Permanent Residence and Citizenship for United States (inbound): How to Apply
United States (inbound) · Americas
Permanent Residence and Citizenship for United States (inbound)
What a U.S. citizen needs for a permanent residence and citizenship to United States (inbound): the requirements, the exact document checklist with its authentication routing, where to file, what it costs and how long it takes.
- U.S. passport status
- Visa required
- Visa-free days
- None
- Document route
- Apostille
- Translation
- Required
- Short-stay fee
- $185
- Schengen area
- No
What United States (inbound) specifically requires
Family, employment, investment or the diversity lottery, then naturalisation after five years, or three if married to a U.S. citizen.
- Entry status for a U.S. passport
- Depends entirely on nationality: ESTA for 40+ countries, a visa for everyone else
- Official portal
- U.S. Department of State: visas
- Where to file
- At the consulate with jurisdiction over your U.S. state of residence.
- Biometrics
- Fingerprints and a facial image are collected for most visa categories.
- Passport validity
- Generally six months beyond the intended stay, though many countries are exempt from that rule under a specific agreement.
- Fees
- Most non-immigrant visa applications are 185 dollars; petition-based categories are higher. ESTA carries a small fee. Immigrant visa and adjustment of status fees run into the thousands.
- Processing
- Immigrant visa categories range from months to many years depending on category and country of birth
- Document route
- Apostille
- Translation
- Foreign-language documents need a certified English translation with the translator certification of accuracy and competence.
Your document checklist
9 documents. 5 need authentication: 1 federal through the U.S. Department of State and 4 state-issued through a Secretary of State. Route: apostille. All authenticated documents then need certified translation.
- Passport No authentication needed Identity, nationality and the physical book the visa is placed in. How to get it. Renew early. Processing times published by the U.S. Department of State move with demand. Specification. Most countries require validity of at least six months beyond your intended departure. A significant minority require six months beyond entry, and some long-stay visas require twelve to fifteen months. Two blank visa pages is the common minimum; some countries require four. Lead time. Weeks; check current published processing times What goes wrong. Insufficient remaining validity is the single most common reason a traveller is refused boarding at a U.S. airport, before they ever reach the destination.
- Visa application form No authentication needed The core filing. Almost always country-specific. How to get it. Download or complete it on the official portal of the country you are applying to, or the outsourced visa application centre it uses. Never pay a third party for a form that is free. Specification. Usually signed within days of the appointment. Many systems generate a barcoded PDF that must be printed at full size and unmodified. Lead time. Same day What goes wrong. Consular jurisdiction is determined by your U.S. state of residence. Filing at the wrong consulate is an automatic rejection, not a transfer.
- Passport-format photographs No authentication needed Every application. How to get it. Check the destination specification before you sit for them. The U.S. passport photo standard is not universal. Specification. Schengen states generally require 35 x 45 mm with the face occupying 70 to 80 percent of the frame on a light grey or off-white background. The United States uses 2 x 2 inches on pure white. China requires 33 x 48 mm on white. India requires 2 x 2 inches on white. Taken within the last six months in almost all cases. Lead time. Same day What goes wrong. Glasses are prohibited in an increasing number of systems, including U.S. passport photos, and cause automatic rejection.
- Certified birth certificate Secretary of State of the issuing state Apostille Translate after authentication Identity, nationality and proof of family relationships for dependants and family-based applications. How to get it. Order a certified long-form copy from the vital records office of the state or county of birth. Specification. Many authorities require issuance within the last three to six months even though the underlying facts never change. Lead time. 3 to 20 days What goes wrong. Hospital souvenir certificates are never accepted.
- Certified marriage certificate Secretary of State of the issuing state Apostille Translate after authentication Spouse and family visas, dependants on a work or study visa, and joint financial evidence. How to get it. Certified copy from the county clerk or state vital records office that recorded the licence. Specification. Usually within three to six months of issue for visa purposes. Lead time. 3 to 20 days What goes wrong. A church or celebrant certificate is not a civil record and will be rejected.
- Divorce decree or former spouse death certificate Secretary of State of the issuing state Apostille Translate after authentication Proving current marital status where earlier records show a different one, and for remarriage abroad. How to get it. Certified copy from the issuing court clerk, or the vital records office for a death certificate. Specification. Generally accepted regardless of age, but the certification and apostille must be recent. Lead time. 5 to 30 days What goes wrong. The clerk certification is what the Secretary of State authenticates, so an uncertified court copy cannot be apostilled.
