Title 8 — Aliens and NationalityRelease 119-73
§1421 Naturalization authority
Title 8 › Chapter CHAPTER 12— - IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER III— - NATIONALITY AND NATURALIZATION › Part Part II— - Nationality Through Naturalization › § 1421
Summary
Only the Attorney General can grant U.S. citizenship by naturalization. An applicant can choose to take the oath of allegiance from the Attorney General or from an eligible court. A court can ask the Attorney General to have exclusive authority to give the oath to people who live in the court’s area for a short time, if the court tells the Attorney General first. If a court wants to act, the applicant must tell the Attorney General they intend to be naturalized before that court. The Attorney General must send the court the needed information and the certificate of naturalization, and must do so not later than 10 days after an application is approved for a court that gave notice. If the court asked for exclusive authority, the Attorney General must tell approved applicants that the court will have exclusive authority during the scheduled period and must give the oath dates. The court’s exclusive authority applies only during a 45‑day period that starts when the Attorney General certifies the applicant is eligible, and only if the court told the Attorney General the ceremony dates before that certification. During that 45 days the Attorney General will not give the oath to that person. A court may give up its exclusive authority if the Attorney General did not certify eligibility in a reasonable time before the court’s scheduled date; the Attorney General must then tell the applicant. Certificates of naturalization must be issued at the oath. An “eligible court” means a U.S. district court or a state court of record with a seal, a clerk, and unlimited money jurisdiction. If an application is denied after a hearing before an immigration officer, the person can ask the U.S. district court where they live to review the case afresh in accordance with chapter 7 of title 5. Naturalization may only happen in the ways and under the rules in this law.
Full Legal Text
Title 8, §1421
Aliens and Nationality — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)The sole authority to naturalize persons as citizens of the United States is conferred upon the Attorney General.
(A)Except as provided in subparagraph (B), each applicant for naturalization may choose to have the oath of allegiance under section 1448(a) of this title administered by the Attorney General or by an eligible court described in paragraph (5). Each such eligible court shall have authority to administer such oath of allegiance to persons residing within the jurisdiction of the court.
(B)An eligible court described in paragraph (5) that wishes to have exclusive authority to administer the oath of allegiance under section 1448(a) of this title to persons residing within the jurisdiction of the court during the period described in paragraph (3)(A)(i) shall notify the Attorney General of such wish and, subject to this subsection, shall have such exclusive authority with respect to such persons during such period.
(2)(A)In the case of a court exercising authority under paragraph (1), in accordance with procedures established by the Attorney General—
(i)the applicant for naturalization shall notify the Attorney General of the intent to be naturalized before the court, and
(ii)the Attorney General—
(I)shall forward to the court (not later than 10 days after the date of approval of an application for naturalization in the case of a court which has provided notice under paragraph (1)(B)) such information as may be necessary to administer the oath of allegiance under section 1448(a) of this title, and
(II)shall promptly forward to the court a certificate of naturalization (prepared by the Attorney General).
(B)If an eligible court has provided notice under paragraph (1)(B), the Attorney General shall inform each person (residing within the jurisdiction of the court), at the time of the approval of the person’s application for naturalization, of—
(i)the court’s exclusive authority to administer the oath of allegiance under section 1448(a) of this title to such a person during the period specified in paragraph (3)(A)(i), and
(ii)the date or dates (if any) under paragraph (3)(B) on which the court has scheduled oath administration ceremonies.
(3)(A)The exclusive authority of a court to administer the oath of allegiance under paragraph (1)(B) shall apply with respect to a person—
(i)only during the 45-day period beginning on the date on which the Attorney General certifies to the court that an applicant is eligible for naturalization, and
(ii)only if the court has notified the Attorney General, prior to the date of certification of eligibility, of the day or days (during such 45-day period) on which the court has scheduled oath administration ceremonies.
(B)Subject to subparagraph (C), the Attorney General shall not administer the oath of allegiance to a person under subsection (a) during the period in which exclusive authority to administer the oath of allegiance may be exercised by an eligible court under this subsection with respect to that person.
