Sponsors
The bill strengthens immigrants' enforceable rights to attend naturalization ceremonies and receive prompt remedies and transparency, but it preserves limited national-security postponements and may increase administrative workload, litigation, and implementation friction for DHS.
Immigrants approved for naturalization are guaranteed the right to attend the ceremony, take the oath, and receive a certificate, reducing arbitrary denials and preserving immediate access to citizenship benefits.
Immigrants who are denied or postponed can obtain judicial review and mandamus relief, enabling courts to correct wrongful withholding of citizenship and providing an enforceable remedy.
Prevailing applicants can recover attorneys' fees and DHS must reschedule ceremonies within 10 days, speeding restoration of rights and reducing harm from administrative delays.
Immigrants may still face up to 30-day postponements of their naturalization ceremonies for national-security reasons, meaning some applicants will still experience delayed citizenship.
Federal employees may face increased administrative workload from requirements for written notices, responses, and supervisory review, which could slow ceremony processing nationwide.
Taxpayers and federal operations could see higher costs as increased court challenges and mandamus actions raise DHS litigation expenses and divert resources from other immigration processing.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Makes attendance, oath administration, and issuance of certificates for approved naturalization applicants a statutory right, with narrow exceptions and procedural safeguards including notice, response, review, and judicial review.
Introduced December 18, 2025 by Edward John Markey · Last progress December 18, 2025
Guarantees that applicants whose naturalization applications have been approved have a right to appear at scheduled naturalization ceremonies, take the oath of allegiance, and receive a certificate of naturalization, with a few narrow exceptions. It requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to give written notice of any bar or postponement based on specific factual and legal bases, allow a written response, require supervisory review, and makes denials or postponements subject to judicial review and remedies including rescheduling, mandamus, and attorneys’ fees.