---
kind: "section"
citation: "8 U.S.C. § 1451"
title: "8"
title_heading: "Aliens and Nationality"
number: "1451"
heading: "Revocation of naturalization"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/8/1451"
units:
  - "Chapter 12 — Immigration and Nationality"
  - "Subchapter III — Nationality and Naturalization"
  - "Part II — Nationality Through Naturalization"
---

# §1451. Revocation of naturalization

- (a) **Concealment of material evidence; refusal to testify—** It shall be the duty of the [United States](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-38) attorneys for the respective districts, upon affidavit showing good cause therefor, to institute proceedings in any district court of the [United States](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-38) in the judicial district in which the naturalized citizen may reside at the time of bringing suit, for the purpose of revoking and setting aside the order admitting such [person](/usc/8/1101.md?p=b-3) to citizenship and canceling the certificate of [naturalization](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-23) on the ground that such order and certificate of [naturalization](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-23) were illegally procured or were procured by concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation, and such revocation and setting aside of the order admitting such [person](/usc/8/1101.md?p=b-3) to citizenship and such canceling of certificate of [naturalization](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-23) shall be effective as of the original date of the order and certificate, respectively: Provided, That refusal on the part of a naturalized citizen within a period of ten years following his [naturalization](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-23) to testify as a witness in any proceeding before a congressional committee concerning his subversive activities, in a case where such [person](/usc/8/1101.md?p=b-3) has been convicted of contempt for such refusal, shall be held to constitute a ground for revocation of such [person](/usc/8/1101.md?p=b-3)’s [naturalization](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-23) under this subsection as having been procured by concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation. If the naturalized citizen does not reside in any judicial district in the [United States](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-38) at the time of bringing such suit, the proceedings may be instituted in the [United States](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-38) District Court for the District of Columbia or in the [United States](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-38) district court in the judicial district in which such [person](/usc/8/1101.md?p=b-3) last had his [residence](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-33).
- (b) **Notice to party—** The party to whom was granted the [naturalization](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-23) alleged to have been illegally procured or procured by concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation shall, in any such proceedings under [subsection (a)](#a) of this section, have sixty days’ personal notice, unless waived by such party, in which to make answers to the petition of the [United States](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-38); and if such naturalized [person](/usc/8/1101.md?p=b-3) be absent from the [United States](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-38) or from the judicial district in which such [person](/usc/8/1101.md?p=b-3) last had his [residence](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-33), such notice shall be given either by personal [service](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-34) upon him or by publication in the manner provided for the [service](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-34) of summons by publication or upon absentees by the laws of the [State](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-36) or the place where such suit is brought.
- (c) **Membership in certain organizations; prima facie evidence—** If a [person](/usc/8/1101.md?p=b-3) who shall have been naturalized after December 24, 1952 shall within five years next following such [naturalization](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-23) become a member of or affiliated with any [organization](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-28), membership in or affiliation with which at the time of [naturalization](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-23) would have precluded such [person](/usc/8/1101.md?p=b-3) from [naturalization](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-23) under the provisions of [section 1424 of this title](/usc/8/1424.md), it shall be considered prima facie evidence that such [person](/usc/8/1101.md?p=b-3) was not attached to the principles of the Constitution of the [United States](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-38) and was not well disposed to the good order and happiness of the [United States](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-38) at the time of [naturalization](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-23), and, in the absence of countervailing evidence, it shall be sufficient in the proper proceeding to authorize the revocation and setting aside of the order admitting such [person](/usc/8/1101.md?p=b-3) to citizenship and the cancellation of the certificate of [naturalization](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-23) as having been obtained by concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation, and such revocation and setting aside of the order admitting such [person](/usc/8/1101.md?p=b-3) to citizenship and such canceling of certificate of [naturalization](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-23) shall be effective as of the original date of the order and certificate, respectively.
