Policy alert: Participation of Non-Governmental Organizations at Administrative Naturalization Ceremonies
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is temporarily reverting to the June 28, 2017 policy guidance on non-governmental organization participation in administrative naturalization ceremonies, consistent with the court order in League of Women Voters v. USCIS , No. 25-cv-3777 (D. Md. Aug. 3, 2025). Pending final resolution of the litigation, this guidance permits nonprofit and nonpartisan non-governmental organizations to participate in administrative naturalization ceremonies by distributing and collecting voter registration applications and officially registering new citizens to vote following the ceremony, when state and local election offices are not available to do so. As of August 31, 2026, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is rescinding PA-2025-21, Voter Registration at Administrative Naturalization Ceremonies, and the related provisions. The USCIS Policy Manual version effective June 28, 2017, found in Volume 12, Part J, Chapter 5, Sections F and H, is reinstated.
What this means
- This updates material the agency had already published. It changes existing guidance rather than creating a new requirement on its own. (classification: updated_information)
Derived from this event’s own recorded fields — not written by a model, and not an interpretation of anyone’s case.
Who is affected
The document does not name specific countries or visa categories in its scope language. Read the original to confirm whether it applies to a particular case.
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- A policy alert is USCIS guidance to its own officers, not a regulation. It governs how USCIS adjudicates, and it can be revised or withdrawn without rulemaking.
- The updates page does not publish an effective date. Where the guidance states one, it is in the linked document — this event does not assert an effective date it cannot cite.
- Affected Policy Manual sections, as listed by USCIS: 12 USCIS-PM J.5 (Citizenship and Naturalization).