In the United States, an approved naturalization applicant becomes a citizen only after taking the Oath of Allegiance. In December 2025, following a change in screening policy, legal-aid groups reported that some candidates who arrived for scheduled ceremonies were asked their countries of origin and told to step out of the oath line. Some had not received cancellation notices in time.
A step in this line carried more than ceremonial meaning. Moving forward completed years of procedure; removal placed legal status back into suspension at the last moment. People holding invitations to the same ceremony encountered a new administrative boundary inside the queue itself.