Can USCIS Take Away Your Citizenship? What the September 2026 Denaturalization Guidance Says

USCIS issued new guidance on September 14, 2026 about referring naturalized citizens for "revocation of naturalization," which most people call denaturalization. The headlines made it sound like a new power. It isn't. Congress wrote the grounds for denaturalization into law decades ago, and USCIS says the update "does not otherwise change" the circumstances in which a naturalized citizen can lose citizenship.

What the guidance does change is how clearly USCIS describes the way it finds cases and which ones it sends forward first. For a small number of people that matters a lot. For most naturalized citizens it changes nothing, and it's worth understanding why. Facts are current as of September 23, 2026.

Who can be denaturalized

Under INA 340(a), naturalization can be revoked if it was:

• procured illegally, meaning the person wasn't actually eligible when they naturalized, even if nobody lied; or
• procured by concealment of a material fact or willful misrepresentation, meaning the person hid or lied about something that mattered to the decision.

The law also covers two narrower situations: joining certain prohibited organizations within five years after naturalizing, and, for people who naturalized through military service, separating under other than honorable conditions before completing five years of honorable service.

Denaturalization is not a penalty for things you do after you become a citizen, such as committing a crime years later. It's about whether the naturalization itself was lawful.

How it happens: always in federal court

USCIS doesn't revoke citizenship on its own. There are two routes, and both go through a federal district court:

• Civil denaturalization under INA 340. The Department of Justice files a lawsuit. The government has to prove its case by "clear, convincing, and unequivocal evidence which does not leave the issue in doubt," a standard the Supreme Court has compared to the criminal one. There is no statute of limitations.
• Criminal denaturalization after a conviction under 18 U.S.C. 1425 for unlawfully procuring naturalization. The standard is proof beyond a reasonable doubt, and there is a 10-year statute of limitations. The court revokes citizenship on conviction.

Either way, the person has the right to contest the case in court.

How USCIS finds cases

The guidance lists four ways USCIS identifies potential cases:

1. An officer's review of a case file, including any application or petition where U.S. citizenship is part of eligibility. The guidance names the Form I-130 relative petition and the N-600 and N-600K citizenship certificate applications as examples.
2. Automated screening tools aimed at fraud, national security and public safety concerns.
3. A review or investigation by USCIS headquarters or DHS.
4. A request from another agency, including the State Department.

The first item is the one naturalized citizens most need to know about. The accompanying policy alert says that for any pending or future petition or application "associated with a U.S. citizen," USCIS determines whether the petitioner lawfully obtained citizenship. So when a naturalized citizen files an I-130 for a spouse or parent, the officer may look back at how that petitioner naturalized.

Which cases go first

USCIS refers cases to ICE, and if ICE declines, may refer them directly to the Justice Department. The guidance lists the cases it prioritizes. Among them:

• national security concerns, including terrorism and espionage;
• torture, war crimes and other human rights violations;
• gang, cartel and transnational criminal activity;
• felonies that weren't disclosed during naturalization;
• human trafficking, sex offenses and violent crimes;
• financial fraud against the United States, such as PPP loan or Medicaid and Medicare fraud, and fraud against private individuals or companies;
• naturalization obtained through corruption, fraud or material misrepresentation;
• false identities given to the government, and false claims to U.S. citizenship;
• unlawful voting in U.S. elections before naturalizing; and
• marriage fraud.

The list is about serious misconduct or deception that was part of getting citizenship. Innocent mistakes, like a date off by a few days on an old form, are not what it describes.

Effects on family members

This is the part of the guidance that deserves the most attention from families. If someone is denaturalized, USCIS reviews petitions and applications they filed for relatives, pending or already approved, and can deny them or begin revoking the benefit.

Relatives who became citizens through the denaturalized person can also be affected, depending on why citizenship was revoked:

• If it was revoked for concealment or willful misrepresentation, a spouse or child who derived citizenship through that person loses it too, wherever they live.
• If it was revoked because naturalization was illegally procured, derived citizenship is not lost.
• For revocations based on organization membership or military separation, derived citizenship is lost only if the spouse or child lives outside the United States at the time.

In criminal cases, the effect on family members is generally set out in the court's order or a settlement.

What this means for you in practice

• If you naturalized honestly and were eligible, this guidance doesn't put you at risk. The government carries a very high burden, in court, and the priority list is about serious misconduct.
• Keep your naturalization records. Your certificate, a copy of your N-400 and your interview notice are useful if a later filing prompts questions.
• Be consistent in later petitions. When you file for a relative, your history in that petition should match what you said when you naturalized.
• If something in your past worries you, get advice before you file anything new. Examples would be an arrest you didn't disclose, or a question about how you got your green card. Filing an I-130 invites a look back. A criminal defense or immigration attorney can tell you whether there is a real issue.
• Ignore anyone selling "citizenship protection." No form or fee makes your citizenship more secure. Scammers follow headlines like this one.

If you are still applying for citizenship, the related changes that affect applicants are neighborhood investigations and document validation.

Official sources

• Policy Alert PA-2026-13: Revocation of Naturalization Referrals (USCIS, Sept. 14, 2026)
• USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 12, Part L, Chapter 2: Revocation of Naturalization
• USCIS Policy Manual updates