- (d) **Applicability to citizenship through naturalization of parent or spouse—** Any [person](/usc/8/1101.md?p=b-3) who claims [United States](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-38) citizenship through the [naturalization](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-23) of a [parent](/usc/8/1101.md?p=b-2) or [spouse](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-35) in whose case there is a revocation and setting aside of the order admitting such [parent](/usc/8/1101.md?p=b-2) or [spouse](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-35) to citizenship under the provisions of [subsection (a)](#a) of this section on the ground that the order and certificate of [naturalization](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-23) were procured by concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation shall be deemed to have lost and to lose his citizenship and any right or privilege of citizenship which he may have, now has, or may hereafter acquire under and by virtue of such [naturalization](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-23) of such [parent](/usc/8/1101.md?p=b-2) or [spouse](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-35), regardless of whether such [person](/usc/8/1101.md?p=b-3) is residing within or without the [United States](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-38) at the time of the revocation and setting aside of the order admitting such [parent](/usc/8/1101.md?p=b-2) or [spouse](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-35) to citizenship. Any [person](/usc/8/1101.md?p=b-3) who claims [United States](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-38) citizenship through the [naturalization](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-23) of a [parent](/usc/8/1101.md?p=b-2) or [spouse](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-35) in whose case there is a revocation and setting aside of the order admitting such [parent](/usc/8/1101.md?p=b-2) or [spouse](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-35) to citizenship and the cancellation of the certificate of [naturalization](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-23) under the provisions of [subsection (c)](#c) of this section, or under the provisions of [section 1440(c) of this title](/usc/8/1440.md?p=c) on any ground other than that the order and certificate of [naturalization](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-23) were procured by concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation, shall be deemed to have lost and to lose his citizenship and any right or privilege of citizenship which would have been enjoyed by such [person](/usc/8/1101.md?p=b-3) had there not been a revocation and setting aside of the order admitting such [parent](/usc/8/1101.md?p=b-2) or [spouse](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-35) to citizenship and the cancellation of the certificate of [naturalization](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-23), unless such [person](/usc/8/1101.md?p=b-3) is residing in the [United States](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-38) at the time of the revocation and setting aside of the order admitting such [parent](/usc/8/1101.md?p=b-2) or [spouse](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-35) to citizenship and the cancellation of the certificate of [naturalization](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-23).
- (e) **Citizenship unlawfully procured—** When a [person](/usc/8/1101.md?p=b-3) shall be convicted under [section 1425 of title 18](/usc/18/1425.md) of knowingly procuring [naturalization](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-23) in violation of law, the court in which such [conviction](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-48-A) is had shall thereupon revoke, set aside, and declare void the final order admitting such [person](/usc/8/1101.md?p=b-3) to citizenship, and shall declare the certificate of [naturalization](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-23) of such [person](/usc/8/1101.md?p=b-3) to be canceled. Jurisdiction is conferred on the courts having jurisdiction of the trial of such offense to make such adjudication.
- (f) **Cancellation of certificate of naturalization—** Whenever an order admitting an [alien](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-3) to citizenship shall be revoked and set aside or a certificate of [naturalization](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-23) shall be canceled, or both, as provided in this section, the court in which such judgment or decree is rendered shall make an order canceling such certificate and shall send a certified copy of such order to the [Attorney General](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-5). The [clerk of court](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-7) shall transmit a copy of such order and judgment to the [Attorney General](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-5). A [person](/usc/8/1101.md?p=b-3) holding a certificate of [naturalization](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-23) or citizenship which has been canceled as provided by this section shall upon notice by the court by which the decree of cancellation was made, or by the [Attorney General](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-5), surrender the same to the [Attorney General](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-5).
- (g) **Applicability to certificates of naturalization and citizenship—** The provisions of this section shall apply not only to any [naturalization](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-23) granted and to certificates of [naturalization](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-23) and citizenship issued under the provisions of this subchapter, but to any [naturalization](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-23) heretofore granted by any court, and to all certificates of [naturalization](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-23) and citizenship which may have been issued heretofore by any court or by the [Commissioner](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-8) based upon [naturalization](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-23) granted by any court, or by a designated representative of the [Commissioner](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-8) under the provisions of section 702 of the Nationality Act of 1940, as amended, or by such designated representative under any other act.
- (h) **Power to correct, reopen, alter, modify, or vacate order—** Nothing contained in this section shall be regarded as limiting, denying, or restricting the power of the [Attorney General](/usc/8/1101.md?p=a-5) to correct, reopen, alter, modify, or vacate an order naturalizing the [person](/usc/8/1101.md?p=b-3).

