Appealing your citizenship denial
In the last six months or so, the Naturalization Unit of the New York Immigration Office has become very strict in its decision making. All too frequently, the Office has denied citizenship, especially when the applicant has had criminal convictions.
Legally, the citizenship unit may deny an applicant upon a discretionary finding that he or she lacks “good moral character.” In order to obtain citizenship, an applicant must demonstrate that she has had good moral character during the five-year statutory period before applying for citizenship. “Good moral character” is not defined by statute; however various factors can preclude a finding of good moral character, including criminal convictions.
Recently, however, the New York citizenship unit has been denying applicants on character grounds based on convictions that are twenty years old, or even older. These decisions have held that the application is denied because the applicant is deportable, or because the applicant lacks good moral character because he is deportable.
Immigration’s very own Interpretations and Operation Instructions dictate that an applicant for citizenship is not ineligible for citizenship because he is deportable (removable). Rather, the regulations state that the citizenship office must forward the applicant’s file to the deportation office for a preliminary determination as to whether the applicant requires a hearing on the issue of removal, or eligible to be considered for citizenship. The citizenship unit is thus going against its own rules in issuing these denials before such a determination is made..
A citizenship applicant who receives a denial may appeal. The appeal must be filed within thirty (30) days after service of the decision to the same office that issued the denial. The appeal form is called the N-336 (Request for a Hearing on a Decision in Naturalization Proceedings), and the fee is $265. The appeal should contain an explanation as to why the applicant believes that the denial was incorrect. The citizenship office will then schedule an interview to discuss the denial. The interview is an opportunity to challenge the unit on its decision, and is not conducted by the same officer who issued the denial.
Because the citizenship unit has been acting inconsistently and against its own operating procedures, regulations, and laws, the citizenship appeal process may or may not be successful on any given day. If applicants are interested in challenging the citizenship unit on the next level, which would be in federal court, they will have to file the appropriate appeal. In many cases, these appeals would be successful.