Updated November 1, 2026

N-400 interview questions: what the officer asks, part by part

At the N-400 citizenship interview, a USCIS officer puts you under oath and goes through your own Form N-400, part by part, asking about anything that needs checking or has changed. The questions come from your application, your file and any background check results. Your answers also serve as the English speaking test. Then come the reading, writing and civics tests, and you get a written result before you leave.

Below is every part of the current form (edition 01/20/25), what the officer usually asks about it and what that part checks. Part 9, the "Have you EVER" questions, gets the closest look.

How the interview runs

Oath. The officer introduces themselves, explains the interview and places you under oath at the start (USCIS Policy Manual 12 B.3).
Your N-400, part by part. The officer reviews your written answers and the evidence, and asks follow-up questions to resolve anything open. Corrections you make are written onto the form.
English speaking. There's no separate speaking test. The officer judges it from how you understand and answer these eligibility questions, and may repeat or rephrase a question.
Reading and writing. You read one of three sentences out loud and write one of three dictated sentences.
Civics. Oral questions from the civics test bank: 20 asked and 12 to pass on the 2025 test, or 10 asked and 6 to pass on the 2008 test. See the US citizenship test for every question.
Signature and result. You sign Part 15 (Signature at Interview) in front of the officer, and the officer gives you a notice of results (Form N-652) whatever the outcome.

The Policy Manual lists the topics an officer may cover: your biographical information (including marital history and military service), your admission and time as a permanent resident, trips outside the United States, where you lived and worked, your English and civics, moral character and any criminal history, loyalty and attachment to the Constitution, memberships in certain groups, and your willingness to take the Oath of Allegiance. The officer may ask any question that bears on eligibility.

Parts 1 to 8: you, your family, your travel

N-400 part	What the officer may ask	What it checks
Part 1. Your eligibility	Which basis you filed under, for example the general 5 year rule or as the spouse of a US citizen (3 years).	That you qualify under that basis, including the right residence period.
Part 2. Information about you	Your full legal name, other names, date of birth, the date you became a permanent resident, country of birth and citizenship, and whether you want to change your name.	Your identity, matched against your green card and file.
Part 3. Biographic information	Height, weight, eye and hair color, ethnicity and race, as on the form.	That the details match you and your record.
Part 4. Your residence	Every place you lived in the last 5 years (or 3), with dates, and your mailing address.	Continuous residence, and the 3 months in your state or USCIS district before filing.
Part 5. Marital history	Whether you're married, how many times, your spouse's details and, if you filed as a citizen's spouse, how long your spouse has been a citizen.	The marriage basis, if you used it, and the facts in your file.
Part 6. Your children	How many children under 18 you have, where they live and your relationship.	That your family details are complete and consistent.
Part 7. Work and school	Where you worked or studied in the last 5 years (or 3), with dates.	Your history in the US during the required period.
Part 8. Time outside the US	Every trip outside the US in the last 5 years (or 3), with dates. The officer reviews your travel history and documents.	Continuous residence and physical presence. A trip of more than 6 months raises questions, and 1 year or more breaks continuous residence unless you had USCIS approval.

The instructions ask you to bring IRS tax transcripts to the interview, especially if you had a trip outside the US that lasted more than 6 months.

Part 9: the "Have you EVER" questions

Part 9 has 37 numbered items. USCIS says the answers help decide whether you meet the standard for good moral character, and some relate to national security and attachment to the Constitution. "EVER" means anywhere in the world, at any time. Expect them to come up, with follow-up questions on any "Yes." The form explains several hard words in plain words, shown in brackets below.

Items 1 to 4: citizenship claims, voting and taxes

Item	What the form asks	What it checks
1	Have you EVER claimed to be a US citizen, in writing or any other way?	False claims to citizenship.
2	Have you EVER registered to vote or voted in any federal, state or local election in the US? (A lawful vote in a local election open to noncitizens can be answered "No.")	Unlawful voting or registration.
3	Do you currently owe any overdue federal, state or local taxes?	Tax debts and good moral character.
4	Since becoming a permanent resident, have you called yourself a "nonresident alien" on a tax return, or not filed because you considered yourself a nonresident?	Whether you gave up US residence for tax purposes.

