Premium Processing vs. Expedited Review for Citizenship Applications

While premium processing allows applicants for certain types of legal status in the U.S. to pay an extra fee to have their application processed within 15 days, U.S. citizenship applications (Form N-400) are not eligible for premium processing. However, USCIS may expedite the review of an application under certain circumstances.

Eligibility for Expedited Review Based on SSI Benefits

One of the most common reasons for expedited review is when the foreign national is receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits from the federal government.

USCIS guarantees expedited review in the following situation:

• The applicant is receiving SSI benefits.
• The applicant will lose these benefits within a year unless they become a U.S. citizen.
• The applicant has applied for citizenship at least four months before requesting expedited review.

If all of these conditions apply, the applicant can request expedited processing. To support the request, the applicant should:

• Inform USCIS, either by writing a letter to the USCIS office or scheduling an InfoPass appointment.
• Provide a copy of the most recent letter from the Social Security Administration (SSA) indicating when SSI benefits will end.

If USCIS verifies the applicant’s eligibility, their application will receive priority over others.

Requesting Expedited Review for Other Reasons

While SSI benefits are the primary condition under which expedited review is guaranteed, USCIS has discretion to expedite citizenship applications based on other grounds, such as:

• Business or financial hardship: If the applicant’s business or personal finances would suffer major losses if the application is not processed quickly.
• Urgent humanitarian reasons: If there is an urgent need for the applicant to become a U.S. citizen.

Unusual Situations for Expedited Review

In some exceptional circumstances, USCIS may expedite the review of a citizenship application based on requests from certain U.S. government agencies, such as:

• Department of Defense
• Department of Homeland Security
• Other agencies seeking to prioritize the applicant’s citizenship in the national interest.

Additionally, USCIS may expedite an application if there was a clear error in the previous processing of the application. For instance, if a previous citizenship application was denied mistakenly, USCIS may expedite the review of the second application.

Requesting Expedited Review

To request expedited review, an applicant can contact the USCIS Contact Center or visit their local USCIS field office.