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Emigration and immigration

USCIS Expands "Good Moral Character" Requirements for US Citizenship

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services has introduced a new policy that will focus heavily on assessing an immigrant's "good moral character" during the citizenship application process. This expansion is not a new requirement, but rather a shift towards a more holistic evaluation of an immigrant's behavior and contributions to the community. The new policy defines good moral character as more than just the absence of wrongdoing, but rather as a demonstration of community involvement, family caregiving, educational attainment, stable employment, tax-paying status, and length of time spent in the US.

Key Takeaways:

  • The new USCIS policy expands the assessment of "good moral character" to include a more holistic evaluation of an immigrant's behavior and contributions to the community.
  • Good moral character is defined as community involvement, family caregiving, educational attainment, stable employment, tax-paying status, and length of time spent in the US.
  • The markers of good moral character are community involvement, family caregiving, educational attainment, stable and lawful employment, tax-paying status, and length of time spent in the US.
  • Reckless or habitual traffic infractions, harassment, or aggressive solicitation can indicate a lack of good moral character.
  • The new policy instruction emphasizes factors that demonstrate an applicant's rehabilitation, such as complying with probation, paying overdue taxes or child support, and receiving letters of support from their community.
  • USCIS chief spokesman Matthew Tragesser stated, "US citizenship is the gold standard of citizenship; it should only be offered to the world's best of the best."
  • A former USCIS official, Doug Rand, expressed concern that this policy is designed to scare legal immigrants from applying for US citizenship by torturing the definition of good moral character.

Statistics:

  • The new USCIS policy affects citizenship applications, with no specific numerical data on the impact provided in the source material.
  • Yet to be determined is how many immigrants will be subject to this new review process.
  • No specific numbers are provided on the type of wrongdoing that can disqualify immigrants from citizenship.

Sources:

  • Times of Israel: "US Citizenship and Immigration Services has asked officers to heavily focus on "good moral character" while considering citizenship applications of immigrants."
  • CBS News: "USCIS chief spokesman Matthew Tragesser told CBS News, "US citizenship is the gold standard of citizenship; it should only be offered to the world's best of the best"".
  • Times of Israel: "Former USCIS official Doug Rand said, "They're trying to increase the grounds for denial of US citizenship by kind of torturing the definition of good moral character to encompass extremely harmless behavior"".

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