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ACT 337 - OATH OF RENUNCIATION AND ALLEGIANCE
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INA:
ACT 337 - OATH OF RENUNCIATION AND ALLEGIANCE
Sec.
337. [8 U.S.C. 1448]
(a) A person who has applied for
naturalization shall, in order to be and before being admitted to
citizenship, take in a public ceremony before the Attorney General or
a court with jurisdiction under section 310(b) an oath
(1)
to support the Constitution of the United States;
(2) to renounce and abjure absolutely
and entirely all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince,
potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which the applicant was
before a subject or citizen;
(3)
to support and defend the Constitution and the laws of the United
States against all enemies, foreign and domestic;
(4)
to bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and
(5)
(A) to bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the
law, or
(B)
to perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United
States when required by the law, or
(C) to perform work of national
importance under civilian direction when required by the law. Any
such person shall be required to take an oath containing the
substance of clauses (1) through (5) of the preceding sentence,
except that a person who shows by clear and convincing evidence to
the satisfaction of the Attorney General that he is opposed to the
bearing of arms in the Armed Forces of the United States by reason of
religious training and belief shall be required to take an oath
containing the substa nce of clauses (1) through (4) and clauses
(5)(B) and (5)(C), and a person who shows by clear and convincing
evidence to the satisfaction of the Attorney General that he is
opposed to any type of service in the Armed Forces of the United
States by reason of religious training and belief shall be required
to take an oath containing the substance of clauses (1) through (4)
and clause (5)(C). The term "religious training and belief"
as used in this section shall mean an individual's belief in a
relation to a S upreme Being involving duties superior to those
arising from any human relation, but does not include essentially
political, sociological, or philosophical views or a merely personal
moral code. In the case of the naturalization of a child under the
provisions of section 322 of this title the Attorney General may
waive the taking of the oath if in the opinion of the Attorney
General the child is unable to understand its meaning. 1/
The Attorney
General may waive the taking of the oath by a person if in the
opinion of the Attorney General the person is unable to understand,
or to communicate an understanding of, its meaning because of a
physical or developmental disability or mental impairment. If the
Attorney General waives the taking of the oath by a person under the
preceding sentence, the person shall be considered to have met the
requirements of section 316(a)(3)
with respect to
attachment to the principles of the Constitution and well disposition
to the good order and happiness of the United States.
(b) In case the person applying for
naturalization has borne any hereditary title, or has been of any of
the orders of nobility in any foreign state, the applicant shall in
addition to complying with the requirements of subsection (a) of this
section, make under oath in the same public ceremony in which the
oath of allegiance is administered, an express renunciation of such
title or order of nobility, and such renunciation shall be recorded
as a part of such proceedings.
(c) Notwithstanding section 310(b)
, an individual
may be granted an expedited judicial oath administration ceremony or
administrative naturalization by the Attorney General upon
demonstrating sufficient cause. In determining whether to grant an
expedited judicial oath administration ceremony, a court shall
consider special circumstances (such as serious illness of the
applicant or a member of the applicant's immediate family, permanent
disability sufficiently incapacitating as to prevent the applicant's
personal appearance at the schedule d ceremony, developmental
disability or advanced age, or exigent circumstances relating to
travel or employment). If an expedited judicial oath administration
ceremony is impracticable, the court shall refer such individual to
the Attorney General who may provide for immediate administrative
naturalization.
(d) The Attorney General shall
prescribe rules and procedures to ensure that the ceremonies
conducted by the Attorney General for the administration of oaths of
allegiance under this section are public, conducted frequently and at
regular intervals, and are in keeping with the dignity of the
occasion.
File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
Author | Ramsay, John R |
File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
File Created | 2024-07-27 |