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The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced a major policy shift that gives thrust to restoring a rigorous and holistic approach assessing ‘good moral character'(GMC) of the foreign nationals seeking American citizenship.
On Aug.15, the USCIS issued the policy memorandum which states that US citizenship is more than a legal benefit — indicating that it would represent a profound transformation into active and responsible citizen in American society. The policy titled ‘Restoring a rigorous, holistic and comprehensive good moral character evaluation stand for aliens applying for naturalization (citizenship)’, will no longer treat GMC as a simple checklist of disqualifying offenses. The officials would consider the ‘totality of circumstances’ taking account of both negative conduct and positive contributions.
Some offences like a murder, torture, genocide or aggravated felines will remain permanent bars to naturalization. Now, the officials must also assess evidence of rehabilitation and reformation in other cases. The policy states that the regulations and policy affirm that GMC findings must go beyond the absence of disqualifying acts — it must reflect a genuine positive assessment of who the applicant is and how they have lived in their community.
Positive contributions to the society and involvement in community activities like compliance with the rules and tax obligations, responsibility and ties in the US will be honoured. The USCIS officials will also scrutinize behaviours inconsistent with civic responsibility, including false claims to citizenships, unlawful voting, driving under the influence, and patterns of reckless conduct. The shift in the policy from a rule-based model to a more discretionary one is feared to be a slippery slope. It is feared that the results could vary due to subjective assessment of applications, resulting in lack of uniformity.
Meanwhile, there is a ray of hope for lesser wrongdoings, non-repayment of interest or principal amount against loans due to loss of jobs during the pandemic. The USCIS officials will look for concrete evidence of rehabilitation, including repayment of taxes, compliance with court-ordered conditions, or testimony from community members. The policy guidelines indicate that such evidence could support the GMC, even when negative history is found, without any serious/permanent conviction against the applicant. It has to be seen how many more changes would be enforced in the coming days.
