helikoid

I have a question about gaining a citizenship.
I have been in the US for almost 5 years now. 3 years ago I got married and just recently received my green card (July 2006). In the interview the officer who was interviewing us told me that I can apply for citizenship after being here 5 years. When I start checking all the info about getting citizenship and how things works after becoming a green card holder I found out that we need to be IN MARRIAGE for 5 years and only then I can apply for US citizenship.
My question would be if it is true and I have to wait 2 more years (since we got married in January 2004) before I can apply for citizenship?
Are there any exceptions? After all I have been here 5 years, paid taxes all this time, never brake any law, etc.
Thank you in advance.

You need have continuous total five years (if you outside usa you have add that time too, meaning you have to wait longer per no. of days outside usa ) residency in USA after Green card then one can apply for citizen.

i was told through marriage you can apply after 3 years.all others it is 5 years.

From the Guide to Naturalization that I provided:

"If you:
Are currently married to and living with a U.S. citizen
AND
Have been married to and living with that same U.S.
citizen for the past 3 years
AND
Your spouse has been a U.S. citizen for the past 3 years"

Time as Permanent Resident - 3 years. I extracted this from page 18 (the pdf page 22) of the guide.

The 5 years of PR you are referring to are for those that are not applying for naturalization based on being married to a US citizen. Since it took my wife almost 2 years after we were married in the US to get her permanent residence, we had to wait 3 more years after that before applying for her naturalization. So for us the following was our timeline:

Oct 1999 we married.
Oct 2001 received conditional PR.
Aug 2003 applied for the removal of conditional status.
Mar 2004 received PR without condition that expires Oct 2011.
Nov 2004 applied for citizenship.
Jan 2005 provided fingerprints and passed the English and Civics tests.
Apr 2005 had interview but needed to provide additional information.
Mar 2006 oath ceremony and received naturalization certificate.

[wld_team]

A Guide to Naturalization
A Guide to Naturalization (M-476) provides information on the benefits and responsibilities of citizenship, an overview of the naturalization process, and eligibility requirements.

To view the latest version of the Guide M-476 (rev. 0107) see the attached file (pdf) below...