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 1421(b) of this title 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) to (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 substance of clauses (1) to (4) and clauses (5)(B) and (5)(C) of this subsection, 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 said clauses (1) to (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 Supreme 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 1433 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.
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.
Notwithstanding section 1421(b) of this title, 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 scheduled 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.
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.
(June 27, 1952, ch. 477, title III, ch. 2, §337, 66 Stat. 258; Dec. 29, 1981, Pub. L. 97–116, §18(o), 95 Stat. 1621; Nov. 29, 1990, Pub. L. 101–649, title IV, §407(c)(18), (d)(15), 104 Stat. 5041, 5044; Dec. 12, 1991, Pub. L. 102–232, title I, §102(b)(2), title III, §305(i), 105 Stat. 1736, 1750.)
1991—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 102–232, §102(b)(2), amended subsec. (c) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (c) read as follows: “If the applicant is prevented by sickness or other disability from attending a public ceremony, the oath required to be taken by subsection (a) of this section may be taken at such place as the Attorney General may designate under section 1445(e) of this title.”
Pub. L. 102–232, §305(i), struck out “before” after “may be taken”.
1990—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 101–649, §407(c)(18), (d)(15)(A), substituted “applied” for “petitioned” and “applicant” for “petitioner” in first sentence, “in a public ceremony before the Attorney General or a court with jurisdiction under section 1421(b) of this title” for “in open court”, “Attorney General” for “naturalization court” wherever appearing in second and fourth sentences, and “Attorney General” for “court” before “the child” in fourth sentence.
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 101–649, §407(c)(18), (d)(15)(B), substituted “applying” for “petitioning”, “applicant” for “petitioner”, and “in the same public ceremony in which the oath of allegiance is administered” for “in open court in the court in which the petition for naturalization is made”, and struck out “in the court” after “shall be recorded”.
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 101–649, §407(c)(18), (d)(15)(C), substituted “applicant” for “petitioner”, “attending a public ceremony” for “being in open court”, and “at such place as the Attorney General may designate under section 1445(e) of this title” for “a judge of the court at such place as may be designated by the court”.
Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 101–649, §407(d)(15)(D), added subsec. (d).
1981—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 97–116 substituted “section 1433” for “section 1433 or 1434”.
Amendment by section 102(b)(2) of Pub. L. 102–232 effective 30 days after Dec. 12, 1991, see section 102(c) of Pub. L. 102–232, set out as a note under section 1421 of this title.
Amendment by section 305(i) 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.
Amendment by Pub. L. 97–116 effective Dec. 29, 1981, see section 21(a) of Pub. L. 97–116, set out as a note under section 1101 of this title.
Definition of the term—
Child, as used in subchapters I and II of this chapter, see section 1101(b)(1) of this title.
Child, as used in this subchapter, see section 1101(c)(1) of this title.
Foreign state, see section 1101(a)(14) of this title.
Naturalization, see section 1101(a)(23) of this title.
This section is referred to in sections 1421, 1427, 1433, 1435, 1438, 1447, 1450 of this title.