United States: USCIS Reinforces Neighborhood Investigations as an Adjudication Tool for Some Naturalization Applications

On August 25, 2026, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a revised policy memorandum reinforcing personal investigations, also known as neighborhood investigations, as a means to further validate information and documentation submitted with certain naturalization applications.

USCIS issued a similar policy memorandum in August 2025, which ended the general waiver of neighborhood investigations that had been in place for decades. The latest memorandum acknowledges that USCIS has conducted a number of neighborhood investigations since the practice was reintroduced in August 2025; the agency says the practice has assisted USCIS in determining whether a foreign national meets all requirements for naturalization, including considerations related to character. The investigations are a discretionary tool that may be utilized in the overall adjudication of the naturalization application.

Fragomen is closely following the implementation of the revised policy guidance and will provide updates if trends emerge.

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen.