Mr. Speaker. today I have introduced legislation. with bipartisan support. to increase the odds of elderly naturalization candidates realizing their often lifelong dreams of becoming American citizens. It allows persons who are at least 65 years old and have lived in the United States legally for 5 years. to take the naturalization examination in the language of their preference. This is not a departure from the philosophy of our existing immigration and naturalization laws. Current law provides that this language waiver is available for persons who are 50 years of age or older and have lived in the United States 20 years or longer. In addition. the new immigration law provides this option for persons who are 65 years of age who apply for legal residency. For this reason. extending this choice to naturalization candidates of this age makes sense. There are good reasons for requiring the majority of persons applying for U.S. citizen. ship to have more than a basic command of the English language. These reasons. though. dont really seem to apply in the case of these special candidates for U.S. citizenship.
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naturalization immigration