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N-400 denied: the N-336 hearing, court review and filing again, as the regulations set them out

8 CFR 336.2(a) lets an applicant ask for a hearing on a naturalization denial "within thirty days after the applicant receives the notice of denial." The request is Form N-336 ($830 today; a higher fee is proposed but not in force). If the denial stands, 8 U.S.C. 1421(c) allows review in a federal district court.

A denied naturalization application feels final, but the regulations treat it as the start of a short, specific review process. Part 336 of Title 8 of the Code of Federal Regulations exists for exactly this situation. It sets a 30-day window to ask for a hearing, says who decides, and says what comes after.

This page sets out what those rules say as at 9 October 2026, from the eCFR, the US Code and the Federal Register. It covers the denial notice, the N-336 hearing request and its fee, what the reviewing officer can do, judicial review, the fee increase that has been proposed, and what the regulations say about filing a new N-400. It also separates a denial from two outcomes that look similar but are not: abandonment and failure to prosecute.

It does not tell anyone why their application was denied, whether to request a hearing, or whether to file again. Those answers depend on the reasons in the denial notice and on the person's whole history, including questions of good moral character and residence that this page can only describe in outline. Only an attorney or a DOJ-accredited representative can advise on them.

What a denial notice has to say

The denial comes after the naturalization interview, which the regulations call the examination. Under 8 CFR 335.3(a), USCIS makes its decision "at the time of the initial examination or within 120-days after the date of the initial examination." Under 335.3(b), USCIS may instead continue the examination once, "to afford the applicant an opportunity to overcome deficiencies on the application." The officer must tell the applicant in writing "the grounds to be overcome or the evidence to be submitted," and a reexamination is not scheduled "earlier than 60 days after the first examination." If the deficiencies are not overcome, the application is denied under 336.1.

Part 336 then sets what the notice itself must contain. 8 CFR 336.1(a) says USCIS "will serve a written notice of denial upon an applicant for naturalization no later than 120 days after the date of the applicant's first examination on the application." Section 336.1(b) requires a narrative notice that recites "the pertinent facts upon which the determination was based, the specific legal section or sections applicable to the finding of ineligibility, and the conclusions of law reached by the examining officer." It must also contain "a specific statement of the applicant's right either to accept the determination of the examining officer, or request a hearing before an immigration officer."

Service is formal. Section 336.1(c) says service "must be by personal service as described in 8 CFR 103.8, or upon the attorney or representative of record." So the notice is the document that starts the clock, and its reasons are the document every later step is built on. The reasons are worth reading as written: a hearing and a court look at what the notice says the problem was.

The burden matters too. 8 CFR 316.2(b) puts it on the applicant: "The applicant shall bear the burden of establishing by a preponderance of the evidence that he or she meets all of the requirements for naturalization." The requirements listed in 316.2(a) include age, lawful admission for permanent residence, continuous residence and physical presence, three months' residence in the state or district, and good moral character for all relevant time periods.

The N-336 hearing request: 30 days and $830

The review step is a hearing before an immigration officer, requested on Form N-336. The statute behind it is 8 U.S.C. 1447(a): "If, after an examination under section 1446 of this title, an application for naturalization is denied, the applicant may request a hearing before an immigration officer."

Deadline. 8 CFR 336.2(a): the applicant, or an authorized representative, "may request a hearing on the denial of the applicant's application for naturalization by filing a request with USCIS within thirty days after the applicant receives the notice of denial." A request that is late "must be rejected as improperly filed," and "any filing fee will not be refunded" (336.2(c)(2)(i)). There is one saving rule, covered below: a late request can be treated as a motion.

Fee. 8 CFR 106.2(b)(2) sets the fee for "a hearing before an immigration officer on the denial of Form N-400" at $830. There is no fee for an applicant who applied under INA section 328 or 329 (military service) and was denied. The $50 online filing discount in 106.1(g) applies to forms filed online with USCIS, so the online amount is lower; check the current figure on the USCIS N-336 page and the fee schedule, G-1055, before paying. The fee can be waived: 106.3(a)(3)(i)(H) lists the N-336 among the forms whose fees "may be waived without condition." To request a waiver, the person must show inability to pay by one of three criteria in 106.3(a)(1): receipt of a means-tested benefit, household income "at or below 150 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines," or extreme financial hardship. Section 106.3(a)(2) adds: "There is no appeal of the denial of a fee waiver request."

