U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has rescinded a 2025 policy that barred nonprofit organizations from registering newly naturalized citizens to vote at USCIS ceremonies, restoring guidance that had been in place since 2017. The change, recorded in the USCIS Policy Manual as of August 31, follows a federal court order that found the 2025 restriction likely unlawful.
What the Policy Does Now
Under the restored guidance, found in Volume 12, Part J, Chapter 5 of the Policy Manual, nonprofit and nonpartisan organizations may distribute and collect voter registration applications and register new citizens to vote immediately after an administrative naturalization ceremony, when state and local election offices are not on site to do so themselves. The prior policy, PA-2025-21, had limited that role to state and local election officials only, excluding outside organizations entirely.
Why USCIS Reversed Course
The reversal traces back to a lawsuit, League of Women Voters v. USCIS, No. 25-cv-3777, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. On August 3, 2026, the court stayed the 2025 policy while the case proceeds, and ordered USCIS to reinstate the sections of the Policy Manual that were in effect on June 28, 2017. USCIS first complied with a temporary policy alert on August 12, then formally rescinded the 2025 policy and its related provisions on August 31.
The court’s order is preliminary. It does not resolve the underlying legal challenge, and USCIS could revert to a more restrictive policy if it prevails later in the litigation or issues new guidance through a separate rulemaking process.
What This Means for Naturalization Ceremonies
For now, new citizens attending an administrative NaturalizationThe process by which a permanent resident becomes a U.S. citizen, generally after three or five years of residence, by filing Form N-400.See it in the glossary ceremony where no election office is present can again register to vote on site through a participating nonprofit organization, as they could for years before the 2025 change. The guidance applies only to nonpartisan groups and does not affect judicial naturalization ceremonies, which are conducted by federal courts rather than USCIS.
This is a case worth tracking as an example of how a single district court order can pause an agency policy nationwide while litigation continues, sometimes for months. TR Immigration will report on the case again if the Maryland court reaches a final ruling on the merits.