Items 5 to 14: groups, violence and weapons

Item	What the form asks	What it checks
5.a, 5.b	Membership in or support for a Communist or totalitarian party, or for a group that advocated overthrowing the US government, sabotage or similar acts.	Attachment to the Constitution and national security.
6.a to 6.c	Membership in or support for a group that used weapons or explosives to harm people, or took part in kidnapping, assassination or hijacking.	National security.
7.a to 7.g	Ever ordered, helped with or taken part in torture, genocide, killing, severe injury, sexual contact without consent, stopping someone practicing their religion, or harming people for their race, religion, nationality, social group or political opinion.	Persecution and serious harm to others.
8.a, 8.b	Service in any military or police unit, or in any armed group (paramilitary, self-defense, vigilante, rebel or guerrilla). A "Yes" needs the country, unit, rank and dates.	Your service history, and whether a unit was involved in the acts above.
9	Ever worked or volunteered where people were detained (forced to stay), such as a prison, jail or labor camp.	Involvement in detaining people.
10.a to 10.c	Ever part of or helped a group that used a weapon against a person, and whether you used or threatened to use one.	Use of weapons against people.
11	Ever sold, provided or transported weapons you knew would be used against people.	Weapons trafficking.
12	Ever received weapons, paramilitary or other military-type training.	Training history, followed up with where and why.
13, 14	Ever recruited (asked), enlisted (signed up) or used anyone under 15 in an armed group or in hostilities.	Child soldier recruitment or use.

Items 15 to 21: crimes, honesty and removal

Item	What the form asks	What it checks
15.a	Have you EVER committed, agreed to commit, helped commit or tried to commit a crime you were NOT arrested for?	Good moral character.
15.b	Have you EVER been arrested, cited, detained or confined by any police, military or immigration officer, or charged with a crime? Every one goes in the table, even if sealed, expunged or cleared.	Good moral character. Bring originals or court-certified copies of the records.
16	If you had a suspended sentence, probation or parole, have you completed it?	That any sentence is finished.
17.a to 17.h	Prostitution, drug trafficking, being married to two people at once, marrying for an immigration benefit, helping someone enter illegally, illegal gambling, failing to pay child support or alimony, or misrepresenting facts to get a public benefit.	Specific bars to good moral character.
18, 19	Ever given false or misleading information to US officials, or lied to get into the US or to get an immigration benefit.	Honesty with the government, including on this application.
20, 21	Ever placed in removal, rescission or deportation proceedings, or removed or deported.	Whether USCIS can decide your case. It can't approve someone in pending removal proceedings, with narrow military exceptions.

The instructions say a traffic incident only needs documents if it involved alcohol or drugs, led to an arrest or seriously injured someone. Anything else on your record goes on the form, and the officer asks about it.

Items 22 to 30: Selective Service, military and titles

Item	What the form asks	What it checks
22.a to 22.c	If you were born male and lived in the US at any time between your 18th and 26th birthdays, whether you registered with Selective Service, with the date and number.	The registration rule for men 18 through 25.
23, 24	Ever left the US to avoid the draft, or applied for an exemption from military service.	Draft evasion and exemptions.
25 to 29	Ever served in the US armed forces, whether you serve now or will deploy, and any court-martial, other than honorable discharge, discharge for being an alien, or desertion.	Military service record.
30.a, 30.b	Whether you have a hereditary title or order of nobility abroad, and whether you'll give it up at the ceremony.	The renunciation the oath requires.

Items 31 to 37: the Oath of Allegiance

Item	What the form asks	What it checks
31	Do you support the Constitution and form of government of the United States?	Attachment to the Constitution.
32	Do you understand the full Oath of Allegiance (Part 16)?	That you understand what you'll swear to.
33	Are you unable to take the oath because of a disability or impairment?	Whether a guardian or representative route applies.
34	Are you willing to take the full Oath of Allegiance?	Willingness to take the oath.
35	If the law requires it, will you bear arms (carry weapons) for the United States?	Willingness, or a basis for a modified oath.
36	If the law requires it, will you perform noncombatant services (do something that does not include fighting in a war) in the armed forces?	The same.
37	If the law requires it, will you perform work of national importance under civilian direction (do non-military work that the US Government says is important to the country)?	The same.

