USCIS Tells Officers to Dig Deeper into Moral Character of Potential U.S. Citizens
Officers at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) are instructed to dig deeper into whether a person has “good moral character” when considering them for naturalization as a U.S. citizen.
While good moral character has long been a requirement for U.S. naturalization, the new guidelines toughen the rules and require officers to go beyond just checking for criminal records.
“Going forward, USCIS officers must account for an alien’s positive attributes and not simply the absence of misconduct,” stated the USCIS memo.
According to the memo, an alien applying for naturalization “must demonstrate that he or she has been and continues to be an individual of good moral character (GMC)” and that officers must conduct a “holistic assessment of an alien’s behavior, adherence to societal norms, and positive contributions that affirmatively demonstrate good moral character.”
That includes reviewing for the following factors, which are considered positive and would enhance an applicant’s chance of naturalization:
Sustained community involvement and contributions in the United States.
Family caregiving, responsibility, and ties in the United States.
Educational attainment.
Stable and lawful employment history and achievements.
Length of lawful residence in the United States.
Compliance with tax obligations and financial responsibility in the United States
The memo lists disqualifications beyond violent crimes such as controlled substance violations, multiple DUI convictions, false claims to citizenship, unlawful voting, or "any other acts that are contrary to the average behavior of citizens in the jurisdiction where aliens reside."
In addition, USCIS officers are instructed to take into consideration “actions that, while technically lawful, may be inconsistent with civic responsibility within the community, such as reckless or habitual traffic infractions, or harassment or aggressive solicitation.”
Critics say the guidelines are a way to scare legal immigrants from applying.
"They're trying to increase the grounds for denial of U.S. citizenship by kind of torturing the definition of good moral character to encompass extremely harmless behavior," said Doug Rand, a former USCIS official in the Biden Administration, citing the policy's reference to traffic infractions.
But USCIS Chief Spokesperson Matthew Tragesser said the directive will “restore integrity” to the U.S. immigration system.
"U.S. citizenship is the gold standard of citizenship — it should only be offered to the world's best of the best," said Tragesser.