US citizenship · for N-400 applicants waiting for their naturalization interview
OathTrail is a naturalization process tracker for people who have filed Form N-400 and are working toward their US citizenship interview and oath ceremony. You choose the stage you are at and enter your interview date, and every step between you and the ceremony is drawn across a map like a hiking trail with a marker for where you stand. The M-477 document list is set out as a checklist under official names, an interview day screen lets you tap each document as it goes into your bag, and oath ceremony preparation and the text of the Oath of Allegiance follow in the same flow. Your stage, dates, and checkmarks stay on the phone.
The Trail tab counts the days to your interview and draws the road ahead: interview notice received, interview, oath ceremony at the summit with its flag. A marker shows where you stand. Mark a stage complete and the next stretch inks itself in. Still waiting for a notice? Your stage alone draws the trail, and the date goes in when it arrives.
The Checklist tab has three parts: Documents, Prep, and Oath. Documents follows the guidance USCIS publishes, each item under its official name, with a link to the official source it is based on. The documents everyone brings are listed; the if-it-applies-to-you ones are yours to choose. Mark one as not applicable and it fades out of the count. Anything the list is missing, you add yourself.
On interview morning, the Bag Check screen asks only one question: is each document actually in the bag? It shows the documents everyone brings plus the optional ones you checked earlier. Tap each as it goes in and the bar at the top fills. When the last one is packed, a card reminds you to look at your interview notice once more for the time and place.
The interview is not the last step. Oath ceremony preparation and the original English text of the Oath of Allegiance follow in the same flow, so the app is still useful on the day you are sworn in. Form names, civics questions, and the oath are kept in English as written, whatever language the rest of the app is showing, because they need to match the wording on your real paperwork.
The Quiz tab gives you ten questions at a time and lets you go back over the ones you missed. Choose your test version, 2008 or 2025, or practice the questions for applicants 65 or older who have been permanent residents for 20 years or more. This is not trying to be another quiz app; it is a quick review for the moments between your other steps.
What you enter, the stage you have reached, your interview date, the M-477 documents you checked, and what went into your bag, is stored on this phone. The app was built without a server or a sign-up, so it has nowhere to send that record. When you tap an official source, the USCIS page opens in your browser, outside the app. Reminder notifications are worded so that words like citizenship or interview stay off your lock screen. Settings has an Erase all data option that wipes the whole record.
OathTrail is not legal advice. It is an independent app, not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated on behalf of USCIS or any government agency. It organizes publicly available official process information so you can check it off; it does not assess whether you qualify, estimate when you will get a decision, or fill out forms for you. Procedures can change, so check the details at the official source, uscis.gov/citizenship.
Many people applying for naturalization are older. Raise the font size in your phone's settings and OathTrail grows with it; the screens are built so dates and official document names stay whole even at the largest size. It follows the phone's dark theme and reduced-motion setting and works with screen readers. The days remaining are counted fresh from the clock each time you open the app, so the number stays right after midnight and in a different time zone.
Yes. Choose your current stage and the trail draws itself. Add the interview date whenever the notice arrives.
No. The if-it-applies-to-you items are listed for you to choose. The app does not assess your case.
It follows the M-477 guidance USCIS publishes, with each item under its official name and a link to the source. You can add items of your own.
The 2008 and 2025 versions, plus the reduced set for applicants 65 or older with 20 or more years as a permanent resident.
No. There is no account and no server. Everything stays on the phone, and Settings can erase it all.
No. It is an independent app and not affiliated with any government agency.
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