PART 337—OATH OF ALLEGIANCE Authority: 8 U.S.C. 1103, 1443, 1448; 8 CFR part 2. § 337.1 Oath of allegiance. (a) Form of oath. I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God. (b) Alteration of form of oath; affirmation in lieu of oath. (c) Obligations of oath. (d) Renunciation of title or order of nobility. (1) I further renounce the title of (give title or titles) which I have heretofore held; or (2) I further renounce the order of nobility (give the order of nobility) to which I have heretofore belonged. [22 FR 9824, Dec. 6, 1957, as amended at 24 FR 2584, Apr. 3, 1959; 32 FR 13756, Oct. 3, 1967; 56 FR 50499, Oct. 7, 1991] § 337.2 Oath administered by USCIS or EOIR. (a) Public ceremony. (b) Authority to administer oath of allegiance. (c) Execution of questionnaire. [76 FR 53802, Aug. 29, 2011] § 337.3 Expedited administration of oath of allegiance. (a) An applicant may be granted an expedited oath administration ceremony by either the court or USCIS upon demonstrating sufficient cause. In determining whether to grant an expedited oath administration ceremony, the court or USCIS shall consider special circumstances of a compelling or humanitarian nature. Special circumstances may include but are not limited to: (1) The serious illness of the applicant or a member of the applicant's family; (2) Permanent disability of the applicant sufficiently incapacitating as to prevent the applicant's personal appearance at a scheduled ceremony; (3) The developmental disability or advanced age of the applicant which would make appearance at a scheduled ceremony inappropriate; or (4) Urgent or compelling circumstances relating to travel or employment determined by the court or USCIS to be sufficiently meritorious to warrant special consideration. (b) Courts exercising exclusive authority may either hold an expedited oath administration ceremony or refer the applicant to USCIS in order for either the Immigration Judge or USCIS to conduct an oath administration ceremony, if an expedited judicial oath administration ceremony is impractical. The court shall inform USCIS in writing of its decision to grant the applicant an expedited oath administration ceremony and that the court has relinquished exclusive jurisdiction as to that applicant. (c) All requests for expedited administration of the oath of allegiance shall be made in writing to either the court or USCIS. Such requests shall contain sufficient information to substantiate the claim of special circumstances to permit either the court or USCIS to properly exercise the discretionary authority to grant the relief sought. The court or USCIS may seek verification of the validity of the information provided in the request. If the applicant submits a written request to USCIS, but is awaiting an oath administration ceremony by a court pursuant to § 337.8, USCIS promptly shall provide the court with a copy of the request without reaching a decision on whether to grant or deny the request. [60 FR 37804, July 24, 1995, as amended at 76 FR 53803, Aug. 29, 2011] § 337.4 When requests for change of name granted. When the court has granted the petitioner's change of name request, the petitioner shall subscribe his or her new name to the written oath of allegiance. [56 FR 50500, Oct. 7, 1991] §§ 337.5-337.6 [Reserved] § 337.7 Information and assignment of individuals under exclusive jurisdiction. (a) No later than at the time of the examination on the application pursuant to § 335.2 of this chapter, an employee of USCIS shall advise the applicant of his or her right to elect the site for the administration of the oath of allegiance, subject to the exclusive jurisdiction provision of § 310.3(d) of this chapter. In order to assist the applicant in making an informed decision, USCIS shall advise the applicant of the upcoming Immigration Judge or USCIS conducted and judicial ceremonies at which the applicant may appear, if found eligible for naturalization. (b) An applicant whose application has been approved by USCIS who is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of a court pursuant to § 310.2(d) of this chapter, shall be advised of the next available court ceremony and provided with a written notice to appear at that ceremony. If the applicant is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of more than one court exercising exclusive jurisdiction, the applicant will be informed of the upcoming ceremonies in each affected court. The applicant shall decide which court he or she wishes to administer the oath of allegiance. [58 FR 49915, Sept. 24, 1993, as amended at 60 FR 37804, July 24, 1995; 76 FR 53803, Aug. 29, 2011] § 337.8 Oath administered by the courts. (a) Notification of election. (b) Certificate of eligibility Exclusive jurisdiction. (2) Non-exclusive jurisdiction. (c) Preparation of lists. (2) The originals of all court lists specified in this section will be filed permanently in the court, and the duplicates returned by the clerk of the court to USCIS. The same disposition will be made of any list presented to, but not approved by, the court. (d) Personal representation of the government at oath administration ceremonies. (e) Written report in lieu of personal representation. (f) Withdrawal from court. [76 FR 53803, Aug. 29, 2011] § 337.9 Effective date of naturalization. (a) An applicant for naturalization shall be deemed a citizen of the United States as of the date on which the applicant takes the prescribed oath of allegiance in an administrative ceremony or in a ceremony conducted by an appropriate court under § 337.8 of this chapter. (b) [Reserved] [56 FR 50500, Oct. 7, 1991, as amended at 60 FR 37804, July 24, 1995; 66 FR 32147, June 13, 2001; 76 FR 53803, Aug. 29, 2011] § 337.10 Failure to appear for oath administration ceremony. An applicant who fails to appear without good cause for more than one oath administration ceremony for which he or she was duly notified shall be presumed to have abandoned his or her intent to be naturalized. Such presumption shall be regarded as the receipt of derogatory information, and the procedures contained in § 335.5 of this chapter shall be followed. [58 FR 49916, Sept. 24, 1993]