Marriage

Expeditious Naturalization for Spouses of Americans

Naturalization is the process by which a Legal Permanent Resident (LPR or "Green Card" holder) foreign citizen becomes an American Citizen.

In order to naturalize, the foreign citizen must first become a Legal Permanent Resident (LPR or "Green Card" holder). Follow this link for more information.

For many foreign spouses whose American husbands or wives work for U.S. companies in Japan, or who serve in the military, the naturalization process can be expedited. "Expeditious Naturalization" refers to the fact that you will not be required to wait until you have three years residence and physical presence in the United States and you do not have to wait until you have been married for three years.

Expeditious therefore refers to the waiver of the three year requirements imposed on other applicants filing as the spouse of a U.S. citizen. Although the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service does give priority to and provide special handling for these applications, it can still take six to nine months for normal processing to be completed and an interview scheduled.

Learning More
For an overview of the process, including details on what documents are needed and links to further online information, please download this info sheet.

Many people now in Japan seek to naturalize in Hawaii. Please download this info sheet for details on the process in Honolulu.

You should also consult this guide to the entire naturalization process.

Contacting the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service
The naturalization process is performed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and not by the Consulate. The Consulate do not have any additional information on this subject.

Instead, please contact the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services directly with any questions at hawaii.naturalization@dhs.gov. Please allow five working days for an initial response. Please also check the documents above first before emailing, as the Honolulu District Office has limited resources to manage the mailbox and respond.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service's Honolulu fax number is 808-532-6386.

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Last modified: August 25, 2005