Remote Naturalization Act

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3544 To permit remote oath ceremonies, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 18, 2023 Mrs. TORRES of California (for herself, Mr. ESPAILLAT, and Mr. CORREA) in- troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To permit remote oath ceremonies, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Remote Naturalization 4 Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. ACCOMMODATIONS FOR NATURALIZATION OATH 6 CEREMONIES. 7 The Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 8 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 337 the fol- 9 lowing: 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:20 Jun 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3544.IH H3544 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 3544 IH ‘‘SEC. 337A. REMOTE OATH CEREMONIES. 1 ‘‘(a) REMOTE OATH CEREMONIES.—Not later than 2 30 days after the date of the enactment of this section, 3 the Secretary of Homeland Security shall establish proce- 4 dures for the administration of the oath of renunciation 5 and allegiance under section 337 using remote 6 videoconferencing, or other remote means for individuals 7 who cannot reasonably access, understand, or use remote 8 videoconferencing, as an alternative to an in-person oath 9 ceremony. 10 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS.—Notwithstanding sec- 11 tion 310(b), an individual may complete the naturalization 12 process by participating in a remote oath ceremony con- 13 ducted pursuant to subsection (a) if such individual— 14 ‘‘(1) has an approved application for naturaliza- 15 tion; 16 ‘‘(2) is unable otherwise to complete the natu- 17 ralization process due to— 18 ‘‘(A) the cancellation or suspension of in- 19 person oath ceremonies during— 20 ‘‘(i) a national emergency declared by 21 the President under the National Emer- 22 gencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.); 23 ‘‘(ii) an emergency or major disaster 24 declared by the President under the Robert 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:20 Jun 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3544.IH H3544 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 3544 IH T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 1 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.); 2 ‘‘(iii) a public health emergency de- 3 clared by the Secretary of Health and 4 Human Services under section 319 of the 5 Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 6 247d); or 7 ‘‘(iv) any emergency that, in the judg- 8 ment of the Secretary of Homeland Secu- 9 rity, is appropriate for the cancellation or 10 suspension of such ceremonies; or 11 ‘‘(B) the inability of the individual to at- 12 tend the ceremony in person; and 13 ‘‘(3) elects to participate in a remote oath cere- 14 mony in lieu of waiting for an in-person ceremony. 15 ‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—Upon estab- 16 lishing the procedures described in subsection (a), the Sec- 17 retary of Homeland Security shall— 18 ‘‘(1) without undue delay, provide written no- 19 tice to individuals described in subsection (b)(1) of 20 the option of participating in a remote oath cere- 21 mony in lieu of a participating in an in-person cere- 22 mony; 23 ‘‘(2) to the greatest extent practicable, ensure 24 that remote oath ceremonies are administered to in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:20 Jun 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3544.IH H3544 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 3544 IH dividuals who elect to participate in such a ceremony 1 not later than 30 days after the individual so noti- 2 fies the Secretary; and 3 ‘‘(3) administer oath ceremonies to all other eli- 4 gible individuals as expeditiously as possible after 5 the end of the public health emergency referred to 6 in subsection (b)(2). 7 ‘‘(d) CLARIFICATION.—Failure to appear for a re- 8 mote oath ceremony shall not create a presumption that 9 the individual has abandoned his or her intent to be natu- 10 ralized. 11 ‘‘(e) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year 12 after the date of enactment of this section, and each year 13 thereafter, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall sub- 14 mit a report to Congress that identifies, for each State 15 and political subdivision of a State, the number of— 16 ‘‘(1) individuals who were scheduled for an in- 17 person oath ceremony that was cancelled due to an 18 emergency described in subsection (b)(2)(A); 19 ‘‘(2) individuals who elected to participate in a 20 remote oath ceremony in lieu of an in-person public 21 ceremony; 22 ‘‘(3) individuals who completed the naturaliza- 23 tion process by participating in a remote oath cere- 24 mony; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:20 Jun 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3544.IH H3544 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 3544 IH ‘‘(4) remote oath ceremonies that were con- 1 ducted in the previous year. 2 ‘‘(f) FUNDING.—In addition to any funds appro- 3 priated to carry out this section, the Secretary of Home- 4 land Security may use funds from the Immigration Ex- 5 aminations Fee Account under section 286(m) to carry 6 out this section.’’. 7 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:20 Jun 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3544.IH H3544 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB