US Laws, Codes, Statutes & Cases

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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: 8USC1446]

 
                     TITLE 8--ALIENS AND NATIONALITY
 
                 CHAPTER 12--IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY
 
             SUBCHAPTER III--NATIONALITY AND NATURALIZATION
 
               Part II--Nationality Through Naturalization
 
Sec. 1446. Investigation of applicants; examination of 
        applications
        

(a) Waiver

    Before a person may be naturalized, an employee of the Service, or 
of the United States designated by the Attorney General, shall conduct a 
personal investigation of the person applying for naturalization in the 
vicinity or vicinities in which such person has maintained his actual 
place of abode and in the vicinity or vicinities in which such person 
has been employed or has engaged in business or work for at least five 
years immediately preceding the filing of his application for 
naturalization. The Attorney General may, in his discretion, waive a 
personal investigation in an individual case or in such cases or classes 
of cases as may be designated by him.

(b) Conduct of examinations; authority of designees; record

    The Attorney General shall designate employees of the Service to 
conduct examinations upon applications for naturalization. For such 
purposes any such employee so designated is authorized to take testimony 
concerning any matter touching or in any way affecting the admissibility 
of any applicant for naturalization, to administer oaths, including the 
oath of the applicant for naturalization, and to require by subpena the 
attendance and testimony of witnesses, including applicant, before such 
employee so designated and the production of relevant books, papers, and 
documents, and to that end may invoke the aid of any district court of 
the United States; and any such court may, in the event of neglect or 
refusal to respond to a subpena issued by any such employee so 
designated or refusal to testify before such employee so designated 
issue an order requiring such person to appear before such employee so 
designated, produce relevant books, papers, and documents if demanded, 
and testify; and any failure to obey such order of the court may be 
punished by the court as a contempt thereof. The record of the 
examination authorized by this subsection shall be admissible as 
evidence in any hearing conducted by an immigration officer under 
section 1447(a) of this title. Any such employee shall, at the 
examination, inform the applicant of the remedies available to the 
applicant under section 1447 of this title.

(c) Transmittal of record of examination

    The record of the examination upon any application for 
naturalization may, in the discretion of the Attorney General be 
transmitted to the Attorney General and the determination with respect 
thereto of the employee designated to conduct such examination shall 
when made also be transmitted to the Attorney General.

(d) Determination to grant or deny application

    The employee designated to conduct any such examination shall make a 
determination as to whether the application should be granted or denied, 
with reasons therefor.

(e) Withdrawal of application

    After an application for naturalization has been filed with the 
Attorney General, the applicant shall not be permitted to withdraw his 
application, except with the consent of the Attorney General. In cases 
where the Attorney General does not consent to the withdrawal of the 
application, the application shall be determined on its merits and a 
final order determination made accordingly. In cases where the applicant 
fails to prosecute his application, the application shall be decided on 
the merits unless the Attorney General dismisses it for lack of 
prosecution.

(f) Transfer of application

    An applicant for naturalization who moves from the district of the 
Service in the United States in which the application is pending may, at 
any time thereafter, request the Service to transfer the application to 
any district of the Service in the United States which may act on the 
application. The transfer shall not be made without the consent of the 
Attorney General. In the case of such a transfer, the proceedings on the 
application shall continue as though the application had originally been 
filed in the district of the Service to which the application is 
transferred.

(June 27, 1952, ch. 477, title III, ch. 2, Sec. 335, 66 Stat. 255; Pub. 
L. 97-116, Sec. 15(c), Dec. 29, 1981, 95 Stat. 1619; Pub. L. 100-525, 
Sec. 9(aa), (bb), Oct. 24, 1988, 102 Stat. 2621; Pub. L. 101-649, title 
IV, Secs. 401(c), 407(c)(16), (d)(13), Nov. 29, 1990, 104 Stat. 5038, 
5041, 5043; Pub. L. 102-232, title III, Sec. 305(f), Dec. 12, 1991, 105 
Stat. 1750.)


