I'm having a few marital issues with my husband but I am also at the time when I can apply for citizenship based on mariage. Given that my local office takes over 14 months to process any N400 application, I am wondering what would happen if we end up separating at some point before the 14 month wait is over.

Also, compared to the 10 yr green card, is the naturalization process stricter or the same? We had an RFE with my 10 yr GC because we didnt have much liabilities together and we still don't. It is not our fault but we dont have a mortgage or a lease because my hubby paid out the house a long time ago. Just wondering if we might deal with the same problem again.

Thanks for the help.

You'd become ineligible to Naturalise after 3 yrs of PR and would have to wait until you have been a PR for 4 yrs 9 months.

Your Application N400 is based on Marriage to USC will be denied and then you will have to file based on 5 Yrs requirement.

I have no intention of either divorcing or separating from my wife, but even with the three instead of five year residency requirement when married, we will have been married for five years anyway due to delays caused by the USCIS. They don't go by marriage dates, but by their dates, if they did, she would have been a US citizen a year ago.

You are confounding "marriage length" with length of "permanent residency". If an alien is no longer in a viable marriage, then for an alien to become eligible it will require 4 years 9 months of permanent residency.

No confounding here, just looking at the calendar, due to delays with the USCIS processing time, we would be married for more than five years by the time she gets her US citizenship. Wasn't that way when my grandfather came here, was a US citizen six weeks after he arrived at Ellis Island. But everything back then was done slowly by hand. Ha, maybe computers are the problem for the extensive delays.