An August 22nd memo, released Tuesday, announced the Trump Administration’s plans to restore neighborhood checks in citizenship applications.
Established by the Immigration and Nationality Act, neighborhood checks are interviews conducted by USCIS officials in the community where an individual (applying for citizenship) lives. These interviews are conducted to assess the applicant’s moral character and eligibility for naturalization.
While required by the INA, neighborhood checks were waived in 1991 and have not been conducted since. However, Friday’s memo indicates the current administration’s plans to restore them.
Joseph Edlow, Director of USCIS, released a statement explaining that this decision is in an effort to protect the integrity of the naturalization process and ensure that those applying for citizenship are “properly vetted and are of good moral character, attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States, and well-disposed to the good order and happiness of the United States.”
Neighborhood checks will be conducted on a case-by-case basis under the discretion of USCIS. The memo also encourages applicants to proactively include letters of recommendation from community members, neighbors, and/ or employers as evidence of their good moral character. Refusal or failure to submit these testimonials could lead to a neighborhood investigation and impact the applicant’s case.
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