According to a recent clarification in the policy guidelines provided by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), this sought-after legal admission requirement applies only to the initial admission or adjustment to lawful permanent resident (LPR) status of naturalization applicants.
New Guidelines For Permanent Residency
The process whereby lawful permanent residents who meet the criteria of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) become citizens is called naturalization. To qualify, applicants must meet certain eligibility criteria spelled out in the Act, including the requirement to maintain LPR status for a minimum of five years in most cases.
In the naturalization process, the applicant needs to show that they were lawfully admitted into the United States for permanent residence according to the immigration laws in effect at the time of their admission or adjustment. Regulation states that “initial entry, or any subsequent reentry” is applicable under this condition. This new policy will affect applications for naturalization that are pending or filed on or after November 14, 2024.
The decision follows a recent ruling from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. According to the appellate court, the requirement of naturalization applicants to demonstrate lawful admission for “any subsequent reentry” added an extra condition not found in the INA. The case, in particular, involved an LPR treated as an applicant for admission, who was paroled into the United States, and later had removal proceedings terminated. The court might conclude that the individual still met the requirement of being lawfully admitted for permanent residence for naturalization purposes.
permanent resident status
In response, USCIS is modifying its policy to consider only one kind of admission or adjustment to permanent resident status, while eliminating references to categories such as “lawful admission” or “adjustment” from that point forward for purposes of any further consideration in naturalization applications.
Under the revised policy, USCIS will determine lawful admission or adjustment to permanent resident status with respect to any adjustment or admission, thus ensuring compliance with the INA and streamlining the application process for determining naturalization eligibility.
