5 years.
No. A permanent resident is NOT a citizen. Your citizenship doesn't change. In fact, you can only apply to become a U.S. citizen after having a green card and being married to a U.S. citizen for 3 years. This exception applies even if you did not get your green card through this marriage. So, for example, you could have gotten a green card through your employer, then married a U.S. citizen soon after, and you still need wait only three years from the date of your marriage to apply for citizenship. The applicant has to be. 1  18 years or older. 2  should be a permanent resident for five years to be eligible to file for citizenship. 3  If married to a U.S. citizen, then it is three years of permanent residency. Exception to Five-Year Rule for People Married to a U.S. Citizen. You need to wait a mere three years to apply for U.S. citizenship if, during that time, you have been a permanent (or conditional) resident married to, as well as living with, a U.S. citizen. (See the Immigration and Nationality Act at I.N.A. You don’t have to wait until you’ve had a green card for five years to apply for citizenship through the process known as naturalization. Assuming you stay married to and living with your U.S. citizen spouse the whole time, you can apply for citizenship three years after obtaining a green card. If you were granted lawful status on 31st March, 2008, you will become eligible for US citizenship on 31st March, 2013. If you are a US citizen’s spouse and if you had obtained your Green Card based on marriage, you just need to wait for three years to apply for US citizenship and not for five years. If you are a U.S. permanent or conditional resident -- that is, someone with a green card -- the basic rule is that you cannot apply for U.S. citizenship (or apply to naturalize) until you have lived in the United States as a lawful permanent resident for at least five years. 1 should be a permanent resident for five years to be eligible to file for citizenship. 2  If married to a U.S. citizen, then it is three years of permanent residency. 3  The applicant has to be in marriage to a U.S. citizen and should be living with that U.S. citizen for the past three years of his/her
http://www.uc.edu/international/services/permanent_residence/marriage_to_citizen/faq.html http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/when-apply-us-citizenship-46704.html https://www.uscitizenship.info/articles/from-green-card-to-citizenship/index.html http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/when-apply-us-citizenship-46704.html http://www.alllaw.com/articles/nolo/us-immigration/how-get-green-card-after-marriage-citizen.html https://www.uscitizenship.info/articles/after-how-many-years-can-a-green-card-holder-apply-for-us-citizenship/index.html http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/when-apply-us-citizenship-46704.html https://www.uscitizenship.info/articles/from-green-card-to-citizenship/index.html
how long after getting a green card can i apply for citizenship