Parts 10 to 16: fees, signatures and the oath

N-400 part	What happens at the interview
Part 10. Fee reduction	If you asked for the reduced fee, this part holds the household income and size you gave.
Part 11. Your signature	The officer may confirm you read and understood the form, or that an interpreter read it to you.
Parts 12 and 13. Interpreter and preparer	Who interpreted or prepared the form. An interpreter at the interview is only for people who qualify to use one, and signs an interpreter's oath.
Part 14. Additional information	Your written explanations for any "Yes" answers. The officer asks you to explain them out loud.
Part 15. Signature at interview	You leave this blank. You sign it at the interview, under penalty of perjury, after any corrections.
Part 16. Oath of Allegiance	You sign to show you're willing to take the oath. If you're approved, you take it at a naturalization ceremony.

What the officer listens for in your English

The Policy Manual says you pass the speaking test if you generally understand and respond meaningfully to questions about your eligibility. You don't need to understand every word on the form, and you can ask the officer to repeat or rephrase. You fail it only if you can't understand enough English to be put under oath or to answer the eligibility questions, and the officer still gives the reading, writing and civics tests. People who qualify for the 50/20 or 55/15 exception skip the English test and can bring an interpreter.

Practicing out loud matters here more than memorizing. Saying your dates, addresses and trips clearly, and explaining any "Yes" in a sentence or two, is what the officer is checking.

Results: approved, continued or denied

Approved. After an internal review, USCIS schedules you for the oath ceremony. You become a citizen when you take the oath.
Continued. The officer needs more. That can be a Request for Evidence, usually with 30 days to respond, or a retest of the part you failed 60 to 90 days later. You get two tries at each test.
Denied. USCIS must send a written denial within 120 days of the interview, with the reasons and how to ask for a hearing on the denial.

Not showing up for the interview without telling USCIS within 30 days counts as abandoning the application. Not showing up for a retest without a timely request to reschedule leads to a denial.

Field office numbers for the interview step are on our USCIS field office pages, for example Seattle and Newark. For trips abroad and the documents you carry, our documents checklist guide covers the visa side.

Visaful is an AI mock interview app for US visa interviews: an AI officer asks your visa's questions out loud and shows what to fix.

Frequently asked questions

What questions are asked at the N-400 interview?

Questions about your own Form N-400: your identity, addresses, work, marriage and children, trips abroad, and the Part 9 "Have you EVER" questions on moral character, groups, crimes, military service and the oath. Then the reading, writing and civics tests. The officer may ask anything that bears on eligibility.

Does the officer ask every Part 9 question again?

The Policy Manual says the officer interviews you on the questions and answers in your application and asks follow-up questions to resolve open issues. So expect Part 9 to come up, and any "Yes" to get follow-up questions.

Is the N-400 interview also the English test?

Yes, for speaking. The officer judges your spoken English from how you understand and answer the eligibility questions, and may repeat or rephrase them. Reading and writing are separate short tests at the same interview.

Can I correct an answer on my N-400 at the interview?

Yes. The officer records corrections you make under oath on the form, and you sign Part 15 after the corrections. Tell the officer about anything that changed since you filed, like a new trip or address.

How long is the citizenship interview?

USCIS doesn't publish a length. It depends on your application and how many follow-up questions it needs. The civics part ends early once you reach 12 right or 9 wrong on the 2025 test.

Can my lawyer join the interview by video?

Since May 18, 2026, USCIS no longer lets attorneys and accredited representatives take part remotely in field office interviews, except in limited circumstances. A representative must be there in person.

Related guides

Sources

Checked November 1, 2026.

This is interview practice, not legal advice. For questions about your own case, talk to an immigration attorney. Visaful is not affiliated with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) or any government agency.