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August 13, 2026
GWP IMMIGRATION LAW
Good Character Is Judged, Not Assumed
USCIS now weighs your entire record before approving Form N-400 — not just whether you avoided a criminal charge.
A 2025 policy memo restored a broader, more rigorous review standard for naturalization applicants, and it is now the standard officers apply nationwide.
Updated August 13, 2026 · GWP Law · Las Vegas, NVTHE CONTEXT
Why Good Moral Character Decides More N-400 Cases Than Any Other Requirement
Good moral character is the one requirement that stops otherwise-qualified applicants cold, even those who meet every other test for why now is the right time to apply for citizenship.
The Immigration and Nationality Act never defines “good moral character” in positive terms.
Instead, the law and its regulations define it by exclusion, listing the conduct that disqualifies an applicant, and leaving the rest to an officer’s judgment measured against “the standards of the average citizen in the community of residence,” per 8 C.F.R. § 316.10.
The burden sits entirely on the applicant, who must show by a preponderance of the evidence that they have been, and remain, a person of good moral character.
That showing generally covers five years before filing for most permanent residents, three years for spouses of U.S. citizens filing under the marital provision, and one year for qualifying members of the U.S. armed forces.
Conduct from before that window is not off-limits: an officer may still consider it if it bears on whether the applicant has genuinely reformed, per the same regulation.
In August 2025, USCIS raised the stakes further with Policy Memorandum PM-602-0188, instructing officers to weigh an applicant’s full conduct and community standing, not just whether disqualifying conduct is absent from the record.
In practice, that means minor infractions officers once overlooked now draw closer scrutiny, while genuine rehabilitation and civic contribution can carry more weight than before.
One conflict this scrutiny brings into sharp focus: marijuana remains a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law, and federal law controls the immigration analysis regardless of state legalization.
USCIS guidance treats marijuana use, possession, or work in the cannabis industry as a conditional bar to good moral character, with a narrow exception for a single instance of simple possession of 30 grams or less, and an admission to the conduct can be enough without a conviction, per the agency’s 2019 policy guidance on controlled substance violations.
Source: USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 12, Part F, Chapter 4 (permanent bars) and Chapter 5 (conditional bars).
Some convictions bar naturalization for life, regardless of how much time has passed.
Murder is one, and so is any “aggravated felony” conviction entered on or after November 29, 1990 — a term of art under INA § 101(a)(43) that reaches far beyond what a “felony” means under state law.
It can include a state theft or burglary conviction with a sentence of one year or more, even if that sentence was suspended and no time was actually served, because it is the sentence imposed, not the time served, that controls.
It also reaches drug, firearm, or human trafficking offenses, fraud or tax evasion causing a loss over $10,000, and crimes of violence with a one-year sentence, among other categories.
Below that permanent line sit the conditional bars, which apply only if the conduct falls inside the statutory period: crimes involving moral turpitude, 180 or more aggregate days of confinement, most controlled substance violations, false testimony given under oath for an immigration benefit, and two or more DUI convictions within the period, which create a rebuttable presumption against good moral character.
A single old DUI is rarely fatal to a case on its own; a second one inside the statutory window almost always draws close review.
Below even the conditional bars, a catch-all clause lets an officer find a lack of good moral character for reasons the statute never lists by name.
Unpaid taxes and unpaid child support fall here: neither is an automatic bar, but the officer will ask whether the failure to pay was willful or the result of circumstances outside the applicant’s control, such as job loss.
A signed IRS payment agreement, proof of ongoing compliance, or a documented child support arrangement with canceled checks or a wage garnishment order can turn that question in the applicant’s favor.
Dishonesty on the N-400 itself, or during the interview, is treated just as seriously — omitting a decades-old arrest can read as a credibility problem even when the underlying conduct would not have barred the case.
An officer can also weigh unlawful acts that never led to a conviction, such as a pattern of arrests, illegal voter registration, or reckless driving, as part of the same totality-of-circumstances review.
A REAL CASE
A Client Almost Didn’t Mention His DUI
A green card holder in his fifties came to me ready to file his N-400 on his own.
He mentioned, almost in passing, a DUI conviction from eight years earlier.
He also had a small, informal child support arrangement with no paperwork behind it.
I pulled his full record and confirmed the DUI was an isolated incident, with no aggravating factors and well outside any pattern of repeat offenses.
That took it out of the two-conviction presumption entirely, but the undocumented support arrangement was a separate problem.
I had him formalize a payment plan through the family court and gather receipts before we filed anything.
His N-400 was approved without a request for evidence.
What to Do Before You File Form N-400
THE PATH FORWARD
A Holistic Standard Rewards Preparation, Not Hope
Under PM-602-0188, officers are told to weigh stable employment, family ties, community service, and tax compliance alongside any negative history, not just look for the absence of misconduct.
That cuts both ways: it credits genuine rehabilitation, but it also means an officer may scrutinize conduct that used to pass unnoticed.
Simply waiting for a conviction to fall outside the statutory period is rarely enough on its own; officers expect affirmative proof that the applicant has changed.
The strongest evidence tends to be concrete: certified court and probation records showing every condition was completed, certificates from anger-management, substance-abuse, or parenting programs, a professional evaluation confirming no current dependency, a personal sworn statement acknowledging the conduct, and detailed letters from employers, counselors, or community or religious leaders.
If USCIS denies an N-400 on good moral character grounds, the applicant can file Form N-336 within 30 days of the denial notice to request review.
A different, equal-or-higher-graded officer conducts that review, which may take the form of a full new hearing on the evidence, per 8 C.F.R. § 336.2.
That officer can affirm the denial, reverse it and approve the case, or deny it on entirely new grounds, so a denial is not the end of the road — but it is far better addressed before filing than after.
If a disclosed conviction also happens to make a permanent resident deportable, USCIS review of the N-400 can trigger removal proceedings, which is why a case like this one belongs in front of an attorney before the application goes in, not after a denial letter arrives; see our recent look at what to expect at an immigration court hearing in 2026 if that risk applies to your case.
Our citizenship and naturalization practice reviews an applicant’s full record before an N-400 ever goes in the mail.
References
- 8 C.F.R. § 316.10 — Good moral character standard, burden of proof, and statutory period
- INA § 101(a)(43) / 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43) — Definition of “aggravated felony”
- USCIS Policy Manual, Vol. 12, Part F, Ch. 1 — Purpose and background of the GMC requirement
- USCIS Policy Manual, Vol. 12, Part F, Ch. 4 — Permanent bars to good moral character
- USCIS Policy Manual, Vol. 12, Part F, Ch. 5 — Conditional bars for acts in the statutory period
- USCIS Policy Memorandum PM-602-0188 (Aug. 15, 2025) — Restoring a rigorous, holistic GMC evaluation standard
- USCIS Policy Guidance (Apr. 2019) — Federal controlled substance law and marijuana-related conduct
- Form N-336, Request for a Hearing on a Decision in Naturalization Proceedings
- 8 C.F.R. § 336.2 — Standard of review for the N-336 hearing
- Selective Service System / USCIS policy guidance — Registration and its effect on good moral character
Don’t File Your N-400 Until Your Record Has Been Reviewed
A short consultation now can prevent a denial, a hearing, or worse, months from now.
Book a Consultation →This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Consult a qualified immigration attorney before taking any action. · Last verified: August 13, 2026 · Reviewed by: Kathia Quirós, Immigration Attorney · GWP Immigration Law
