If you are considering becoming a U.S. citizen, you need to know that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has stopped accepting older editions of Form N-400, Application for Naturalization. The agency will now accept only the current edition of the naturalization application. To apply for U.S. citizenship, you will need to file Form N-400 dated 9/13/2013.
You can find the edition date printed at the bottom of Form N-400. If you file the older edition of Form N-400 dated September 13, 2013, the form will be rejected and returned to you. The current edition of Form N-400 was issued by USCIS on February 4, 2014 and the applicants were allowed to file the older edition of the form until May 4, 2014.
The revised form has a user-friendly look and comes with clearer instructions. It includes 2D barcode technology that will allow USCIS to scan information provided on the form and upload it to its databases. Though the look and feel of the form have been changed, no changes have been made to the eligibility requirements for naturalization.
The new form can be completed online though paper forms are also available. You can either complete the form by hand or complete it on your computer. However, you must not forget to sign your form after completing and printing it. You must go through the form filing instructions for information on the form filing fee and must include the exact fee in your application package. To avoid delays, you must not fail to submit the required initial evidence, without which USCIS may not be able to decide on your case.
USCIS has laid out the English language requirements clearly in the revised form. The agency hopes to make it easier for people to complete their naturalization applications by themselves by clarifying the questions on the naturalization application. That is the reason why it has published the new form with clearer and more comprehensive instructions highlighting the general naturalization eligibility requirements and specific instructions on completing the form.