USCIS issued Policy Alert PA-2026-11 on August 31, 2026, rescinding a 2025 policy that had barred outside organizations from helping new citizens register to vote at naturalization ceremonies. Nonprofit, nonpartisan non-governmental organizations may again distribute and collect voter registration applications and register new citizens immediately following an administrative naturalization ceremony, in situations where state and local election offices are not available to do it themselves. The guidance is effective immediately.
The reversal was driven by a court. On August 3, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland stayed implementation of the August 29, 2025 policy (PA-2025-21) pending final resolution of a legal challenge in League of Women Voters v. USCIS, No. 25-cv-3777. The court also ordered USCIS to reinstate the sections of the Policy Manual that had been in effect on June 28, 2017. USCIS complied in two steps: an August 12 alert (PA-2026-08) that temporarily reverted to the 2017 guidance, and now PA-2026-11, which rescinds the 2025 policy outright and restores the earlier framework.
What organizations may and may not do. The reinstated guidance, in Volume 12, Part J, Chapter 5 of the USCIS Policy Manual, sets out specific conditions. Organizations may request to attend administrative naturalization ceremonies to provide voter registration services, defined to include distributing registration forms, reviewing them, and assisting people in completing them. Requests must be submitted in writing to the local USCIS office at least 60 days before the event.
The limits are equally specific. Participating organizations may not alter completed voter registration materials in any way, and they may not collect or retain the personal information of people who register at a ceremony. An organization that fails to comply with the requirements may have its participation revoked.
Why it matters to naturalization applicants. For most people taking the Oath of Allegiance, the ceremony is the single moment when citizenship, identification documents and civic registration line up on the same day. Administrative ceremonies are conducted by USCIS rather than a court, and in many jurisdictions no election official attends. The 2025 policy removed the organizations that had filled that gap; this alert restores them, subject to the 60-day advance-request rule and the ban on retaining registrants personal data.
The underlying litigation is not over. PA-2026-11 implements a stay entered while the case proceeds, which means the policy could shift again depending on how the District of Maryland ultimately rules. Applicants scheduled for a ceremony in the coming weeks should expect to see voter registration tables return, but should confirm with their local field office rather than assume.
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