                               Amendments

    1991--Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 102-232 substituted ``district court'' 
for ``District Court''.
    1990--Pub. L. 101-649, Sec. 407(d)(13)(A), substituted 
``Investigation of applicants; examination of applications'' for 
``Investigation of petitioners'' in section catchline.
    Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 101-649, Sec. 407(c)(16), (d)(13)(B), 
substituted ``Before a person may be naturalized'' for ``At any time 
prior to the holding of the final hearing on a petition for 
naturalization provided for by section 1447(a) of this title'', 
``applying'' for ``petitioning'', and ``application'' for ``petition''.
    Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 101-649, Sec. 407(c)(16), (d)(13)(C), 
substituted ``applications'' for ``petitions'' and ``applicant'' for 
``petitioner'' wherever appearing, struck out ``preliminary'' before 
``examinations'' and before ``examination'', struck out ``to any 
naturalization court and to make recommendations thereon to such court'' 
before period at end of first sentence, substituted ``any District Court 
of the United States'' for ``any court exercising naturalization 
jurisdiction as specified in section 1421 of this title'', and 
substituted ``hearing conducted by an immigration officer under section 
1447(a) of this title'' for ``final hearing conducted by a 
naturalization court designated in section 1421 of this title''.
    Pub. L. 101-649, Sec. 401(c), inserted at end ``Any such employee 
shall, at the examination, inform the petitioner of the remedies 
available to the petitioner under section 1447 of this title.''
    Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 101-649, Sec. 407(c)(16), (d)(13)(D), struck 
out ``preliminary'' before ``examination'' wherever appearing, and 
substituted ``determination'' for ``recommendation'' and ``application'' 
for ``petition''.
    Subsecs. (d) to (f). Pub. L. 101-649, Sec. 407(d)(13)(E), amended 
subsecs. (d) to (f) generally, substituting provisions relating to 
determinations, withdrawal of application, and transfer of application, 
for provisions relating to recommendations, withdrawal of petition, and 
transfer of petition, respectively.
    1988--Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 100-525, Sec. 9(aa), substituted 
``approves'' for ``approve'' in fourth sentence.
    Subsec. (f)(2). Pub. L. 100-525, Sec. 9(bb), struck out before 
period at end ``, except that the court to which the petition is 
transferred may in its discretion, require the production of two 
credible United States citizen witnesses to testify as to the 
petitioner's qualifications for naturalization since the date of such 
transfer''.
    1981--Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 97-116, Sec. 15(c)(1), struck out ``and 
the oaths of petitioner's witnesses to the petition for naturalization'' 
after ``oath of the petitioner for naturalization''.
    Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 97-116, Sec. 15(c)(2), (3), redesignated 
subsec. (i) as (f) and struck out former subsec. (f) which required 
affidavits of at least two credible witnesses, citizens of the United 
States, concerning the residency and the good moral character, etc., of 
the petitioner.
    Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 97-116, Sec. 15(c)(2), struck out subsec. (g) 
which related to proof of residence at the hearing on the petition.
    Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 97-116, Sec. 15(c)(2), struck out subsec. (h) 
which related to satisfactory evidence as to good moral character, etc., 
at the hearing on the petition.
    Subsec. (i). Pub. L. 97-116, Sec. 15(c)(3), redesignated subsec. (i) 
as (f).


                    Effective Date of 1991 Amendment

    Amendment by 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 1981 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 97-116 effective Dec. 29, 1981, see section 
21(a) of Pub. L. 97-116, set out as a note under section 1101 of this 
title.

  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.


                       Criminal Background Checks

    Pub. L. 105-119, title I, Nov. 26, 1997, 111 Stat. 2448, provided in 
part: ``That during fiscal year 1998 and each fiscal year thereafter, 
none of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the 
Immigration and Naturalization Service shall be used to complete 
adjudication of an application for naturalization unless the Immigration 
and Naturalization Service has received confirmation from the Federal 
Bureau of Investigation that a full criminal background check has been 
completed, except for those exempted by regulation as of January 1, 
1997''.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in section 1447 of this title.