Buried in the policy alert that revived neighborhood investigations for naturalization applicants is a provision that gives applicants something they did not have before: a documented way to influence whether that investigation happens at all.
USCIS Policy Alert PA-2026-10, issued August 25, 2026, reinstates personal investigations under INA 335(a) and ends the general waiver that had been in place since the early 1990s. But the same alert states that applicants for naturalization may voluntarily provide testimonial or character reference letters, and that USCIS takes those letters into consideration in determining whether to waive a neighborhood investigation.
The guidance is specific about what makes such a letter useful. USCIS says the letters should preferably come from U.S. citizens who are not family members. The letters should attest to the applicant’s eligibility, character, loyalty to the United States, and attachment to the principles of the U.S. Constitution, along with the other naturalization requirements. That list maps directly onto the statutory elements USCIS says the investigation itself is designed to corroborate: residence, good moral character, attachment to the Constitution, and being well disposed to the good order and happiness of the United States.
This matters because the waiver decision otherwise sits entirely with the government. Under the alert, the Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate, coordinating with the Field Operations Directorate, decides whether to conduct or waive an investigation based on an individualized and discretionary review of the record, or by designating whole classes of cases. Character reference letters are the one input the alert identifies that an applicant can supply on their own initiative to shape that review.
Nothing in the guidance makes the letters mandatory, and nothing guarantees that submitting them will produce a waiver. The alert frames them as voluntary and as one consideration among others. An applicant who submits strong letters can still be investigated, and USCIS retains full discretion throughout.
The timing gives this practical urgency. The guidance is effective immediately and applies to naturalization applications that are already pending, not just to new filings. Applicants with a Form N-400 sitting in the queue are inside the scope of the new policy right now. For those applicants, gathering letters from non-relative U.S. citizen neighbors, colleagues, supervisors, and community members is a low-cost step that addresses the exact criteria USCIS has said it will weigh, and it can be done while the case remains pending rather than after an investigation has already been opened.
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Source: USCIS Policy Manual Updates