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S 1815 109th Congress Senate

Strengthening American Citizenship Act of 2005

Official title: A bill to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to prescribe the binding oath or affirmation of renunciation and allegiance required to be naturalized as a… Show full official titleShow less

Official title: A bill to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to prescribe the binding oath or affirmation of renunciation and allegiance required to be naturalized as a citizen of the United States, to encourage and support the efforts of prospective citizens of the United States to become citizens, and for other purposes.

Introduced: October 18, 2005 See on congress.gov
Immigration Administrative procedureAllegianceAwards, medals, prizesCitizenship
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Civics educationCommemorationsCongressCongressional reporting requirementsDepartment of Homeland SecurityEconomics and Public FinanceEducationEmbassiesEnglish languageFederal aid to educationFoundationsGiftsGovernment Operations and PoliticsGovernment paperworkGrants-in-aidHigher educationHistoryImmigrant educationImmigrantsInternational AffairsLawNaturalizationOathsResidence requirementsSocial Welfare
This bill died when the 109th Congress ended
It never became law before the 109th Congress (2005–2006) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 4 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Dec 13, 2005
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S13467-13468)
Oct 4, 2005
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Oct 4, 2005
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S10974-10975)
Oct 4, 2005
Introduced in Senate
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 Latest action December 13, 2005

Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S13467-13468)

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Strengthening American Citizenship Act of 2005 - Directs the Chief of the Office of Citizenship of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide grants (not to exceed $500) to assist legal U.S. residents who declare an intent to apply for citizenship in the United States to meet naturalization requirements.

Provides such grants to an accredited institution of higher education or other qualified educational institution for tuition, fees, books, and other educational resources required by the English language course in which the legal resident is enrolled.

Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to provide that a legal U.S. resident who demonstrates English fluency will satisfy the residency requirement upon the completion of four (currently, five years) years of continuous U.S. legal residency.

Directs the Secretary of DHS to: (1) establish an American citizenship grant program for qualified entities to provide civics, history, and English classes to promote the patriotic integration of prospective citizens; (2) establish the United States Citizenship Foundation to support the functions of the Office of Citizenship; and (3) implement a strategy to enhance public awareness of naturalization ceremonies.

Amends INA to set forth a new oath of allegiance. Directs the Secretary to: (1) incorporate a knowledge and understanding of the oath of allegiance into the history and government citizenship test; and (2) notify the embassy of the country of which a new citizen was a citizen or subject that such citizen has renounced allegiance to that foreign country, and sworn allegiance to the United States.

Establishes a new citizens award program to recognize citizens who: (1) have made an outstanding contribution to the United States; and (2) were naturalized during the ten-year period ending on the date of such recognition.

 Related & companion bills 1
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
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APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 1815: Strengthening American Citizenship Act of 2005. 109th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/109-S-1815/
MLA
"S. 1815: Strengthening American Citizenship Act of 2005." 109th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/109-S-1815/.
Bluebook (legal)
S. 1815, 109th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/109-S-1815/.
Markdown link
[S. 1815: Strengthening American Citizenship Act of 2005](https://openamerica.io/bill/109-S-1815/)
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