dynamic 2D data barcode feature. These changes, however, more than double the size of the N-400 form — the old version was ten pages while the new and current version is 21 pages long.

Form N-400 Changes

Perhaps the most obvious change to the N-400 form is the addition of a 2D dynamic barcode at the bottom of each page.  This technology has been used increasingly by USCIS in a number of their forms.  The idea is that as a user enters information on the form electronically (in PDF), the 2D barcode at the bottom of the page changes to incorporate the information provided on the form. During the intake processing of the application, USCIS would then simply scan the barcode on each page and the form data would be entered automatically into the system (more, and somewhat technical, information on the 2D barcode process).

In addition, USCIS has added questions to conform with the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act (IRTPA) of 2004 and Child Soldier Prevention Act of 2008.  The additional information is important for USCIS to make a better determination of an applicant’s eligibility for U.S. citizenship. The questions relate not only to concerns surrounding good moral character but also to issues relating to the security of the United States.

And perhaps the most important change is that the new form has revised and more comprehensive instructions on general eligibility requirements intended to help applicants understand the naturalization application process. The N-400 form was not easy before the revision, now with an extra eleven pages, great instructions are critical.

Versions and Validity of N-400 Form

The new Form N-400 is available for download and is recommended to be used for all future N-400 U.S. Citizenship filings. On Monday, May 5, 2014, USCIS will no longer accept older versions of Form N-400.   USCIS will reject and return previous versions of Form N-400 submitted after May 5, 2014.

<Capitol Immigration Law Group>