- FBI Identity History Summary (police clearance) U.S. Department of State, Office of Authentications (federal) Apostille Translate after authentication Required for essentially every long-stay, work, study, residence and citizenship application. Short tourist visas rarely ask for it. How to get it. Order directly from the FBI electronically, or through an FBI-approved Channeler, which is usually faster. The mail route requires fingerprints on form FD-1164. Specification. Typically accepted for three to six months from the issue date, and some authorities count from the date of the apostille rather than the date of issue. Lead time. 1 to 10 days to obtain, then federal authentication What goes wrong. A state police clearance is not a substitute and is routinely rejected. Consulates want a federal record covering all fifty states.
- Proof of funds No authentication needed Evidence you can support yourself without working illegally or becoming a public charge. How to get it. Three to six months of bank statements, sometimes stamped or certified by the bank, plus pay slips or a benefit award letter. Specification. Most Schengen states apply a published per-day minimum. Long-stay categories set an annual or monthly figure, often indexed to a local benchmark. Lead time. 1 to 10 days What goes wrong. A large deposit shortly before filing looks like borrowed money and frequently triggers a refusal. Season the balance for several months.
- Diploma, degree certificate and transcripts Secretary of State of the issuing state Apostille Translate after authentication Student visas, skilled work visas, professional licensing and teaching abroad. How to get it. Order sealed official transcripts from the registrar. For the diploma itself, most states require a notarised copy or a registrar attestation before it can be authenticated. Specification. Often needs both an apostille and a credential evaluation by a recognised body in the destination country. Lead time. 5 to 30 days What goes wrong. A diploma is a private document until an official certifies it. In most states the route is a notarised true copy, or a registrar signature that the Secretary of State has on file.
- 1 Track your residence and absences from day one Keep a spreadsheet of every entry and exit with boarding passes. Five years later you will be asked to reconstruct it, and the Schengen Entry/Exit System now has its own record to check yours against.
- 2 Start the language requirement early The single most common reason a qualified resident cannot file on time.
- 3 Order and authenticate every civil record Birth certificate, marriage certificate, divorce decrees, and a fresh FBI Identity History Summary. Most systems require these to be recent, so a copy you apostilled five years ago for the original visa is usually too old.
- 4 File and wait Citizenship decisions are slow almost everywhere, routinely one to three years.
- 5 Oath or ceremony Where citizenship is granted. Note that some countries require renunciation of previous nationality at this point.
Your action Documents and authentication Government processing
- 1 Obtain a certified original From the issuing authority. Photocopies, scans and souvenir certificates cannot be authenticated.
- 2 Notarise, if it is a private document Letters, affidavits, powers of attorney and diploma copies need a notary acknowledgement first. Government-issued vital records do not.
- 3 County clerk, in some states A handful of states require the county clerk to certify the notary commission before the Secretary of State will act.
- 4 Authenticate at the right level State-issued documents go to the Secretary of State of the ISSUING state. Federal documents, including the FBI Identity History Summary, go to the U.S. Department of State Office of Authentications.
- 5 Apostille or embassy legalisation Hague Convention destination: the apostille ends the chain. Non-member destination: the document then goes to that country embassy or consulate. For United States (inbound) the apostille ends the chain.
- 6 Certified translation Translate the document together with its apostille or legalisation certificate. Doing this first means paying twice. Foreign-language documents need a certified English translation with the translator certification of accuracy and competence.
- 7 File with the right consulate Jurisdiction is by your U.S. state of residence. Bring originals plus a full copy set.
The two expensive mistakes. Sending a federal document such as an FBI Identity History Summary to a Secretary of State, which cannot authenticate it. And translating before authentication, so the apostille certificate is not inside the translation and the whole set has to be paid for twice.
How a permanent residence and citizenship works, anywhere
The destination rather than the journey. Permanent residence gives an indefinite right to live somewhere without renewing a visa; citizenship gives a passport, political rights and, in the European Union, the right to live in twenty-six other countries. Almost every route runs through several years of continuous temporary residence, and the two things that most often derail it are absences that break continuity, and a language requirement discovered too late. This is also the most document-intensive application anyone makes, and the one where a decades-old vital record suddenly has to be produced, certified and apostilled.
The core requirements
- Continuous legal residence for the qualifying period
- Typically five years for permanent residence and five to ten for citizenship, though it ranges from two years in Argentina and Peru to ten or more in Switzerland and much of the Gulf, where it is effectively unavailable.
- Physical presence, not just status
- Most systems cap absences, commonly at six consecutive months or ten months in total across the period. This is where more applications fail than on any other ground, and the rules are unforgiving.
- Language and civics
- A2 for Portuguese permanent residence, B1 for Portuguese citizenship, B1 for German and French citizenship, and a civics test in most systems. Start early: reaching B1 from nothing takes most adults a year or more.
