The Trump administration plans to scrutinize applications for US citizenship more closely, focusing on good moral character. USCIS officers are instructed to assess a wider range of factors, including positive contributions and rehabilitation efforts, when evaluating applicants for naturalization.
The Trump administration is indicating it will examine applications from legal immigrants seeking US citizenship more closely, as part of its latest move to restrict access to immigration benefits.
The federal agency responsible for legal immigration, US Citizenship and Immigration Services, asked officers on Friday to consider additional factors when assessing whether immigrants applying for US citizenship possess a “good moral character,” according to a report by CBS News.
A USCIS notification states that, “One of the requirements for naturalisation is good moral character (GMC). An applicant for naturalisation must show that he or she has been, and continues to be, a person of good moral character.”
The notice further added, “In general, the applicant must show GMC during the five-year period immediately preceding his or her application for naturalisation and up to the time of the Oath of Allegiance. Conduct prior to the five-year period may also impact whether the applicant meets the requirement.”
Reflecting “a good moral character” has always been a key requirement for US citizenship, in addition to passing English and civics tests.
Earlier, the “good moral character” assessment typically consisted of an applicant who did not have any record of criminal offences or disqualifying conduct specified in US laws. It included crimes such as murder, aggravated felonies, drug offences and being a habitual drunkard.
What’s changing?
The USCIS put out a policy memorandum on August 15, detailing changes in how ‘good moral character’ will be evaluated.
Titled Restoring a Rigorous, Holistic, and Comprehensive Good Moral Character Evaluation Standard for Aliens Applying for Naturalization, it seeks to change how USCIS officials treat GMC. Now, it won’t just be a checklist of disqualifying offenses. Rather, it will be a ‘totality of circumstances’, which includes negative conduct and positive contributions.
“Going forward, USCIS officers must account for an alien’s positive attributes and not simply the absence of misconduct,” the memo reads. “In evaluating whether or not an alien has met the requirement of establishing GMC the Officer must take a holistic approach in evaluating whether or not an alien seeking naturalization has affirmatively established that he or she has met their burden of establishing that they are worthy of assuming the rights and responsibilities of United States Citizenship,” it continues.
USCIS officials have been directed to put greater emphasis on an alien’s positive attributes and contributions to determine GMC. These include, but aren’t limited to – Sustained community involvement and contributions in the United States, educational attainment, family caregiving, responsibility, and ties in the US, stable and lawful employment history and achievements, compliance with tax obligations and financial responsibility there, and length of lawful residence in the United States.
Meanwhile, officials have also been asked to place greater attention on if an alien has ‘engaged in any behavior or act that disqualifies the alien from being found to be a person of good moral character’. Among these are permanent bars to GMC, like murder, aggravated felony, genocide. There can also be conditional bars to GMC like controlled substances violations and fals claims to US citizenship, among others.
The memo also said USCIS will focus more on ensuring that aliens who engaged in wrongdoing are properly rehabilitated and reformed. ‘Consistent with the totality of circumstances approach, evidence of genuine rehabilitation may support a finding of GMC,’ it reads.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) also gave an example on X.
“Everyone who applies for naturalization must truthfully answer a series of questions to show that they have the good moral character required to become a U.S. citizen. One of the questions is, ‘Have you ever committed a crime or offense for which you were not arrested?’, the agency wrote.
CONSIDER POSITIVE ATTRIBUTES
Applicants can now benefit from evidence demonstrating their good moral character, including but not limited to:
- Long-term community involvement and contributions
- Caregiving or family responsibilities
- Educational achievements
- Stable and lawful employment history
- Financial responsibility, including paying taxes
- Length of lawful residence in the United States
- These positive attributes are a critical part of the evaluation, shifting away from solely focusing on the absence of wrongdoing.
Greater scrutiny of questionable conduct
USCIS will also scrutinize conduct that may be technically legal but socially questionable, such as repeated traffic infractions, harassment, or aggressive solicitation. The policy applies stricter attention to conditional bars like multiple DUI convictions, unlawful voting, or certain drug offenses, which can jeopardize naturalization eligibility unless counteracted by clear evidence of rehabilitation.
For example, an applicant with multiple DUI offenses might still qualify for citizenship if they demonstrate genuine reform, such as complying with probation or paying overdue taxes.
Focus on rehabilitation and subjective discretion
The policy memo demonstrates an increased willingness to weigh evidence of rehabilitation positively. Applicants who have corrected past mistakes and provided credible letters of support from their communities stand a better chance of approval such as rectifying overdue child support payments or other family obligations.
However, the shift also gives USCIS officers more discretionary power to deny citizenship based on a broader range of behaviors and character assessments, some of which may not be explicitly codified in immigration law. This introduces a more subjective element to the decision-making process.
This policy is part of the Trump administration’s broader efforts to tighten access to immigration benefits, including naturalization. While prior enforcement action frequently targeted unauthorized immigrants, these new standards focus on rigorously vetting lawful applicants during the final naturalization step.
Approximately 600,000 to 1 million immigrants naturalize each year in the US. Under these new instructions, applicants could face longer processing times and heightened scrutiny based on a wider assessment of their lives, beyond mere criminal records.
What this means for immigrants
Immigrants aspiring to US citizenship now face:
- More invasive background checks that explore social conduct, financial history, and civic behavior, beyond typical criminal screening.
- Potential delays as USCIS may require additional evidence to evaluate moral character fully.
- The need to highlight positive contributions actively, such as community service, family caregiving, and educational qualifications.
- Increased risk of denial on grounds of minor infractions or socially unacceptable behavior if rehabilitation or positive character is not convincingly demonstrated.
Naturalization applicants will need to carefully document their good moral character to meet the new stringent standard.
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