Who can file. A request filed by someone not entitled to file it "must be rejected as improperly filed," with no refund (336.2(c)(1)(i)). If an attorney or representative files without a proper Form G-28, the request "will be considered as improperly filed," but the reviewing official asks for the G-28 "within 15 days of the request"; if it arrives, the request "may be considered properly filed as of its original filing date" (336.2(c)(1)(ii)).

Proposed change, not in force. On 23 June 2026 DHS proposed a rule at 91 FR 37500 (FR doc. 2026-12542). The abstract says it would "end both the reduced fee option for Form N-400, and the availability of fee waivers for both forms." The proposed N-336 fee is $1,475 on paper and $1,425 online, and the proposed N-400 fee is $1,330 on paper and $1,280 online. Comments closed on 24 August 2026. The eCFR text dated 1 October 2026 still shows $760 for the N-400 (with $380 for a household at or below 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines) and $830 for the N-336. A proposed rule does not change anything until a final rule is published and takes effect, so check the Federal Register and USCIS before relying on either set of numbers.

What happens at the hearing

Section 336.2(b) describes the review. USCIS "will schedule a review hearing, within a reasonable period of time not to exceed 180 days from the date upon which the appeal is filed." The review is by "an officer other than the officer who conducted the original examination," at a grade level equal to or higher than the examining officer's.

The reviewing officer has wide authority. He or she can "review the application for naturalization, to examine the applicant, and either to affirm the findings and determination of the original examining officer or to re-determine the original decision in whole or in part." The officer may review the administrative record, and "may receive new evidence or take such additional testimony as may be deemed relevant to the applicant's eligibility for naturalization." Depending on the complexity, the officer "may, in his or her discretion, conduct a full de novo hearing or may utilize a less formal review procedure."

Three practical points follow from the text.

  • It is a second look, not a repeat of the first. New evidence and testimony are allowed. Because the notice must state the specific legal section behind the denial (336.1(b)), the hearing is usually about those stated grounds.
  • The applicant may ask for a lawyer or accredited representative. 8 CFR 335.2(a) already allows the applicant to request "the presence of an attorney or representative who has filed an appearance in accordance with part 292." Part 292 is the closed list of who may represent someone before DHS; 8 CFR 292.1(e) says that apart from the people it lists, "no other person or persons shall represent others in any case."
  • The record from the interview travels. 8 CFR 335.4 says that when an application is denied, the record of the examination goes to the officer who conducts the hearing, and it "shall be used for examining the petitioner and witnesses" if required.

The regulations do not say what outcome a hearing produces in any given case. They give the reviewing officer power to affirm or re-determine "in whole or in part."

Court review after the hearing

If the hearing does not change the result, the next step is a federal court. The statute is 8 U.S.C. 1421(c): "A person whose application for naturalization under this subchapter is denied, after a hearing before an immigration officer under section 1447(a) of this title, may seek review of such denial before the United States district court for the district in which such person resides in accordance with chapter 7 of title 5. Such review shall be de novo, and the court shall make its own findings of fact and conclusions of law and shall, at the request of the petitioner, conduct a hearing de novo on the application."

The regulation adds the procedure. 8 CFR 336.9(b): the applicant "must file a petition for review in the United States District Court having jurisdiction over his or her place of residence ... within a period of not more than 120 days after the USCIS final determination." The petition is brought against USCIS, and 336.9(d) makes the hearing a prerequisite: a denial "shall not be subject to judicial review until the applicant has exhausted those administrative remedies available to the applicant under section 336 of the Act." Every petition has to state whether the denial "has been upheld in any prior administrative proceeding."

A court case is a lawsuit with its own rules, filing fees and deadlines. Federal court procedure is outside what this page covers.

A related rule. The statute also covers delay. 8 U.S.C. 1447(b) says that if USCIS fails "to make a determination ... before the end of the 120-day period after the date on which the examination is conducted," the applicant "may apply to the United States district court for the district in which the applicant resides for a hearing on the matter." That is a different situation from a denial: nothing has been decided yet.

A late hearing request, a motion, or filing a new N-400

A late request treated as a motion. If a hearing request is not filed in time, 336.2(c)(2)(ii) says that where it "meets the requirements of a motion to reopen as described in 8 CFR 103.5(a)(2) or a motion to reconsider as described in 8 CFR 103.5(a)(3), the request for hearing must be treated as a motion and a decision must be made on the merits of the case." Under 103.5(a)(2), a motion to reopen "must state the new facts to be provided in the reopened proceeding and be supported by affidavits or other documentary evidence." Under 103.5(a)(3), a motion to reconsider "must state the reasons for reconsideration and be supported by any pertinent precedent decisions." Our page on Form I-290B covers motions in general.

