Trump Administration May Deny Naturalization Over “Good Moral Character,” Reviewing 55M Visa Holders

Good moral character is now vital for naturalization. And 55M visa holders, including EB-5 investors, now face continuous review under the new US policy.

The Trump administration has introduced new standards for evaluating “good moral character” in naturalization applications, moving beyond traditional criminal background checks to assess applicants’ community contributions and adherence to local social norms. 

The USCIS outlined the policy changes in an August 15 memo. These changes coincide with separate State Department reviews of more than 55 million current visa holders for potential rule violations that could lead to deportation.

The naturalization reforms abandon decades of immigration policy that primarily evaluated character through the absence of criminal behavior. USCIS officers must now conduct what the memo describes as a “holistic assessment of an alien’s behavior, adherence to societal norms, and positive contributions that affirmatively demonstrate good moral character” rather than relying on what officials characterize as a “cursory mechanical review focused on the absence of wrongdoing.”

From Criminal Background Checks to Community Scorecards

The transformation reverses 30 years of immigration policy that increasingly relied on fixed statutory bars rather than individualized assessments. Before the early 1990s, immigration officers “determined GMC broadly through a model that treated the bars in INA 101(f) as the minimum disqualifiers, not as exclusive criteria,” according to the memo. 

Officers routinely considered “rehabilitative evidence, volunteer service, family responsibilities, and other positive traits in weighing GMC.”

The Immigration Act of 1990 and subsequent legislation moved the system toward what the memo characterizes as “a firm checklist that equated GMC with the absence of statutory disqualifications rather than the presence of positive moral conduct and character.” 

The new approach explicitly rejects this framework, requiring applicants to demonstrate character “commensurate with the standards of average citizens of the community in which the alien resides.”

USCIS will now evaluate six categories of positive contributions: 

• Sustained community involvement
• Family caregiving responsibilities 
• Educational achievement 
• Stable employment history
• Length of lawful residence, and 
• Tax compliance. 

The memo directs officers to consider these factors alongside traditional criminal background checks when determining an applicant’s worthiness for citizenship.

Screening for “Anti-American Ideology” Expands Immigration Vetting

The administration has simultaneously introduced screening for “anti-American” views, particularly targeting what it terms “antisemitic ideologies” across social media platforms. 

USCIS spokesperson Matthew Tragesser announced that the agency would implement “policies and procedures that root out anti-Americanism” while supporting “rigorous screening and vetting measures to the fullest extent possible.”

The directive instructs officers to consider “anti-American activity” as an “overwhelmingly negative factor” in immigration decisions, though it provides a limited definition beyond examples, including “involvement in anti-American or terrorist organizations” and support for “antisemitic terrorism and antisemitic terrorist organizations.” 

Expanded Criteria Could Penalize Legal but Questionable Conduct

The new standards extend beyond criminal conduct to encompass “any other acts that are contrary to the average behavior of citizens in the jurisdiction where aliens reside.” The memo specifies that these could include “actions that, while technically lawful, may be inconsistent with civic responsibility within the community, such as reckless or habitual traffic infractions, or harassment or aggressive solicitation.”

Officers receive explicit authority to “review all available documentation and question aliens seeking naturalization regarding the specific circumstances of their actions to determine if a particular situation or act should bar an alien from naturalization.” This expansion grants immigration officials broad discretion to evaluate behavior that falls outside traditional legal frameworks.

David Lesperance, founder and managing director of Lesperance & Associates, notes that “while clearly defined issues such as failure to accurately provide information on prior criminal charges are black and white, these new criteria are completely subjective and a matter of personal interpretation.” 

He questions how officials will consistently apply the new framework, observing that “ultimately Donald Trump does not personally review each naturalization application to determine his opinion of ‘positive attitudes’ and ‘Anti-Americanism’, so the question is how the officials interpret this memorandum.”

The policy emphasizes rehabilitation for applicants with past wrongdoing, requiring evidence such as “full payment of overdue taxes,” compliance with court orders, and “community testimony from credible sources attesting to alien’s ongoing GMC.” The memo directs officers to weigh “all relevant evidence, both adverse and favorable, before granting or denying naturalization.”

State Department to Continuously Review 55 Million Visa Holders

In a separate but concurrent development, the State Department has expanded its review of all current visa holders for potential violations that could trigger deportation. 

The “continuous vetting” program affects what officials describe as “more than 55 million foreigners who currently hold valid US visas,” including those who have already entered the country.

State Department officials confirm they “revoke visas any time there are indications of a potential ineligibility, which includes things like any indicators of overstays, criminal activity, threats to public safety, engaging in any form of terrorist activity, or providing support to a terrorist organization.” 

The review encompasses social media activity and extends to individuals already lawfully present in the United States.

The expanded vetting could impact EB-5 investor visa holders, whose substantial financial commitments to American enterprises have historically provided relatively stable immigration status. 

These investors, who must invest at least $800,000 in targeted employment areas or $1.05 million elsewhere, now face the same continuous review process as other visa categories despite their economic contributions to job creation and regional development.

A Return to Pre-1990s Practices

The changes represent a return to pre-1990s immigration practices while incorporating contemporary concerns about national security and ideological alignment. The memo explicitly references case law, including Hussein v. Barrett, where courts “recognized the importance of considering both negative and positive counterbalancing factors, including education, family responsibilities, and employment, when evaluating moral character.”

Between 600,000 and one million immigrants receive naturalized citizenship annually, with approximately 25 million naturalized citizens representing more than half of all foreign-born people in the United States. 

The new standards will affect this substantial population while potentially reducing approval rates through enhanced scrutiny and expanded disqualification criteria.

Lesperance anticipates that the policy changes will influence application timing strategies. He believes “any individual who is currently eligible to apply for naturalization, but who has engaged in any activity which may question the current administration, might decide to wait until after the 2028 election to apply.” 

He says this delay could have electoral implications, as “such individuals, who just got the franchise, were not going to vote for MAGA candidates in upcoming midterm elections (and the 2028 general election).” He characterizes the policy as “yet another voter suppression strategy,” comparing it to redistricting efforts in Texas.