## Source credit

(June 27, 1952, ch. 477, title III, ch. 2, § 340, 66 Stat. 260; Sept. 3, 1954, ch. 1263, § 18, 68 Stat. 1232; Pub. L. 87–301, § 18, Sept. 26, 1961, 75 Stat. 656; Pub. L. 99–653, § 17, Nov. 14, 1986, 100 Stat. 3658; Pub. L. 100–525, § 9(dd), Oct. 24, 1988, 102 Stat. 2621; Pub. L. 101–649, title IV, § 407(d)(18), Nov. 29, 1990, 104 Stat. 5046; Pub. L. 102–232, title III, § 305(k), Dec. 12, 1991, 105 Stat. 1750; Pub. L. 103–416, title I, § 104(b), (c), Oct. 25, 1994, 108 Stat. 4308.)

## Notes

### Editorial Notes

### References in Text

Section 702 of the Nationality Act of 1940, as amended, referred to in subsec. (g), which was classified to section 1002 of this title, was repealed by section 403(a)(42) of act June 27, 1952. See section 1440 of this title.

### Amendments

1994—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 103–416 redesignated subsec. (e) as (d) and substituted “subsection (c)” for “subsections (c) or (d)”, and struck out former subsec. (d) which related to revocation of naturalization of persons who, within one year of naturalization, have taken permanent residence in country of their nativity or in any other foreign country.

Subsecs. (e) to (i). Pub. L. 103–416, § 104(c)(1), redesignated subsecs. (f) to (i) as (e) to (h), respectively. Former subsec. (e) redesignated (d).

1991—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 102–232, § 305(k)(1), substituted “district court” for “District Court” in first sentence.

Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 102–232, § 305(k)(2), substituted “clerk of court” for “clerk of the court” in second sentence.

1990—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 101–649, § 407(d)(18)(A), substituted “in any District Court of the United States” for “in any court specified in subsection (a) of section 1421 of this title”.

Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 101–649, § 407(d)(18)(B), (C), amended second sentence generally and struck out third sentence. Prior to amendment, second and third sentences read as follows: “In case such certificate was not originally issued by the court making such order, it shall direct the clerk of court in which the order is revoked and set aside to transmit a copy of such order and judgment to the court out of which such certificate of naturalization shall have been originally issued. It shall thereupon be the duty of the clerk of the court receiving such certified copy of the order and judgment of the court to enter the same of record and to cancel such original certificate of naturalization, if there be any, upon the records and to notify the Attorney General of the entry of such order and of such cancellation.”

Subsec. (i). Pub. L. 101–649, § 407(d)(18)(D), substituted “the Attorney General to correct, reopen, alter, modify, or vacate an order naturalizing the person” for “any naturalization court, by or in which a person has been naturalized, to correct, reopen, alter, modify, or vacate its judgment or decree naturalizing such person, during the term of such court or within the time prescribed by the rules of procedure or statutes governing the jurisdiction of the court to take such action”.

1988—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 100–525, § 9(dd)(1), substituted “December 24, 1952” for “the effective date of this chapter”.

Subsecs. (e) to (j). Pub. L. 100–525, § 9(dd)(2), (3), redesignated former subsecs. (f) to (j) as (e) to (i), respectively, and struck out former subsec. (e) which read as follows: “The revocation and setting aside of the order admitting any person to citizenship and canceling his certificate of naturalization under the provisions of subsection (a) of section 338 of the Nationality Act of 1940 shall not, where such action takes place after the effective date of this chapter, result in the loss of citizenship or any right or privilege of citizenship which would have been derived by or been available to a wife or minor child of the naturalized person had such naturalization not been revoked: Provided, That this subsection shall not apply in any case in which the revocation and setting aside of the order was the result of actual fraud.”

1986—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 99–653 substituted “one year” for “five years”.

1961—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 87–301, § 18(a), inserted “were illegally procured or” after “that such order and certificate of naturalization”.

Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 87–301, § 18(b), inserted “illegally procured or” before “procured by concealment”.

1954—Subsec. (a). Act Sept. 3, 1954, substituted “United States attorneys” for “United States district attorneys”.

### Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Effective Date of 1991 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 102–232 effective as if included in the enactment of the Immigration Act of 1990, Pub. L. 101–649, see section 310(1) of Pub. L. 102–232, set out as a note under section 1101 of this title.

### Effective Date of 1986 Amendment

Pub. L. 99–653, § 23(f), as added by Pub. L. 100–525, § 8(r), Oct. 24, 1988, 102 Stat. 2619, provided that: “The amendment made by section 17 [amending this section] shall not apply to individuals who have taken up permanent residence outside the United States before November 14, 1986.”

### Abolition of Immigration and Naturalization Service and Transfer of Functions

For abolition of Immigration and Naturalization Service, transfer of functions, and treatment of related references, see note set out under section 1551 of this title.