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(B) any kind of service in the armed forces of the United States,
the individual may omit from the oath the substance of subsection
(a)(5) (A) and (B) of this section.
(c) WAIVER FOR YOUNG CHILD.—If the Attorney General believes that
a child is unable to understand the meaning of the oath, the Attorney Gen-
eral may waive the requirement that the child take the oath.
(d) OATH RENOUNCING HEREDITARY TITLES AND ORDERS.—In addition
to taking the oath under subsection (a) of this section, an individual who
has a hereditary title or belongs to an order of nobility must take an oath
expressly renouncing the title or order. The oath under this subsection must
be taken in the same public ceremony as the oath under subsection (a) and
shall be recorded as a part of the proceeding.
§ 20510. Methods of oath administration
(a) PUBLIC CEREMONY.—To be naturalized as a citizen of the United
States, an individual must take the oath required for naturalization in a
public ceremony. However, the Attorney General may waive the public cere-
mony requirement if the Attorney General decides the individual has an ill-
ness or other disability sufficiently incapacitating to prevent the individual’s
personal appearance.
(b) RIGHT TO CHOOSE.—(1) The individual may choose to take the oath
before the Attorney General or a court authorized by section 20511 of this
title, except when—
(A) a court has exclusive authority under section 20511(c) of this
title; or
(B) a court has referred the applicant to the Attorney General for
an expedited oath administration under subsection (c)(3) of this sec-
tion.
(2) The individual shall notify the Attorney General of the choice to take
the oath before a court.
(c) EXPEDITED OATH ADMINISTRATION.—(1) On demonstrating suffi-
cient cause, an individual may be granted an expedited oath administration
by the Attorney General or a court.
(2) When a court is deciding whether to grant an expedited oath adminis-
tration, the court shall consider—
(A) special circumstances such as serious illness of the applicant or
a member of the applicant’s immediate family, permanent disability
sufficiently incapacitating to prevent the applicant’s personal appear-
ance at the scheduled ceremony, developmental disability, or advanced
age; and
(B) exigent circumstances related to travel or employment.
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(3) If an expedited oath administration by a court is impracticable, the
court shall refer the individual to the Attorney General. The Attorney Gen-
eral then may provide for immediate administration of the oath.
(d) PUBLIC CEREMONIES CONDUCTED BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The
Attorney General shall prescribe regulations to ensure that oath administra-
tion ceremonies conducted by the Attorney General are public, dignified, and
conducted frequently and at regular intervals.
§ 20511. Court authority to administer oaths
(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, ‘‘eligible court’’ means—
(1) a district court of the United States in any State; and
(2) any other court of record in a State if the court has a seal, a
clerk, and jurisdiction in actions at law, equity, or both, in which the
amount in controversy is unlimited.
(b) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—(1) An eligible court may administer the
oath required for naturalization to individuals residing within the jurisdic-
tion of the court.
(2) Any district court of the United States may administer the oath to
an individual described in section 20310 of this title without regard to the
residence of the individual.
(c) EXCLUSIVE AUTHORITY.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (4) of
this subsection, an eligible court that wishes to have exclusive authority to
administer the oath to individuals residing within the jurisdiction of the
court has that authority on notifying the Attorney General.
(2) The exclusive authority of a court to administer the oath applies to
an individual—
(A) only during the 45-day period beginning on the date the Attor-
ney General certifies to the court that the individual is eligible to be
naturalized; and
(B) only if, before the date of that certification, the court has noti-
fied the Attorney General of the dates during that 45-day period when
oath administration ceremonies by the court are scheduled.
(3) Subject to paragraph (4) of this subsection, the Attorney General may
not administer the oath to an individual during the period of a court’s ex-
clusive authority under paragraph (2) of this subsection.
(4) A court may waive the exclusive authority to administer the oath to
an individual if the Attorney General has not provided the court the certifi-
cate of eligibility for that individual within a reasonable time before the day
scheduled by the court for the oath administration ceremony. When notified
of a court’s waiver, the Attorney General promptly shall notify the appli-
cant.