One of the most generous provisions of the naturalization laws benefits the spouse of a citizen of the U.S. where the U.S. citizen is temporarily employed abroad with a qualifying organization. The citizen spouse must be:
- An employee of the U.S. government, an American institution of research, a public international organization of which the U.S. is a member, or an American company: or he/she must be engaged as a missionary or religious worker;
- The applicant must have been admitted to the U.S. as a Lawful Permanent Resident;
- There is no required period of continuous residence or physical presence in the U.S. subsequent to admission as an LPR.
In other words, a qualified applicant can seek naturalization immediately upon obtaining LPR status!
The other general requirements of the law (English language, moral character, etc) must still be satisfied.