USCIS has expanded the interpretation of good moral character for naturalization to require holistic assessments beyond criminal history. Applicants still must meet age and basic English requirements, but officials now evaluate affirmative contributions and behaviors consistent with community expectations. The policy includes consideration of community involvement, caring for others, education, stable employment, tax compliance, and length of legal residence. Permanent and conditional criminal bars remain in place, but adjudicators must provide a genuine positive assessment of who applicants are and how they have lived in their communities. The change could make the citizenship process more subjective and restrict eligibility for many immigrants.
Changes continue that could affect how many people obtain U.S. citizenship. Now, the Donald Trump administration has placed greater emphasis on the requirement of good moral character for naturalization. This concept has long been a key part of U.S. immigration law, and the administration's new directive broadens its scope, raising concerns that the citizenship process will become more subjective and restrictive for hundreds of thousands of immigrants each year.
To be eligible for naturalization, a person must be at least 18 years old, able to read, write, and speak basic English, and must declare that they are of good moral character. Traditionally, the good moral character requirement was considered to be met if applicants did not have serious criminal records. Permanent bars, such as convictions for murder or genocide, and conditional bars, such as multiple convictions for drunk driving, have long disqualified individuals from naturalization.
A memorandum from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published on August 15 changes that approach. Officials are now required to conduct a holistic assessment of applicants' character, reviewing not only the absence of disqualifying acts, but also whether a person has demonstrated affirmative contributions and behaviors consistent with community expectations. According to the memo, findings must go beyond the absence of disqualifying acts, it must reflect a genuine positive assessment of who the alien is and how they have lived in their community.
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