N-470 Application to Preserve Residence for Naturalization Purposes

Use this form if you are a lawful permanent resident who must leave the United States for a period of one year or longer to engage in qualifying employment and you want to preserve your residence to pursue naturalization. In general, you must have been physically present in the United States as an LPR for an uninterrupted period of at least 1 year prior to working outside the U.S.

Qualifying employment outside the U.S. includes being:

• Employed by or under contract with the U.S. government;

• Employed by or under contract with an entity that is currently recognized by USCIS as an American institution of research;

• Employed by an American firm or corporation engaged in the development of U.S. foreign trade and commerce, or a subsidiary thereof if more than 50 percent of its stock is owned by an American firm or corporation;

• Employed by a public international organization of which the United States is a member by treaty or statute and by which the applicant was not employed until after becoming an LPR; or

• Engaged solely for the purpose of performing the ministerial or priestly functions of a religious denomination that has a bona fide organization in the United States, or engaged solely by a religious denomination or interdenominational mission organization having a bona fide organization within the United States as a missionary, brother, nun, or sister.

If you are eligible for naturalization under section 319(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) because you are married to a U.S. citizen working for certain organizations overseas, you are exempt from establishing the naturalization residency and physical presence requirements. Therefore, you are not required to file Form N-470. Please visit our Application for Naturalization page for more information on applying for naturalization under section 319(b) of the INA.