Sponsors (4)
The bill clarifies and protects naturalization eligibility for those who entered lawfully and gives agencies a clear denial standard, but it permanently bars people who entered unlawfully from becoming citizens—creating rights risks for long-term residents and veterans, reducing incentives to regularize status, and increasing litigation and administrative burdens.
Immigrants who entered lawfully retain a clearer, statutory pathway to naturalization because eligibility is explicitly limited to those with lawful entry.
USCIS and DHS gain a clear statutory standard to deny naturalization to individuals who entered unlawfully, simplifying adjudication criteria for agencies and adjudicators.
Immigrants who entered unlawfully — including long-term residents who later adjusted status and military service members — would be permanently ineligible for naturalization, risking family separation, instability, and loss of earned civic rights.
Undocumented immigrants may face reduced incentives to seek lawful status through existing processes, keeping people in legal limbo and limiting their economic contributions to communities and the economy.
DHS, USCIS, and federal courts will likely face increased workload and litigation as applicants challenge determinations of entry status or seek exceptions, creating administrative costs and delays.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Bars anyone who entered the United States unlawfully from becoming a U.S. citizen by naturalization, regardless of other immigration provisions.
Introduced March 27, 2025 by Cory Mills · Last progress March 27, 2025
Makes anyone who entered the United States unlawfully ineligible to become a U.S. citizen through naturalization. The change overrides other immigration provisions so that an unlawful entry alone bars naturalization eligibility nationwide.