(a) General. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, to be eligible for naturalization, an alien must establish that he or she:
(1) Is at least 18 years of age;
(2) Has been lawfully admitted as a permanent resident of the United States;
(3) Has resided continuously within the United States, as defined under § 316.5, for a period of at least five years after having been lawfully admitted for permanent residence;
(4) Has been physically present in the United States for at least 30 months of the five years preceding the date of filing the application;
(5) Immediately preceding the filing of an application, or immediately preceding the examination on the application if the application was filed early pursuant to section 334(a) of the Act and the three month period falls within the required period of residence under section 316(a) or 319(a) of the Act, has resided, as defined under § 316.5, for at least three months in a State or Service district having jurisdiction over the applicant's actual place of residence;
(6) Has resided continuously within the United States from the date of application for naturalization up to the time of admission to citizenship;
(7) For all relevant time periods under this paragraph, has been and continues to be a person of good moral character, attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States, and favorably disposed toward the good order and happiness of the United States; and
(8) Is not a person described in Section 314 of the Act relating to deserters of the United States Armed Forces or those persons who departed from the United States to evade military service in the United States Armed Forces.
(b) Burden of proof. The applicant shall bear the burden of establishing by a preponderance of the evidence that he or she meets all of the requirements for naturalization, including that the applicant was lawfully admitted as a permanent resident to the United States, in accordance with the immigration laws in effect at the time of the applicant's initial entry or any subsequent reentry.
[56 FR 50484, Oct. 7, 1991, as amended at 58 FR 49912, Sept. 24, 1993; 60 FR 6651, Feb. 3, 1995; 76 FR 53798, Aug. 29, 2011]
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
106
cases (
37 in the last 5 years), 1997–2026 · leading case:
Nesari v. Taylor, 806 F. Supp. 2d 848 (E.D. Va. 2011).
Nesari v. Taylor, 806 F. Supp. 2d 848 (E.D. Va. 2011).
· cites it 6× “§ 1429 (“[N]o person shall be naturalized unless he has been lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence.... ”); 8 C.F.R. § 316.2 (b) (providing that the applicant for naturalization “shall bear the burden of establishing by a preponderance of the evidence…”
Bijan v. U.S. Citizenship & Immigr. Servs., 900 F.3d 942 (7th Cir. 2018).
· cites it 3× “§ 1427 (a)(1) ; 8 C.F.R. § 316.2 (a)(2) ; and second, he had lied under oath and thus not shown "good moral character," see 8 U.”
Hernandez De Anderson v. Gonzales, 497 F.3d 927 (9th Cir. 2007).
· cites it 2× “§ 1427 (a) (1990); see also 8 C.F.R. § 316.2 (a) (1995). Good moral character could not be established during periods of incarceration of more than six months.”
United States v. Hovsepian, 359 F.3d 1144 (9th Cir. 2004).
· cites it 3× “§ 1427 (a)(3); 8 C.F.R. § 316.2 (b). Whether or not a person is convicted of a crime, the underlying acts that resulted in a conviction bear on the person’s character.”
Puello v. Bureau of Citizenship & Immigr. Servs., 511 F.3d 324 (2d Cir. 2007).
“In its decision denying Puel-lo’s application, BCIS noted that, under 8 C.F.R. § 316.2 (a)(7), an applicant must establish that he “has been and continues to be a person of good moral character.”
Nio v. United States Dep't of Homeland Sec., 270 F. Supp. 3d 49 (D.D.C. 2017).
“§ 1446 (a); 8 C.F.R. §§ 316.2 , 329.2, 335.1, 335.2. To shore up this argument, defendants note that USCIS already relies on other agencies to obtain background information on applicants.”
Saliba v. Attorney Gen. of the United States, 828 F.3d 182 (3rd Cir. 2016).
“Significantly, an applicant for naturalization has the burden of proving “by a preponderance of the evidence that hé or she meets all of the requirements for naturalization.”
Assem Abulkhair v. George Bush, 413 F. App'x 502 (3rd Cir. 2011).
“” 8 C.F.R. § 316.2 (b). “[Tjhere must be strict compliance with all the congressionally imposed prerequisites to the acquisition of citizenship.”
Injeti v. United States Citizenship & Immigr. Servs., 737 F.3d 311 (4th Cir. 2013).
“§ 1427 (a); 8 C.F.R. § 316.2 . Arguing that the district court’s grant of summary judgment to USCIS was improper, Injeti contends that the district court erred in finding that she could not satisfy either of these conditions.”
Hajro v. Barrett, 849 F. Supp. 2d 945 (N.D. Cal. 2012).
· cites it 3× “3d at 1168 (citing 8 C.F.R. § 316.2 (b)). 4. To establish eligibility for naturalization, Plaintiff must demonstrate that he meets the requirements set forth at 8 U.”
Olayan v. Holder, 833 F. Supp. 2d 1052 (S.D. Ind. 2011).
· cites it 2× “§ 1427 (a)(l)-(3)); see also 8 C.F.R. § 316.2 . The Immigration and Nationality Act underscores the importance of being a permanent resident in other provisions of the statute as follows: “no person shall be naturalized unless he has been lawfully admitted to the United States…”
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