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USCIS Policy Updates: “Good Moral Character” Standards for Naturalization
On August 15, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a policy memo that significantly changes how immigration officers evaluate the “good moral character” requirement for naturalization applicants.
Shifting to a “totality of the circumstances” approach, the agency now explicitly directs officers to evaluate not just the absence of misconduct, but to actively weigh an applicant’s positive contributions to their community. Positive factors can include community involvement, family caregiving responsibilities, stable employment history, professional accomplishments, and educational achievements to name a few. The policy is also placing increased emphasis on evidence of genuine rehabilitation for applicants with past issues while simultaneously broadening the scope of conduct that may be considered disqualifying. This means that in addition to the traditional bars, officers will now also review activities that include multiple DUI convictions, repeated
traffic violations, harassment and any behavior that does not align with the “average behavior” of citizens in the community.
USCIS has also issued new guidance directing officers to consider whether foreign beneficiaries support “anti-American” ideologies or organizations when adjudicating various immigration benefit requests. These policy changes, in combination with the agency’s earlier policy guidance expanding social media vetting across multiple benefit categories, indicates naturalization and other applicants may face heightened review not only of their moral character but also of their ideological affiliations and online activities. This updated guidance is effective immediately and applies to all requests pending or filed on or after the publication date.
Visa Bond Pilot Program
The U.S. Department of State announced a 12-month Visa Bond Pilot Program, effective as of August 20, 2025 and continuing until August 5, 2026. As of now, the two countries subject to the Visa Bonds include Malawi and Zambia. Any citizen or national traveling on a passport issued by one of these countries who is found otherwise eligible for a B1/B2 visa must post a bond in amounts of $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000, determined at time of visa interview. As a condition of the bond, all visa holders who have posted a visa bond must arrive to and depart from the United States via one of the designated ports. The full visa bond amount will be returned to the applicant if the applicant complies with all the terms of the nonimmigrant visa status and with the terms of the visa
bond.
Temporary Protected Status: Recent Terminations
On August 25, 2025, in light of the Ninth Circuit Order in National TPS Alliance v. Noem, CV No. 25-4901, USCIS updated its website for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and removed Nepal from the list of countries designated for TPS. This termination affects approximately 12,700 individuals and is due to the determination that the original emergency conditions, caused by the 2015 earthquake, no longer justify continued protection under the program. Additionally, the termination of TPS for Honduras and Nicaragua is set to take effect on September 8, 2025. The termination of the TPS designation for Honduras and Nicaragua will impact over 72,000 Honduran nationals and 4,000 Nicaraguan nationals currently under TPS. Honduras and Nicaragua were first designated
for TPS following the devastation of Hurricane Mitch on January 5, 1998. DHS has concluded that despite ongoing challenges, improved conditions mean the countries no longer quality for TPS designation.
These developments are part of the wider immigration enforcement initiative by the Trump administration and underscore the ongoing impact of U.S. immigration policy, with the potential for significant legal and economic ramifications for affected communities. Moore & Van Allen is closely monitoring these developments as they unfold.
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