Toner revealed on Tuesday that the decision to accept the request formally was made “in the past several days”.
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Ahead of Biden’s visit, the US said it was considering a formal extradition request for Gulen from Turkey.
Toner’s statement comes on the eve of US Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to Turkey on Wednesday.
His visit to Turkey will be the highest level meeting between officials of the two countries following the failed coup attempt and tensions between Ankara and Washington over the extradition of Gulen.
The vice president will be the first high-level United States official to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan since the coup attempt.
Earlier this month, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan travelled to Moscow to discuss possible collaboration on ending Syria’s civil war.
As a part of an investigation into the July 15 military coup attempt in Turkey, more than 7,000 citizens have been banned from traveling overseas, Haber7 newspaper reported August 23.
To that end, the US was seeking further evidence from Turkey to substantiate its claim that Gulen was behind the overthrow attempt.
A breakdown of ties to Turkey would be problematic for the US, which is counting on Turkey to pursue the same approach to fighting the Islamic State group and addressing extremism across the Middle East.
However, the extradition request is not related to the failed coup attempt in Turkey in July, Xinhua news agency quoted State Department spokesperson Mark Toner as saying at a regular press briefing.
The Obama administration wants more proof before considering extradition.
But the US and Turkey are unlikely to resolve their dispute over Gulen, who has lived in the USA for years in self-imposed exile.
The government has declared a state of emergency and launched a massive crackdown on Gulen’s supporters in the aftermath of the coup, raising concerns among Turkey’s allies and human rights groups.
After the failed coup, the Turkish government fired or imprisoned tens of thousands of people in the military, academia, judiciary and media.
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Biden’s spokesman Josh Earnest said, “That is a coup attempt that was roundly and publicly condemned by the United States government and we continue to strongly support the democratic government of our allies in Turkey”. It was the deadliest in a string of attacks this year in Turkey committed by IS or the Kurdistan Workers’ Party.
