USCIS Expands Guidance on “Unlawful Acts” Bar to Establishing Good Moral Character for Naturalization

In December 2019, USCIS issued a policy alert expanding its policy guidance regarding unlawful acts that reflect adversely on moral character and may prevent an applicant from meeting the good moral character (GMC) requirement for naturalization. Policy highlights include:

• Expands existing guidance on the “unlawful acts” bar to establishing GMC for naturalization, including adding additional examples of unlawful acts.

• Emphasizes that USCIS officers determine whether an “unlawful act” is a conditional bar on a case-by-case basis and provides guidance on that case-by-case analysis.

The policy became effective December 13, 2019.