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§ 21101. Procedure if denied a right or privilege as a na-
tional
(a) INDIVIDUALS IN THE UNITED STATES.—(1) Except as provided in
paragraph (4) of this subsection, an individual in the United States may
bring a civil action under section 2201 of title 28 against the head of an
agency for a judgment declaring that the individual is a national of the
United States if—
(A) the individual claims a right or privilege as a national of the
United States; and
(B) the head of the agency denies the claim because the individual
is not a national of the United States.
(2) The action must be brought—
(A) in the district court of the United States for the judicial district
in which the individual resides or claims to reside; and
(B) within 5 years after the final administrative denial of the right
or privilege.
(3) A court referred to in paragraph (2) of this subsection has jurisdic-
tion over the head of the agency in that action.
(4) An individual may not bring an action under this subsection if the
issue of the individual’s nationality arose because of a deportation or exclu-
sion proceeding.
(b) INDIVIDUALS NOT IN THE UNITED STATES.—(1) An individual not
in the United States may apply to a consular officer or diplomatic officer
of the United States in the country in which the individual resides for a
certificate of identity to travel to the United States and apply for admission
if—
(A) the individual claims a right or privilege as a national of the
United States;
(B) the head of an agency denies the claim because the individual
is not a national of the United States; and
(C) the individual had been in the United States before applying for
the certificate, or the individual is less than 16 years of age and was
born outside the United States to a parent who is a citizen of the Unit-
ed States.
(2) The diplomatic or consular officer shall grant the certificate if satis-
fied that the application is made in good faith and has a substantial basis.
If the officer denies the application, the individual may appeal to the Sec-
retary of State. If the Secretary approves the denial, the Secretary shall
state the reasons in writing.
(3) The individual may use the certificate to travel to a port of entry and
apply for admission to the United States. The individual is subject to the
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provisions of this title applicable to proceedings for aliens seeking admission
to the United States.
(4) The Secretary shall prescribe regulations for granting certificates
under this subsection.
(c) APPLICATION OF LAWS ON ADMISSION OF ALIENS.—An individual de-
scribed in this section who is finally excluded from admission to the United
States is subject to all the provisions of this title applicable to aliens seeking
admission to the United States.
§ 21102. Information about citizenship
(a) PROMOTING UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP.—To promote the oppor-
tunities and responsibilities of citizenship of the United States, the Attorney
General shall distribute broadly information about the benefits individuals
may receive under this subtitle and the requirements to obtain those bene-
fits. In carrying out this subsection, the Attorney General shall seek the as-
sistance of appropriate community groups, private voluntary agencies, and
other relevant organizations.
(b) INSTRUCTION
IN CITIZENSHIP RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Attorney
General may promote instruction and training in citizenship responsibilities
of applicants for naturalization, including—
(1) giving names of applicants for naturalization to public schools;
(2) preparing citizenship textbooks and distributing the textbooks
without charge to applicants receiving instruction in citizenship respon-
sibilities under the supervision of public schools;
(3) preparing and distributing a monthly immigration and natu-
ralization bulletin; and
(4) seeking the cooperation of official State and national organiza-
tions, including organizations concerned with vocational education.
(c) REIMBURSEMENT.—Based on a statement by the Attorney General
that the citizenship textbooks have been prepared and distributed as pro-
vided in subsection (b)(2) of this section, naturalization fees deposited in
the Treasury by the Attorney General may be used to reimburse the appro-
priation of the Department of Justice for the cost of preparing and distrib-
uting the textbooks.
SEC. 2. CONFORMING PROVISIONS.
(a) TITLE 8.—Effective June 1, 1996, section 8303 of title 8, United
States Code, is amended as follows:
(1) Subsection (b) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(b) WAIVERS.—The Attorney General may waive the 2-year residence
requirement of subsection (a) of this section if the Attorney General finds
that admitting the alien would be in the public interest, after receiving a
favorable recommendation from—