Answer:
The first question is whether you have a U.S. green card (lawful permanent residence). With few exceptions, you must obtain a green card before you become eligible to apply for citizenship. You might discover that you are not eligible to become a citizen just now. Perhaps you can't show good moral character because you committed a minor crime (though not a major enough one to make you deportable).
Or perhaps you broke the continuity of your residence by spending too long outside the United States. It might be that simply waiting longer will make you eligible for citizenship, or you might need to take other steps to make you eligible. Consult an immigration attorney for a full analysis. Once you have established your eligibility, you need to file some paperwork with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
The N-400 is the form to get the process started. As of mid-2020, it costs $640 to file the application for naturalization, plus an $85 biometrics (fingerprinting) fee. You will need to attach a copy of your green card.In order to process your application, a background check will have to be performed.
You will be given a date and address to a local office where you will be fingerprinted. Your fingerprints will be run through the FBI and related databases for a background check. Some weeks after your biometrics appointment, you should receive an appointment date and address for an interview with a UCSIC officer.
During this interview, the officer will go through your N-400 and confirm your answers to all the questions. The officer will also test your knowledge of English and of U.S. civics. If you are approved at (or soon after) your USCIS interview, congratulations, but you are not a citizen quite yet. First off, you must maintain your eligibility. If, for example, you were to be arrested for a serious crime before the oath ceremony, you might lose eligibility.
You will be called in for a large public ceremony, at which you and others will be given the oath, in which you swear loyalty to the United States. Then you will be given a certificate of naturalization, showing that you are a U.S. citizen.
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