USCIS is empowered to conduct neighbourhood investigations for those applying for US citizenship

A practice of conducting neighbourhood investigations of foreign nationals who apply for US citizenship, which was done away with in 1991, has been reintroduced by the Trump administration.An internal policy memorandum issued recently by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) states that these personal investigations, also known as neighbourhood investigations or watch, cover the vicinity of an alien’s (foreign national’s) place of residence and employment and include at least the 5-year period prior to the filing of the alien’s naturalization (citizenship) application.“The purpose is to corroborate an alien’s eligibility for naturalization, which includes scrutiny of an alien’s residency, good moral character, attachment to the US Constitution, and disposition to the good order and happiness of the United States.

USCIS may waive the requirement at its discretion for individual cases or classes of cases” adds the memorandum.Kripa Upadhyay, immigration attorney at Buchalter said: “George Orwell himself could not have predicted this: Neighbourhood checks for citizenship applicants! Policies like this do not make America safer. All they do is go the extra mile to instill fear and reinforce the notion of Immigrants being an ‘undeserving outsider’ in communities where immigrants live and work…”The policy memo explains that USCIS will make the decision to conduct or waive neighbourhood investigations on an individualized discretionary basis after reviewing relevant evidence contained in the records before it.

It may request information from the applicant such as testimonial letters from neighbours, employers, co-workers, and business associates who know the applicant and can provide substantiated information, including on any of the requirements for naturalization.

An applicant’s failure or refusal to provide such evidence may lead to a neighbourhood investigation which may impact the foreign national’s ability to establish their eligibility for American citizenship.In this context, Upadhyay points out that while the memo suggested that citizenship applicants should ‘proactively’ submit testimonial letters, even if they submit these letters USCIS officers can still unilaterally decide to go speak to your neighbours, your boss and your colleagues about you!The fact that USCIS officials are now empowered to visit an applicant’s neighbourhood to determine whether the individual meet citizenship requirements — including proof of ‘good moral character’ and being ‘well-disposed to the good order and happiness of the United States’- this has trigged a wave of debate among the diaspora.

“We do not live in an Indian dominated neighbourhood and there is a distance between us and our neighbours,” said a greencard holder, wondering how the neighbours would react to questioning about him by USCIS officials.

USCIS has also recently restored a rigorous and holistic approach to evaluating ‘good moral character’ of foreign nationals applying for American citizenship. This approach has been critiqued as being subjective and was reported by TOI in its edition of Aug 18.As regards the new policy on neighbourhood investigations, social media posts highlight concerns such as whether concepts like ‘moral character’ can be measured objectively, whether community perception should influence life-changing decisions, and whether the approach could foster unnecessary fear or bias in the naturalization process.