The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) requires the states to offer eligible citizens the possibility of registering to vote when applying for a driver’s license or identification (ID) card at the state’s motor vehicle agency. As a result, many states have combined the application to register to vote with the application for a new or replacement drivers license or ID card. However, this can and sometimes causes immigrants to inadvertently register to vote.
To naturalize immigrants must show Good Moral Character (GMC). If an immigrant registers to vote or votes, this may have a negative effect on the immigrant’s GMC. In response to potential applicants for naturalization accidentally registering to vote, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a Policy Alert to clarify and provide guidance to USCIS officials when deciding naturalization cases.
This Policy Alert explains that USCIS will not consider accidentally registering to vote as evidence of a lack of GMC. Further, if an immigrant does not sign the voter registration portion of the application, USCIS will consider that as evidence that the immigrant did not register to vote. USCIS will also require immigrants to clearly state that they are US citizens on the registration form to consider registering to vote as proof that he or she unlawfully asserted to be a US citizen. If an immigrant registers to vote, then he or she must prove that the registration they filled out did not ask if he or she was a US citizen. Lastly, the alert states that USCIS could consider that an immigrant unlawfully claimed to be a US citizen if he or she knowingly selects “yes” on a question stating whether he or she is a US citizen on the voter registration application. The consideration that the immigrant may lack GMC could apply even if the primary purpose of the application was to apply for a drivers license, ID card, or any other state program.
If you have any questions regarding naturalization or any other immigration related matter, please do not hesitate to contact KILO Immigration, a Sacramento immigration law firm by filling out this contact form.