CITE

    8 USC Sec. 1446                                             01/05/2009

EXPCITE

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

HEAD

    Sec. 1446. Investigation of applicants; examination of applications

STATUTE

    (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.

SOURCE

    (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".