A new N-400. None of the provisions cited on this page sets a general waiting period before a new naturalization application can be filed after a denial. A new application means a new fee and a new record, and it is judged against all the requirements again. Three rules matter for how a new application will be read.

  • Good moral character is assessed over the statutory period and continues through the oath of allegiance (316.10(a)(1)). 8 CFR 316.10(a)(2) says USCIS "is not limited to reviewing the applicant's conduct during the five years immediately preceding the filing of the application."
  • Residence and physical presence are measured on the filing date. 8 CFR 316.2(a)(3) and (4) require five years of continuous residence after admission as a permanent resident and 30 months of physical presence in the five years before filing; 8 CFR 316.5(c) explains how long absences disrupt continuity.
  • A new application can be filed early. 8 CFR 334.2(b) allows filing "up to 90 days prior to the completion of the required period of residence."

Whether a second application makes sense depends on why the first one failed. If the stated ground was an evidence gap, the answer may differ from a case where the ground was something that cannot change, such as a conviction covered by 316.10(b). That is a legal judgment this page cannot make.

Denial, abandonment and failure to prosecute are different

Not every unsuccessful N-400 is a denial under Part 336. Two other outcomes have their own rules.

  • Failure to appear. 8 CFR 335.6(a): an applicant "shall be deemed to have abandoned his or her application if he or she fails to appear for the examination ... and fails to notify USCIS of the reason for non-appearance within 30 days of the scheduled examination." USCIS may then administratively close the application. Under 335.6(b), the applicant "may reopen an administratively closed application by submitting a written request to USCIS within one (1) year from the date the application was closed," and "Such reopening shall be without additional fee." After a year, the application is treated as abandoned and dismissed (335.6(c)).
  • Failure to prosecute. 8 CFR 335.7: an applicant who appeared for the examination is "considered as failing to prosecute" if, without good cause, he or she fails to excuse a later absence or does not provide requested documents or testimony within a reasonable time. If the applicant "fails to respond within 30 days of the date of notification, USCIS will adjudicate the application on the merits pursuant to 8 CFR 336.1." In other words, this path ends in an ordinary denial with the N-336 rights described above.

The difference matters because the deadlines and the fee rules are different. A denial notice gives 30 days to request a hearing; an administrative closure gives a year to ask to reopen at no charge.

Where N-400 denial steps go wrong, from the rules

These are mistakes that follow from the text above, not predictions about any case.

  • Missing the 30-day window in 336.2(a). A late request is rejected without a refund unless it qualifies as a motion.
  • Paying the wrong fee. The fee schedule can change, and the N-400 and N-336 fees are the subject of a pending proposal. Check the USCIS fee schedule, G-1055, on the day of filing.
  • Treating the hearing as optional paperwork. It is the required step before a court will look at the denial (336.9(d)).
  • Filing a hearing request through someone who is not on the 8 CFR 292.1 list, or through a representative with no Form G-28. Both can lead to the request being treated as improperly filed.
  • Filing a new N-400 without answering the stated ground of denial.
  • Missing the 120-day period for a court petition in 336.9(b).
  • Paying a notario or immigration consultant. Under 8 CFR 292.1(e), only the people on that list may represent others.

Who may help. Our page on who can give immigration advice explains the lists of attorneys and accredited representatives. If you are weighing a hearing request, the pages on the N-400 filing fee and on whether you need an immigration lawyer cover the money and the licensing rules.

Finding a licensed attorney or accredited representative

Migratio's directory lists immigration attorneys and DOJ-accredited representatives. Listings are shown in a neutral order with factual filters (state, language, attorney or accredited representative). Migratio does not recommend, rank or match any lawyer, and it is not a lawyer referral service. Check any listing yourself against the state bar or the EOIR roster before you sign anything.

See attorneys and accredited representatives in the directory.

Notaries public, notarios and immigration consultants are not lawyers and cannot give immigration legal advice. Only a licensed attorney or a DOJ-accredited representative can.

Migratio is not a law firm and does not give legal advice. Only a licensed attorney or a DOJ-accredited representative can advise you.

Questions people ask

How long do I have to ask for a hearing after my N-400 is denied?

8 CFR 336.2(a) says the request must be filed with USCIS "within thirty days after the applicant receives the notice of denial." A request outside that period "must be rejected as improperly filed" and the fee is not refunded, unless it meets the requirements of a motion to reopen or reconsider, in which case it is treated as a motion (336.2(c)(2)).

