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[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 8USC1421]

 
                     TITLE 8--ALIENS AND NATIONALITY
 
                 CHAPTER 12--IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY
 
             SUBCHAPTER III--NATIONALITY AND NATURALIZATION
 
               Part II--Nationality Through Naturalization
 
Sec. 1421. Naturalization authority


(a) Authority in Attorney General

    The sole authority to naturalize persons as citizens of the United 
States is conferred upon the Attorney General.

(b) Court authority to administer oaths

                          (1) Jurisdiction

        Subject to section 1448(c) of this title--

        (A) General jurisdiction

            Except as provided in subparagraph (B), each applicant for 
        naturalization may choose to have the oath of allegiance under 
        section 1448(a) of this title administered by the Attorney 
        General or by an eligible court described in paragraph (5). Each 
        such eligible court shall have authority to administer such oath 
        of allegiance to persons residing within the jurisdiction of the 
        court.

        (B) Exclusive authority

            An eligible court described in paragraph (5) that wishes to 
        have exclusive authority to administer the oath of allegiance 
        under section 1448(a) of this title to persons residing within 
        the jurisdiction of the court during the period described in 
        paragraph (3)(A)(i) shall notify the Attorney General of such 
        wish and, subject to this subsection, shall have such exclusive 
        authority with respect to such persons during such period.

                           (2) Information

        (A) General information

            In the case of a court exercising authority under paragraph 
        (1), in accordance with procedures established by the Attorney 
        General--
                (i) the applicant for naturalization shall notify the 
            Attorney General of the intent to be naturalized before the 
            court, and
                (ii) the Attorney General--
                    (I) shall forward to the court (not later than 10 
                days after the date of approval of an application for 
                naturalization in the case of a court which has provided 
                notice under paragraph (1)(B)) such information as may 
                be necessary to administer the oath of allegiance under 
                section 1448(a) of this title, and
                    (II) shall promptly forward to the court a 
                certificate of naturalization (prepared by the Attorney 
                General).

        (B) Assignment of individuals in the case of exclusive authority

            If an eligible court has provided notice under paragraph 
        (1)(B), the Attorney General shall inform each person (residing 
        within the jurisdiction of the court), at the time of the 
        approval of the person's application for naturalization, of--
                (i) the court's exclusive authority to administer the 
            oath of allegiance under section 1448(a) of this title to 
            such a person during the period specified in paragraph 
            (3)(A)(i), and
                (ii) the date or dates (if any) under paragraph (3)(B) 
            on which the court has scheduled oath administration 
            ceremonies.

        If more than one eligible court in an area has provided notice 
        under paragraph (1)(B), the Attorney General shall permit the 
        person, at the time of the approval, to choose the court to 
        which the information will be forwarded for administration of 
        the oath of allegiance under this section.

                  (3) Scope of exclusive authority

        (A) Limited period and advance notice required

            The exclusive authority of a court to administer the oath of 
        allegiance under paragraph (1)(B) shall apply with respect to a 
        person--
                (i) only during the 45-day period beginning on the date 
            on which the Attorney General certifies to the court that an 
            applicant is eligible for naturalization, and
                (ii) only if the court has notified the Attorney 
            General, prior to the date of certification of eligibility, 
            of the day or days (during such 45-day period) on which the 
            court has scheduled oath administration ceremonies.

        (B) Authority of Attorney General

            Subject to subparagraph (C), the Attorney General shall not 
        administer the oath of allegiance to a person under subsection 
        (a) of this section during the period in which exclusive 
        authority to administer the oath of allegiance may be exercised 
        by an eligible court under this subsection with respect to that 
        person.

        (C) Waiver of exclusive authority

            Notwithstanding the previous provisions of this paragraph, a 
        court may waive exclusive authority to administer the oath of 
        allegiance under section 1448(a) of this title to a person under 
        this subsection if the Attorney General has not provided the 
        court with the certification described in subparagraph (A)(i) 
        within a reasonable time before the date scheduled by the court 
        for oath administration ceremonies. Upon notification of a 
        court's waiver of jurisdiction, the Attorney General shall 
        promptly notify the applicant.

                    (4) Issuance of certificates

        The Attorney General shall provide for the issuance of 
    certificates of naturalization at the time of administration of the 
    oath of allegiance.

