US Revives ‘Neighborhood Checks’ In Citizenship Process After 30 Years

India-West News Desk

WASHINGTON, D.C. – For the first time in more than 30 years, U.S. immigration officials will again be knocking on neighbors’ doors as part of the citizenship process.

The Trump administration announced on August 26 that it is reinstating “neighborhood investigations” for some applicants seeking naturalization. The practice, last used during the George H.W. Bush era, had been effectively dormant since the 1990s when the government began relying on FBI background checks instead.

A policy memorandum dated August 22, made public this week, ends a longstanding waiver that had excused the agency from conducting the personal checks, even though they are outlined in the 1965 Immigration and Naturalization Act.

Joseph Edlow, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), said it fulfills the law’s original intent. “Incorporating neighborhood investigations will help enhance these statutorily required investigations to ensure that we are meeting congressional intent,” Edlow said.

He added that the public should view the change as a safeguard. “Americans should be comforted knowing that USCIS is taking seriously its responsibility to ensure aliens are being properly vetted and are of good moral character, attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States, and well-disposed to the good order and happiness of the United States,” he said.

Under the revived policy, USCIS may also ask applicants to provide letters of recommendation from “neighbors, employers, co-workers, and business associates who know the alien and can provide substantiated information about the alien, including any of the requirements for naturalization.”

The agency said those letters could be submitted voluntarily and would factor into decisions on whether investigators should make in-person visits to an applicant’s home or workplace.