Will an old arrest or DUI block my naturalization?

INA § 101(f) and 8 C.F.R. § 316.10 define the good moral character (GMC) requirement for naturalization. The statutory GMC period is the 5 years immediately before filing (3 years for spouses of citizens filing under INA § 319(a)). Conduct inside that window carries more weight than conduct outside it — but USCIS officers routinely consider older arrests, charges, and convictions for the discretionary GMC analysis.

Automatic GMC bars (anytime in life)

A handful of convictions are permanent bars to GMC and to naturalization, regardless of when they occurred:

• Murder at any time.
• Aggravated felony conviction on or after November 29, 1990 under INA § 101(a)(43).
• Genocide, torture, or extrajudicial killing.

Bars during the statutory period

Inside the 5/3-year window, the following typically bar GMC:

• Any crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT) under INA § 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(I) unless it falls within the petty-offense exception.
• Multiple convictions with aggregate sentence of 5 years or more.
• Controlled-substance violations other than a single offense of simple possession of 30 grams or less of marijuana.
• Two or more gambling convictions.
• Habitual drunkard findings (multiple DUI convictions raise this).
• Confined to a penal institution for 180+ days during the period.
• False testimony to obtain an immigration benefit.

DUIs specifically

A single DUI without aggravators is generally not an automatic bar, but two or more DUIs during the statutory period raise a rebuttable presumption of lacking GMC under USCIS policy (PM-602-0167). The presumption can be overcome with evidence of rehabilitation — completed treatment, sustained sobriety, and community ties.

The denaturalization risk

In 2026 the U.S. is operating an active denaturalization task force. Naturalizations procured through misrepresentation or omission of a disqualifying arrest can be revoked under INA § 340. The most common trigger we see is an N-400 that answered "no" to the arrest question without disclosing a sealed or expunged matter. All arrests must be disclosed, even if sealed or expunged, with the certified court disposition attached.

How we handle this

The first conversation with a naturalization candidate is a full criminal-history audit, before we touch the N-400. We pull certified court records on every arrest, run the categorical-approach analysis on every conviction, and decide whether (a) to file now, (b) to delay to put more clean time between the applicant and the offense, or (c) to pursue post-conviction relief first. The N-400 we file is a paper trail USCIS cannot turn into a denial — because every question has been answered honestly with the certified record attached.