What form is used to appeal a naturalization denial?

Form N-336, Request for a Hearing on a Decision in Naturalization Proceedings. The regulation calls the review a hearing before an immigration officer, and the fee in 8 CFR 106.2(b)(2) is $830 as at 9 October 2026. A higher fee has been proposed (91 FR 37500) but is not in force.

Can I reapply for citizenship after a denial?

The regulations cited on this page set no general waiting period before a new N-400. A new application needs a new fee and is judged against all the requirements again, including good moral character over the statutory period (8 CFR 316.10) and residence and physical presence (8 CFR 316.2). Whether it makes sense depends on the reason for the denial.

Can I go to court if the N-336 hearing is denied?

Yes. 8 U.S.C. 1421(c) allows review in the US district court for the district where you live, and 8 CFR 336.9(b) sets a period of "not more than 120 days after the USCIS final determination." The hearing is a required first step (336.9(d)).

Is the N-400 fee going up to $1,330?

That figure is in a proposed rule (91 FR 37500, 23 June 2026), which would also end the reduced fee and fee waivers for the N-400 and N-336. Comments closed on 24 August 2026. It is not in force. Check the Federal Register and the USCIS fee schedule (G-1055) for the current amount.

What if I missed my naturalization interview?

Under 8 CFR 335.6, an applicant who fails to appear and does not explain within 30 days is deemed to have abandoned the application, but may reopen an administratively closed application with a written request within one year, without an additional fee. That is a different process from a denial.

Sources

Last checked 2026-10-09.

Related guides

  • N-400 fee in 2026: $760, the $380 reduced fee and fee waivers — The regulation sets the N-400 fee at $760, or $380 if documented household income is at or below 400% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines (8 CFR 106.2(b)(3)). The fee can also be waived on the three grounds in 8 CFR 106.3(a)(1). Military applicants under INA 328 or 329 pay nothing.
  • N-400 eligibility: the 5-year rule, the 3-year rule and the 30-month rule — 8 CFR 316.2 requires five years of continuous residence as a permanent resident and 30 months of physical presence in the five years before filing. 8 CFR 319.1 shortens that to three years and 18 months for a spouse living in marital union with a US citizen for those three years. Applications may be filed up to 90 days early (8 CFR 334.2(b)).
  • Proposed N-400 fee rise and end of fee waivers: what the rule says — A DHS proposed rule (91 FR 37500, 23 June 2026) would raise the N-400 to $1,330 on paper or $1,280 online and end the reduced fee and fee waivers for the N-400 and N-336. It is PROPOSED and not in force. Its comment period closed on 24 August 2026; the fees in 8 CFR 106.2 ($760, or $380 at or below 400% of the poverty guidelines) apply until a final rule changes them.
  • USCIS fee waiver (Form I-912): which forms qualify and how it works — Only the fees listed in 8 CFR 106.3(a)(3) can be waived, and the green card petition for a relative (I-130) and advance parole are not on the main list. Inability to pay is shown by a means-tested benefit, household income at or below 150% of the poverty guidelines, or extreme financial hardship. A denial cannot be appealed.
  • Form I-290B: how appeals and motions on a USCIS decision work under 8 CFR 103.3 and 103.5 — Form I-290B is the notice of appeal or motion for USCIS decisions that the Board of Immigration Appeals does not review. The fee is $800 (8 CFR 106.2(a)(16)) and the deadline is 30 days from service of the decision (8 CFR 103.3(a)(2)(i) and 103.5(a)(1)(i)). Some decisions, such as an I-485 denial or an I-130 denial, are handled differently.
  • Do I need a lawyer to apply for US citizenship? — No rule requires one. The N-400 fee is $760 on paper, $380 at or below 400% of the poverty guidelines, and it can be waived. The core test in 8 CFR 316.2 is five years as a permanent resident with 30 months' physical presence, or three years and 18 months for a spouse living with a US citizen (8 CFR 319.1).
  • Who can legally give US immigration advice? — Attorneys in good standing and DOJ-accredited representatives of recognized non-profits can advise and represent you; a few narrow categories can appear unpaid. Notaries, notarios and immigration consultants cannot give immigration legal advice. Form preparers may only fill in blanks for a nominal fee.
  • Do I need an immigration lawyer? What the rules say — No federal rule requires you to hire anyone to file with USCIS; the regulations say a person "may be represented". If you do get help, only attorneys, DOJ-accredited representatives and a few narrow categories may represent you. Whether to get one is your decision; this page sets out the rules and deadlines that bear on it.