(C)Notwithstanding the previous provisions of this paragraph, a court may waive exclusive authority to administer the oath of allegiance under section 1448(a) of this title to a person under this subsection if the Attorney General has not provided the court with the certification described in subparagraph (A)(i) within a reasonable time before the date scheduled by the court for oath administration ceremonies. Upon notification of a court’s waiver of jurisdiction, the Attorney General shall promptly notify the applicant.
(4)The Attorney General shall provide for the issuance of certificates of naturalization at the time of administration of the oath of allegiance.
(5)For purposes of this section, the term “eligible court” means—
(A)a district court of the United States in any State, or
(B)any court of record in any State having a seal, a clerk, and jurisdiction in actions in law or equity, or law and equity, in which the amount in controversy is unlimited.
(c)A person whose application for naturalization under this subchapter is denied, after a hearing before an immigration officer under section 1447(a) of this title, may seek review of such denial before the United States district court for the district in which such person resides in accordance with chapter 7 of title 5. Such review shall be de novo, and the court shall make its own findings of fact and conclusions of law and shall, at the request of the petitioner, conduct a hearing de novo on the application.
(d)A person may only be naturalized as a citizen of the United States in the manner and under the conditions prescribed in this subchapter and not otherwise.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Amendments
1994—Subsec. (b)(5)(A). Pub. L. 103–416 substituted “district court” for “District Court”. 1991—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 102–232, § 102(a), amended subsec. (b) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (b) read as follows: “An applicant for naturalization may choose to have the oath of allegiance under section 1448(a) of this title administered by the Attorney General or by any district court of the United States for any State or by any court of record in any State having a seal, a clerk, and jurisdiction in actions in law or equity, or law and equity, in which the amount in controversy is unlimited. The jurisdiction of all courts in this subsection specified to administer the oath of allegiance shall extend only to persons resident within the respective jurisdiction of such courts.” Pub. L. 102–232, § 305(a), substituted “district court” for “District Court”. 1990—Pub. L. 101–649 amended section generally, substituting provisions authorizing Attorney General to naturalize persons as citizens, for provisions granting certain courts exclusive jurisdiction to naturalize. 1988—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 100–525 struck out subsec. (e) which read as follows: “Notwithstanding the provisions of section 405(a), any petition for naturalization filed on or after September 26, 1961, shall be heard and determined in accordance with the requirements of this subchapter.” 1961—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 87–301 added subsec. (e). 1959—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 86–3 struck out provisions which conferred jurisdiction on District Court for Territory of Hawaii. See section 91 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure, and notes thereunder. 1958—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 85–508 struck out provisions which conferred jurisdiction on District Court for Territory of Alaska. See section 81A of Title 28, which established a United States District Court for the State of Alaska.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
of 1994 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 103–416 effective as if included in the enactment of the Immigration Act of 1990, Pub. L. 101–649, see section 219(dd) of Pub. L. 103–416, set out as a note under section 1101 of this title.
Effective Date
of 1991 Amendment Pub. L. 102–232, title I, § 102(c), Dec. 12, 1991, 105 Stat. 1736, provided that: “The
Amendments
made by this title [amending this section and section 1448, 1450, and 1455 of this title] shall take effect 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 12, 1991].” Amendment by section 305(a) of Pub. L. 102–232 effective as if included in the enactment of the Immigration Act of 1990, Pub. L. 101–649, see section 310(1) of Pub. L. 102–232, set out as a note under section 1101 of this title.
