I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1883 

To codify procedures regarding naturalization ceremonies conducted by the 

Secretary of Homeland Security. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 17, 2007 

Mr. FOSSELLA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To codify procedures regarding naturalization ceremonies 

conducted by the Secretary of Homeland Security. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. ADMINISTRATIVE NATURALIZATION CERE4 MONIES. 

5 Section 337 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

6 (8 U.S.C. 1448) is amended by adding at the end the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(e)(1) The ceremonies described in subsection (d) 

9 shall, at a minimum, contain the following events: 


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1 ‘‘(A) The introduction will consist of pre2 paratory remarks to explain the nature and sig3 nificance of the ceremony as well as an intro4 duction of the Department of Homeland Secu5 rity representative conducting the ceremony and 

6 special guests, participants, or groups. 

7 ‘‘(B) The introduction of the new citizens 

8 may be accomplished either by Department of 

9 Homeland Security personnel or by the individ10 uals themselves. The name and country of ori11 gin of each applicant should be included. If it 

12 is not practical to include the name of each ap13 plicant due to the size of the group being natu14 ralized, a brief statement setting forth the num15 ber of persons to be administered the oath and 

16 their countries of origin should be made. 

17 ‘‘(C) The oath of allegiance is administered 

18 by a Department of Homeland Security officer 

19 consistent with this section. 

20 ‘‘(D) The new citizens should be requested 

21 to recite the pledge of allegiance to the flag of 

22 the United States. Either Service personnel, a 

23 guest, or one of the new citizens may lead the 

24 group. 


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1 ‘‘(E) A guest speaker (e.g., prominent civic 

2 leader, naturalized citizen, judge, etc.) or a De3 partment of Homeland Security official will de4 liver appropriate remarks. A prepared state5 ment or congratulatory message from the Presi6 dent, Attorney General, or Commissioner may 

7 be used. The address should focus on the form 

8 and distinctiveness of the United States Gov9 ernment and the privileges and responsibilities 

10 of citizenship. 

11 ‘‘(F) Civic and patriotic groups (e.g., 

12 D.A.R., League of Women Voters, Veterans of 

13 Foreign Wars, Boy Scouts, etc.) should be in14 troduced and allowed to present brief congratu15 latory remarks or special programs. 

16 ‘‘(G) An individual commencement-style 

17 presentation should be used if possible; or the 

18 certificate may be delivered at the conclusion of 

19 the ceremony. Subsequent delivery via mail 

20 should be avoided. The new citizens are to be 

21 provided with appropriate commemorative ma22 terial, and the President’s welcoming letter. 

23 ‘‘(2) Ceremonies may include activities in addition to 

24 those specified in paragraph (1) if the activities are in 

25 keeping with the dignity of the occasion. 


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1 ‘‘(3) Care should be taken to avoid associating cere2 monies with such activities as partisan political functions, 

3 denominational religious functions, sporting events, or 

4 functions designed to draw crowds unrelated to the cere5 mony and which would not be in keeping with the dignity 

6 of the naturalization process. 

7 ‘‘(f)(1) The ceremonies described in subsection (d) 

8 may be conducted at— 

9 ‘‘(A) Department of Homeland Security offices 

10 or facilities; 

11 ‘‘(B) public sites such as city, county, state or 

12 Federal buildings; 

13 ‘‘(C) school auditoriums, possibly as a part of 

14 civics curricula; 

15 ‘‘(D) court facilities; 

16 ‘‘(E) historic sites (ideally as a part of special 

17 commemorative events); 

18 ‘‘(F) Outreach locations, such as community 

19 agencies or fraternal organizations; or 

20 ‘‘(G) other appropriate facilities in keeping with 

21 the dignity of the occasion. 

22 ‘‘(2) The decor of the oath ceremony location must 

23 be in keeping with the dignity and importance of the con24 ferring of United States citizenship. While the Depart25 ment of Homeland Security office need not copy doggedly 


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1 the decor of a typical Federal court house, such type of 

2 decor should be kept in mind when planning ceremonies. 

3 At a minimum, the flag of the United States and the De4 partment of Homeland Security pennant will be promi5 nently displayed. A dais or podium should be provided for 

6 the use of the officiating employees and speakers. Facili7 ties must be clean and neat. When planning space require8 ments, ample provision must be made for the guests of 

9 new citizens. 

10 ‘‘(g) A separate calendar reflecting dates of adminis11 trative oath ceremonies for the calendar year shall be com12 pleted for each Department of Homeland Security office 

13 conducting naturalization activities. It shall be completed 

14 by January 31 of each year. The calendar, in addition to 

15 the dates of the ceremonies, must reflect the location of 

16 each ceremony and the number of persons to be scheduled 

17 for the ceremony. It must also indicate the total number 

18 of oath ceremonies actually held in the prior calendar year, 

19 and the number of abbreviated ceremonies held pursuant 

20 to subsection (h). 

21 ‘‘(h)(1) When a district director or officer-in-charge 

22 determines that it is in the national interest that an appli23 cant not wait until a scheduled oath ceremony to be ad24 ministered the oath, an abbreviated oath ceremony may 

25 be held. In such case, only those items listed in subparaVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:45 Apr 19, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1883.IH H1883

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1 graphs (C), (E), and (G) of subsection (e)(1) need be in2 cluded in the ceremony. 

3 ‘‘(2) When it is determined that an abbreviated cere4 mony will be held, the district director or officer-in-charge 

5 will place in the applicant’s service file a memorandum 

6 explaining the need for the abbreviated ceremony.’’. 

Æ 


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