Request for advise: under what category should I apply for citizenship?

[LF-MB 0]

Hello all. I got my Green Card through marriage to an American Citizen. We are still happily married. My original plan was to apply for citizenship at my third year of permanent residency. However,  due to the COVID pandemic the process of removing conditions was delayed for about a year, and then some personal circumstances have further delayed me from applying for citizenship. I am now ready to continue with the process but I just realized that because I recently completed my fifth year as permanent resident I am now also eligible to apply under the 5-year as a permanent resident category. It seems to me that applying under this last category is a lot easier than under the category of married to a US national since I would not have to provide proof of a bona fide relationship which implies collecting and submitting a lot of documentation. Do you think that applying under the five-year category would raise any red flags at all and potentially make the application process more difficult? Should I stick to applying under marriage to a US citizen? Thanks for any insights you can provide! 

[Crazy Cat 39,174]

I would apply under the 5 year rule.......There are no issues in doing so.

[arken 4,197]

You are a GC holder for 5 years so you go with 5 years options, easy. No suspicions nothing. You are abiding by the citizenship policy.

[Marieke H 2,301]

Applying under the 5-year rule is so much easier and does not require as much evidence as applying under the 3-year rule. This is one reason why I have not applied for citizenship yet; I have now compiled big packages with information about our relationship/marriage three times (for K-1, AOS, ROC), and it will be nice not to have to do that again!

[nastra30 1,968]

5 hours ago, LF-MB said:

I recently completed my fifth year as permanent resident I am now also eligible to apply under the 5-year as a permanent resident category. It seems to me that applying under this last category is a lot easier than under the category of married to a US national since I would not have to provide proof of a bona fide relationship which implies collecting and submitting a lot of documentation.

Bingo! Go with based on 5-years residency.