Trump Admin Just Raised The Bar For Anyone Hoping To Become An American
The Trump administration plans to more heavily scrutinize foreign nationals applying for American citizenship as it continues to tighten enforcement standards across the board.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the agency tasked with managing the country’s legal immigration system, will no longer only consider an alien’s absence of misconduct during the naturalization process, but will also identify their “positive attributes” to society, according to a new memo from the agency. The Trump administration argues the move will restore integrity to the citizenship application process.
“U.S. citizenship is the gold standard of citizenship — it should only be offered to the world’s best of the best,” Matthew Tragesser, a USCIS spokesperson, said in a public statement shared with the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“Today, USCIS is adding a new element to the naturalization process that ensures America’s newest citizens not only embrace America’s culture, history, and language but who also demonstrate Good Moral Character,” Tragesser continued. “This memo ensures that USCIS officers are accounting for an alien’s positive contributions to American society — including community involvement, achievements, and financial responsibility rather than the absence of their misconduct.”
Permanent legal residents on a pathway to American citizenship must demonstrate they are an individual of good moral character (GMC), according to USCIS. This evaluation typically involves an assessment of an alien’s behavior, including a review focused on the absence of any wrongdoing. Under these updated guidelines, the GMC assessment is expanded to involve a “holistic” evaluation of an applicant’s behavior and positive contributions. (Read more from “Trump Admin Just Raised The Bar For Anyone Hoping To Become An American” HERE)
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