USCIS Issues Policy Memorandum on Good Moral Character Evaluation Standard

By: Deepika Singh

On August 15, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued policy memorandum PM-602-0188, introducing a revised standard for evaluating good moral character (GMC) in naturalization cases. Under the new policy, USCIS officers will consider an applicant’s positive traits and contributions, not just the absence of criminal or unethical behavior. The goal is to determine whether the applicant has met and is likely to continue meeting the GMC requirement by assessing overall behavior, respect for social norms, and constructive impact. Officers will base their decisions on the totality of the evidence, weighing both positive and negative factors to reach the most probable conclusion.

USCIS officers will decide if an applicant adheres to GMC through factors listed in section 101 (f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) (Chapter 2 - Adjudicative Factors), which include but are not limited to:

• Family ties and background
• Absence or presence of other criminal history
• Education​
• Employment history
• Other law-abiding behavior (for example, meeting financial obligations, paying taxes)
• Community involvement
• Credibility of the applicant
• Compliance with probation
• Length of time in United States

 

As a counterbalance to the account for positive attributes, USCIS will also have a greater scrutiny of disqualifying behavior and action, including but not limited to:

• Permanent bars to GMC, such as murder, aggravated felony, crimes of violence, persecution, genocide, torture, or severe violations of religious freedom.

• Conditional bars to GMC, such as drug violations, getting two or more DUIs, falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen, registering to vote when you're not allowed to, or voting illegally.
• Any other behavior that doesn't match how typical citizens act in the area where the applicant lives. This could include things that aren't technically illegal but show poor community citizenship, like constantly getting traffic tickets, or bothering or aggressively pestering people.
• When looking at illegal actions or behavior that doesn't match community standards, USCIS will review all the paperwork they can find and ask detailed questions about exactly what happened and why, to decide if that particular situation should prevent someone from becoming a citizen.

 

USCIS will focus greater attention on ensuring that applicants who have engaged in wrongdoing are properly rehabilitated and reformed. Following a holistic approach, proof that someone has genuinely rehabilitated themselves can help show they have good moral character, including but not limited to:

• Catching up on overdue child support or other family responsibilities
• Compliance with probation or other conditions imposed by a court
• Getting testimonials from trustworthy community members who can vouch that the applicant continues to have good character
• Helping or mentoring other people who have similar problems from their past
• Paying back any government benefits they received by mistake, like SSI
• Full payment of overdue taxes

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This new approach gives USCIS officers the authority to look at the complete life story of people applying for citizenship, if there aren't any automatic legal disqualifiers, and requires those applicants to tell their whole story. They need to show how their life demonstrates a pattern of behavior that matches the moral standards and expectations of the community where they live.