Forms

Form N-470

Also called N-470, Application to Preserve Residence for Naturalization Purposes.

Form N-470, Application to Preserve Residence for Naturalization Purposes, is the filing a permanent resident uses to stop an absence abroad of a year or more, taken for qualifying employment, from breaking the continuous residence that naturalization requires.

What it decides

The applicant must have been physically present and residing in the United States as a permanent resident for an uninterrupted year before the work abroad begins. USCIS lists five qualifying employments: the US government or a contract with it, an American institution of research it recognizes, an American firm or corporation developing US foreign trade and commerce or a subsidiary more than half owned by one, a public international organization the applicant joined only after becoming a resident, or ministerial, priestly or missionary work. For the first four the application may go in before or after the job starts, but it must be filed before a full year of absence has run; the religious category has no such deadline. Approval preserves continuous residence only and does not touch the physical presence requirement, except for US government employees and contractors. It covers a spouse and dependent unmarried children living abroad in the household, named on the approval notice Form N-472. Claiming nonresident alien status on a tax return afterwards raises a rebuttable presumption that the family relinquished residence. The fee is $420.

Governed by 8 U.S.C. 1427(b), INA 316(b), for the one uninterrupted year of prior presence and the four employment categories; 8 U.S.C. 1427(c), INA 316(c), which relieves physical presence only for those employed by or under contract with the US Government; 8 U.S.C. 1428, INA 317, for the religious category, which is treated as physical presence as well as residence. 8 CFR 316.5(d)(1)(i) for the deadline, (d)(1)(ii) for family coverage and Form N-472, (d)(1)(iii) for the tax presumption, (d)(2) for the section 317 route having no deadline, and (d)(3) for the right of appeal from a denial under 8 CFR part 103. USCIS Form N-470 page, last updated 06/01/2026, form edition 04/01/24, is the source for the five listed employments and for the religious filing exception. Form G-1055, edition 05/29/26, for the $420 fee and the fee waiver; the form page states no dollar amount.

Related terms

Form N-400Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, is the application for United States citizenship, open to a permanent resident after five years of continuous residence, or three when married to and living in marital union with a US citizen, and USCIS accepts it up to 90 days early.
Continuous residence and physical presenceContinuous residence and physical presence are the two separate naturalization tests in 8 U.S.C. 1427(a): an unbroken five year residence in the United States after admission as a permanent resident, and at least 30 months, or 913 days, actually spent inside the country during those five years.
NaturalizationNaturalization is the process by which a lawful permanent resident becomes a US citizen, requiring under 8 U.S.C. 1427(a) five years of continuous residence after lawful admission for permanent residence, physical presence for at least half of that time, three months in the state where the application is filed, and good moral character.
Abandonment of residenceAbandonment of residence is the loss of lawful permanent resident status that follows from conduct showing the holder no longer intends to make the United States a permanent home, most often moving abroad for good, staying out on what is no longer a temporary visit, or claiming nonresident status on a US tax return.
Reentry permitA reentry permit is the travel document, applied for on Form I-131 and issued as Form I-327, that lets a permanent or conditional permanent resident spend up to two years outside the United States and apply for admission on return without a returning resident visa.

Checked against primary sources on 10 August 2026. Back to the glossary