US INA Naturalization Requirements (8 USC 1427): Residence, Good Moral Character and Attachment to the Constitution

What US INA Naturalization Requirements (8 USC 1427): Residence, Good Moral Character and Attachment to the Constitution requires

Section 316 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), codified at 8 U.S.C. 1427, sets the general requirements for naturalization as a US citizen, administered by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Section 1427(a) provides that no person shall be naturalized unless the applicant has resided continuously, after being lawfully admitted for permanent residence, within the United States for at least five years immediately preceding the application; has been physically present in the United States for periods totaling at least half of that time; has resided within the State or Service district in which the application was filed for at least three months; and, during all the periods referred to in the subsection, has been and still is a person of good moral character, attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States, and well disposed to the good order and happiness of the United States. Section 1427(b) addresses the effect of absences on the continuity of residence: an absence of more than six months but less than one year during the five-year period breaks the continuity of residence unless the applicant establishes that residence was not in fact abandoned, and an absence of one year or more generally breaks the continuity of residence, subject to limited statutory exceptions. Section 1427(c) requires the residence and physical presence to continue to the time of admission to citizenship, and section 1427(e) allows the Service to consider the applicant's conduct and acts at any time prior to the statutory period in determining good moral character. Good moral character is further defined by 8 U.S.C. 1101(f). These requirements operate together with the English-language and civics requirements of 8 U.S.C. 1423, the application requirement of 8 U.S.C. 1445, and the oath of renunciation and allegiance under 8 U.S.C. 1448. Shorter residence periods apply to specific categories (such as spouses of citizens and certain members of the armed forces) under other sections.

Pillar: Immigration & Border Control · Authority: US Congress / US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) · Version: 1.0.0 · Last updated: 2026-05-26

Primary source: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2022-title8/html/USCODE-2022-title8-chap12.htm

SHA-256 integrity: 9f081d59e2798a54d84a4fae4443f6ebe198041f1d6f239a7568c249e026f42d

Primary Citations — 8 traced to source

• Immigration and Nationality Act 316, 8 U.S.C. 1427(a) - five years' continuous residence after LPR admission, physical presence for at least half the period, three months' State or district residence, good moral character, attachment to the Constitution, and being well disposed to the good order and happiness of the United States.
• Immigration and Nationality Act 316, 8 U.S.C. 1427(b) - effect of absences from the United States on the continuity of residence.

+ 6 more citations (full bibliography, deterministic workflow, actionable schema and crosswalks) included in the vault unlock — $0.01 via Skyfire / L402 / Direct Base USDC.

Access

• Discovery (free): /api/v1/nodes/us-ina-naturalization-8usc1427.json — 6-field metadata
• Vault (full node): /api/v1/vault/nodes/us-ina-naturalization-8usc1427.json — full 13-key payload, $0.01 USDC (L402/Skyfire/Direct Base)
• Canonical URL: https://bidda.com/intelligence/us-ina-naturalization-8usc1427
• Back to registry: Browse all 10,090 compliance nodes