                         (5) Eligible courts

        For purposes of this section, the term ``eligible court'' 
    means--
            (A) a district court of the United States in any State, or
            (B) any court of record in any State having a seal, a clerk, 
        and jurisdiction in actions in law or equity, or law and equity, 
        in which the amount in controversy is unlimited.

(c) Judicial review

    A person whose application for naturalization under this subchapter 
is denied, after a hearing before an immigration officer under section 
1447(a) of this title, may seek review of such denial before the United 
States district court for the district in which such person resides in 
accordance with chapter 7 of title 5. Such review shall be de novo, and 
the court shall make its own findings of fact and conclusions of law and 
shall, at the request of the petitioner, conduct a hearing de novo on 
the application.

(d) Sole procedure

    A person may only be naturalized as a citizen of the United States 
in the manner and under the conditions prescribed in this subchapter and 
not otherwise.

(June 27, 1952, ch. 477, title III, ch. 2, Sec. 310, 66 Stat. 239; Pub. 
L. 85-508, Sec. 25, July 7, 1958, 72 Stat. 351; Pub. L. 86-3, 
Sec. 20(c), Mar. 18, 1959, 73 Stat. 13; Pub. L. 87-301, Sec. 17, Sept. 
26, 1961, 75 Stat. 656; Pub. L. 100-525, Sec. 9(s), Oct. 24, 1988, 102 
Stat. 2621; Pub. L. 101-649, title IV, Sec. 401(a), Nov. 29, 1990, 104 
Stat. 5038; Pub. L. 102-232, title I, Sec. 102(a), title III, 
Sec. 305(a), Dec. 12, 1991, 105 Stat. 1734, 1749; Pub. L. 103-416, title 
II, Sec. 219(u), Oct. 25, 1994, 108 Stat. 4318.)


                               Amendments

    1994--Subsec. (b)(5)(A). Pub. L. 103-416 substituted ``district 
court'' for ``District Court''.
    1991--Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 102-232, Sec. 102(a), amended subsec. (b) 
generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (b) read as follows: ``An 
applicant for naturalization may choose to have the oath of allegiance 
under section 1448(a) of this title administered by the Attorney General 
or by any district court of the United States for any State or by any 
court of record in any State having a seal, a clerk, and jurisdiction in 
actions in law or equity, or law and equity, in which the amount in 
controversy is unlimited. The jurisdiction of all courts in this 
subsection specified to administer the oath of allegiance shall extend 
only to persons resident within the respective jurisdiction of such 
courts.''
    Pub. L. 102-232, Sec. 305(a), substituted ``district court'' for 
``District Court''.
    1990--Pub. L. 101-649 amended section generally, substituting 
provisions authorizing Attorney General to naturalize persons as 
citizens, for provisions granting certain courts exclusive jurisdiction 
to naturalize.
    1988--Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 100-525 struck out subsec. (e) which read 
as follows: ``Notwithstanding the provisions of section 405(a), any 
petition for naturalization filed on or after September 26, 1961, shall 
be heard and determined in accordance with the requirements of this 
subchapter.''
    1961--Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 87-301 added subsec. (e).
    1959--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 86-3 struck out provisions which 
conferred jurisdiction on District Court for Territory of Hawaii. See 
section 91 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure, and notes 
thereunder.
    1958--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 85-508 struck out provisions which 
conferred jurisdiction on District Court for Territory of Alaska. See 
section 81A of Title 28, which established a United States District 
Court for the State of Alaska.


                    Effective Date of 1994 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 103-416 effective as if included in the 
enactment of the Immigration Act of 1990, Pub. L. 101-649, see section 
219(dd) of Pub. L. 103-416, set out as a note under section 1101 of this 
title.


                    Effective Date of 1991 Amendment

    Section 102(c) of title I of Pub. L. 102-232 provided that: ``The 
amendments made by this title [amending this section and sections 1448, 
1450, and 1455 of this title] shall take effect 30 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 12, 1991].''
    Amendment by section 305(a) of Pub. L. 102-232 effective as if 
included in the enactment of the Immigration Act of 1990, Pub. L. 101-
649, see section 310(1) of Pub. L. 102-232, set out as a note under 
section 1101 of this title.


