2, unless they are persons who fall within special classes that

are exempt from some of those requirements. These special

classes are discussed in Part 4. The basic requirements for

naturalization are set out below.

Age

A person must be at least 18 years of age before he or she

can apply for naturalization.

Lawful Admission

Only an alien who has been lawfully admitted to this

country for permanent residence can be naturalized. This means

that the alien must have been lawfully allowed to live

permanently in this country as an immigrant. Not all aliens in

the United States have been given this privilege. Some, for

example, visitors, students, and seamen, have been allowed to

come into this country only temporarily and, therefore, cannot

lawfully remain here permanently. These persons do not meet the

requirements of this paragraph. Neither does an alien who

succeeded in getting into the United States unlawfully, such as

by hiding convictions for serious crimes, or by deserting a

ship, or by sneaking into the United States.