Effective Date
of 1990 Amendment;
Savings Provision
Pub. L. 101–649, title IV, § 408, Nov. 29, 1990, 104 Stat. 5047, as amended by Pub. L. 102–232, title III, § 305(n), Dec. 12, 1991, 105 Stat. 1750, provided that: “(a)
Effective Date
.—“(1) No new court petitions after
Effective Date
.—No court shall have jurisdiction, under section 310(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act [8 U.S.C. 1421(a)], to naturalize a person unless a petition for naturalization with respect to that person has been filed with the court before
October 1, 1991. “(2) Treatment of current court petitions.—“(A) Continuation of current rules.—Except as provided in subparagraph (B), any petition for naturalization which may be pending in a court on
October 1, 1991, shall be heard and determined in accordance with the requirements of law in effect when the petition was filed. “(B) Permitting withdrawal and consideration of application under new rules.—In the case of any petition for naturalization which may be pending in any court on
January 1, 1992, the petitioner may withdraw such petition and have the petitioner’s application for naturalization considered under the
Amendments
made by this title [amending this section, section 1101, 1423, 1424, 1426 to 1430, 1433, 1435 to 1440, 1441 to 1451, and 1455 of this title, and section 1429 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure, and repealing section 1459 of this title], but only if the petition is withdrawn not later than 3 months after the
Effective Date
. “(3) General
Effective Date
.—Except as otherwise provided in this section, the
Amendments
made by this title are effective as of the date of the enactment of this Act [Nov. 29, 1990]. “(b) Interim, Final
Regulations
.—The Attorney General shall prescribe
Regulations
(on an interim, final basis or otherwise) to implement the
Amendments
made by this title on a timely basis. “(c) Continuing Duties.—The
Amendments
to section 339 of the Immigration and Nationality Act [8 U.S.C. 1450] (relating to functions and duties of clerks) shall not apply to functions and duties respecting petitions filed before October 1, 1991. “(d) General
Savings Provision
s.—(1) Nothing contained in this title [amending this section, section 1101, 1423, 1424, 1426 to 1430, 1433, 1435 to 1440, 1441 to 1451, and 1455 of this title, and section 1429 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure, repealing section 1459 of this title, and enacting provisions set out as a note under section 1440 of this title], unless otherwise specifically provided, shall be construed to affect the validity of any declaration of intention, petition for naturalization, certificate of naturalization, certification of citizenship, or other document or proceeding which is valid as of the
Effective Date
or to affect any prosecution, suit, action, or proceedings, civil or criminal, brought, or any status, condition, right in process of acquisition, act, thing, liability, obligation, or matter, civil or criminal, done or existing, as of the
Effective Date
. “(2) As to all such prosecutions, suits, actions, proceedings, statutes, conditions, rights, acts, things, liabilities, obligations, or matters, the provisions of law repealed by this title are, unless otherwise specifically provided, hereby continued in force and effect. “(e) Treatment of Service in Armed Forces of Foreign Country.—The
Amendments
made by section 404 [amending section 1426 of this title] (relating to treatment of service in armed forces of a foreign country) shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act [Nov. 29, 1990] and shall apply to exemptions from training or service obtained before, on, or after such date. “(f) Filipino War Veterans.—section 405 [enacting provisions formerly set out as a note under section 1440 of this title] (relating to naturalization of natives of the Philippines through active-duty service under United States command during World War II) shall become effective on May 1, 1991, without regard to whether
Regulations
to implement such section have been issued by such date.” Abolition of Immigration and Naturalization Service and
Transfer of Functions
For abolition of Immigration and Naturalization Service,
Transfer of Functions
, and treatment of related references, see note set out under section 1551 of this title.
Executive Documents
Admission of Alaska and Hawaii to StatehoodAlaska was admitted into the Union on Jan. 3, 1959, on issuance of Proc. No. 3269, Jan. 3, 1959, 24 F.R. 81, 73 Stat. c16, and Hawaii was admitted into the Union on Aug. 21, 1959, on issuance of Proc. No. 3309, Aug. 21, 1959, 24 F.R. 6868, 73 Stat. c74. For Alaska Statehood Law, see Pub. L. 85–508, July 7, 1958, 72 Stat. 339, set out as a note preceding former section 21 of Title 48, Territories and Insular Possessions. For Hawaii Statehood Law, see Pub. L. 86–3, Mar. 18, 1959, 73 Stat. 4, set out as a note preceding former section 491 of Title 48.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
8 U.S.C. § 1421
Title 8 — Aliens and Nationality
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73