- Financial self-sufficiency and a clean record
- No reliance on public funds during the qualifying period in many systems, plus police certificates from every country of extended residence.
- Tax compliance
- Increasingly checked. Unfiled local returns will stop a citizenship application.
Where it goes wrong
- Breaking continuity with a long absence. Know your country limit precisely and keep evidence.
- Leaving the language requirement until you are otherwise eligible.
- Reusing old apostilled documents. Most systems require records issued within the last three to six months.
- Not checking whether the country permits dual citizenship. Spain, Austria, Japan, China, Singapore and several others generally require renunciation, and the practical consequences for a U.S. citizen deserve advice before the oath, not after.
- Assuming time on every visa counts. Student time counts at half rate in several systems, and time on a digital nomad permit does not count at all in some countries.
Permanent Residence and Citizenship for United States (inbound): common questions
Do I need a visa for United States (inbound) as a U.S. citizen?
For a short visit, visa required in advance. But that is not what this page covers. A permanent residence and citizenship is a separate authorisation, and every country requires one for this purpose regardless of what your passport allows for tourism. This page is for people coming to the United States rather than leaving it. Nationals of the roughly forty-odd Visa Waiver Program countries can travel for tourism or business for up to 90 days with an approved ESTA obtained before boarding. Everyone else needs a visa, applied for on form DS-160 with an in-person interview at a U.S. embassy or consulate. There is no airside transit in the United States: every traveller connecting through a U.S. airport clears U.S. immigration and needs either ESTA or a C-1 transit visa, even for a one-hour connection.
Which of my documents need an apostille for United States (inbound)?
For this route we count 5 documents that need authentication: 1 federal and 4 state-issued. United States (inbound) is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so an apostille is the whole chain. The routing rule that catches people: your FBI Identity History Summary is a federal record and must be authenticated by the U.S. Department of State, while birth and marriage certificates go to the Secretary of State of the state that issued them.
Do my documents need to be translated for United States (inbound)?
Foreign-language documents need a certified English translation with the translator certification of accuracy and competence. Translate after authentication, never before: the apostille or legalisation certificate is itself part of what the receiving authority reads, so it has to be inside the translation. Doing it the other way round means paying for the same translation twice.
How long does a permanent residence and citizenship for United States (inbound) take?
Immigrant visa categories range from months to many years depending on category and country of birth On top of the decision itself, budget for the parts people forget: appointment availability, document lead times, and authentication. Permanent residence: the qualifying period plus three to twelve months. Citizenship: the qualifying period plus one to three years for the decision.
What does it cost?
The published short-stay fee for United States (inbound) is $185. Most non-immigrant visa applications are 185 dollars; petition-based categories are higher. ESTA carries a small fee. Immigrant visa and adjustment of status fees run into the thousands. Government fees from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, language testing, and a document set that commonly runs to a dozen apostilled and translated records.
Where do I actually apply?
At the consulate with jurisdiction over your U.S. state of residence. The official portal is U.S. Department of State: visas, run by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the Department of State. Use it directly rather than a third-party site: the forms are free, and paid intermediaries frequently charge several times the government fee for the identical product.
Is there anything specific to United States (inbound) I should know?
Family, employment, investment or the diversity lottery, then naturalisation after five years, or three if married to a U.S. citizen. The United States system splits sharply between non-immigrant visas, which require you to demonstrate you will leave, and immigrant visas, which do not. That single distinction explains most refusals: under section 214(b) every non-immigrant applicant is presumed to be an intending immigrant until they prove otherwise, and the burden is on the applicant. Documents from abroad used in U.S. immigration processes are apostilled in the issuing country, since the United States is a Convention party. The reverse direction, U.S. documents used abroad, is what most of this site is about.
Official sources for United States (inbound)
- U.S. Department of State: visas Every visa category and the DS-160 form.
- ESTA (official) The only legitimate ESTA site. Many commercial sites charge multiples of the government fee.
- USCIS Petitions, adjustment of status, naturalisation.
- Visa appointment wait times Published interview wait times by consulate.
Verified Sep 7, 2026 Primary sources: travel.state.gov, www.uscis.gov
Email this checklist to yourself
A plain-text email you can forward to a spouse, an employer or an attorney. Sent once. No list, no sequence.
This resource is provided free by Federal Apostille as an educational tool. It is not legal or immigration advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created by using it. Visa rules, fees, processing times and entry requirements change frequently and often without notice, and individual circumstances change the answer. Always confirm current requirements with the official government source and the specific embassy or consulate that has jurisdiction over your place of residence before you book travel or file an application. Every figure on this site carries the date we last verified it and a link to the primary source.