           Effective Date of 1990 Amendment; Savings Provision

    Section 408 of title IV of Pub. L. 101-649, as amended by Pub. L. 
102-232, title III, Sec. 305(n), Dec. 12, 1991, 105 Stat. 1750, provided 
that:
    ``(a) Effective Date.--
        ``(1) No new court petitions after effective date.--No court 
    shall have jurisdiction, under section 310(a) of the Immigration and 
    Nationality Act [8 U.S.C. 1421(a)], to naturalize a person unless a 
    petition for naturalization with respect to that person has been 
    filed with the court before October 1, 1991.
        ``(2) Treatment of current court petitions.--
            ``(A) Continuation of current rules.--Except as provided in 
        subparagraph (B), any petition for naturalization which may be 
        pending in a court on October 1, 1991, shall be heard and 
        determined in accordance with the requirements of law in effect 
        when the petition was filed.
            ``(B) Permitting withdrawal and consideration of application 
        under new rules.--In the case of any petition for naturalization 
        which may be pending in any court on January 1, 1992, the 
        petitioner may withdraw such petition and have the petitioner's 
        application for naturalization considered under the amendments 
        made by this title [amending this section, sections 1101, 1423, 
        1424, 1426 to 1430, 1433, 1435 to 1440, 1441 to 1451, and 1455 
        of this title, and section 1429 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal 
        Procedure, and repealing section 1459 of this title], but only 
        if the petition is withdrawn not later than 3 months after the 
        effective date.
        ``(3) General effective date.--Except as otherwise provided in 
    this section, the amendments made by this title are effective as of 
    the date of the enactment of this Act [Nov. 29, 1990].
    ``(b) Interim, Final Regulations.--The Attorney General shall 
prescribe regulations (on an interim, final basis or otherwise) to 
implement the amendments made by this title on a timely basis.
    ``(c) Continuing Duties.--The amendments to section 339 of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act [8 U.S.C. 1450] (relating to functions 
and duties of clerks) shall not apply to functions and duties respecting 
petitions filed before October 1, 1991.
    ``(d) General Savings Provisions.--(1) Nothing contained in this 
title [amending this section, sections 1101, 1423, 1424, 1426 to 1430, 
1433, 1435 to 1440, 1441 to 1451, and 1455 of this title, and section 
1429 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure, repealing section 1459 
of this title, and enacting provisions set out as a note under section 
1440 of this title], unless otherwise specifically provided, shall be 
construed to affect the validity of any declaration of intention, 
petition for naturalization, certificate of naturalization, 
certification of citizenship, or other document or proceeding which is 
valid as of the effective date; or to affect any prosecution, suit, 
action, or proceedings, civil or criminal, brought, or any status, 
condition, right in process of acquisition, act, thing, liability, 
obligation, or matter, civil or criminal, done or existing, as of the 
effective date.
    ``(2) As to all such prosecutions, suits, actions, proceedings, 
statutes, conditions, rights, acts, things, liabilities, obligations, or 
matters, the provisions of law repealed by this title are, unless 
otherwise specifically provided, hereby continued in force and effect.
    ``(e) Treatment of Service in Armed Forces of Foreign Country.--The 
amendments made by section 404 [amending section 1426 of this title] 
(relating to treatment of service in armed forces of a foreign country) 
shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act [Nov. 29, 
1990] and shall apply to exemptions from training or service obtained 
before, on, or after such date.
    ``(f) Filipino War Veterans.--Section 405 [enacting provisions 
formerly set out as a note under section 1440 of this title] (relating 
to naturalization of natives of the Philippines through active-duty 
service under United States command during World War II) shall become 
effective on May 1, 1991, without regard to whether regulations to 
implement such section have been issued by such date.''

  Abolition of Immigration and Naturalization Service and Transfer of 
                                Functions

    For abolition of Immigration and Naturalization Service, transfer of 
functions, and treatment of related references, see note set out under 
section 1551 of this title.


               Admission of Alaska and Hawaii to Statehood

    Alaska was admitted into the Union on Jan. 3, 1959, on issuance of 
Proc. No. 3269, Jan. 3, 1959, 24 F.R. 81, 73 Stat. c16, and Hawaii was 
admitted into the Union on Aug. 21, 1959, on issuance of Proc. No. 3309, 
Aug. 21, 1959, 24 F.R. 6868, 73 Stat. c74. For Alaska Statehood Law, see 
Pub. L. 85-508, July 7, 1958, 72 Stat. 339, set out as a note preceding 
former section 21 of Title 48, Territories and Insular Possessions. For 
Hawaii Statehood Law, see Pub. L. 86-3, Mar. 18, 1959, 73 Stat. 4, set 
out as a note preceding former section 491 of Title 48.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 1435, 1438, 1448, 1450 of 
this title.