8 U.S.C. § 1422
Section 1422 · Eligibility for naturalization
This is § 311 of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (McCarran-Walter)
Amended 2 times on record
Applied in 8 court decisions — leading case Bostock v. Clayton County (2020)
Most recently applied in Esmelda Ruiz v. U.S. Attorney General (July 2023)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
The right of a person to become a naturalized citizen of the United States shall not be denied or abridged because of race or sex or because such person is married.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Amendments
1988—Pub. L. 100–525 struck out at end “Notwithstanding section 405(b) of this Act, this section shall apply to any person whose petition for naturalization shall hereafter be filed, or shall have been pending on the effective date of this chapter.”
Cross References
Definition of naturalization and United States, see section 1101 of this title.