S3568-119

What This Bill Does

The Naturalization and Oath Ceremony Protection Act establishes a statutory right for anyone whose naturalization application has been approved to complete their citizenship ceremony, take the oath of allegiance, and receive their certificate of naturalization. The bill narrowly limits the grounds on which DHS can block someone from a ceremony: only when the Secretary of Homeland Security determines, based on individualized facts, that the person is statutorily ineligible or that their approval was obtained through fraud. It explicitly prohibits excluding applicants based on nationality, country of origin, categorical reviews, or generalized policy directives. The bill provides for judicial review, mandamus authority, attorney'"'"'s fees for prevailing applicants, and bans secret or unpublished policies affecting ceremonies.

Who Benefits and How

Approved naturalization applicants gain an enforceable legal right to complete their citizenship process. They cannot be excluded based on their nationality, country of origin, or broad policy directives not tied to their individual case. If wrongly excluded, they can seek judicial review, have the denial treated as unlawful agency action, recover attorney'"'"'s fees, and receive a rescheduled ceremony within 10 days of a court order. Immigration attorneys benefit from the fee-shifting provision and clearly defined judicial review pathway.

Who Bears the Burden and How

The Secretary of Homeland Security and DHS face significant new constraints. Any exclusion from a ceremony requires individualized, articulable facts and supervisory approval by an uninvolved officer. Written notice must be served at least 10 days before the ceremony. All policies affecting ceremonies must be published in the Federal Register. Emergency postponements are capped at 30 days with 72-hour prior notice. These rights cannot be overridden by executive directive, internal memorandum, or regulation.

Key Provisions

• Creates statutory right for approved applicants to attend ceremony, take oath, and receive certificate
• Exclusion permitted only on individualized determination of ineligibility or fraud, with supervisory approval
• Prohibits exclusion based on nationality, country of origin, categorical reviews, or generalized policies
• Requires 10-day advance written notice for any exclusion, with right to respond
• Emergency postponement limited to 30 days for specific, credible national security threats (72-hour notice)
• Denial is final agency action subject to judicial review and mandamus
• Prevailing applicants recover attorney'"'"'s fees; rescheduled ceremony within 10 days of court order
• All ceremony-related policies must be published in the Federal Register
• Rights cannot be waived by regulation, internal memorandum, or Executive directive