The cancellation of in-person interviews and citizenship oath ceremonies due to the COVID-19 crisis means that a lot of people may not get naturalized before the United States of America's 2020 elections in November, says an article.

Approximately, 441,000 individuals who would have been citizens will be deprived of the chance to vote if the interviews and ceremonies remain postponed until October. This occurs when the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services will not place any alternative methods, says Boundless Immigration. Boundless Immigration is a tech business that assists immigrants who want to apply for green cards and citizenship.

Remote Oath Taking and Interview

According to a co-founder of Boundless Immigration Doug Rand, The USCIS's decision to postpone live oath-taking ceremonies and live interviews are right. However, the issue with the decision is coming up with an alternative way to allow oath-taking and interview procedures to commence remotely. The USCIS can conduct the oath-taking ceremony in other methods, says Rand.

Rand says that the oath-taking ceremony is a wonderful sight. However, due to the current conditions of the country brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, this is difficult to administer.

Rand expressed the need for these individuals who are near their goal of becoming U.S. citizens to get the oath and interview in alternative means.

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On March 18, the USCIS shut down. During that time, more or less 126,000 people who finished their citizenship process were already scheduled to take the oath to be citizens of the U.S.

Other people were awaiting their in-person interviews to answer a test and showcase their English proficiency. The USCIS had extended its office closures until May 3.

Basing on the available data from the USCIS, the company estimates that more or less 63,000 individuals a month gets approved for naturalization.

Voting Registration Deadline is on October

In all the 50 states of the U.S., the deadline for voter registration for the November 2020 elections is in October.

In 2020, the total number of immigrants eligible to cast their votes had grown to 23.2 million. It makes up 10 percent of the electorate. In 2016, there were a total of 20.6 million immigrants who cast their votes.

Alternative Methods to Get the Job Done While Observing COVID-Control Measures

The turnout ratio of foreign-born United States citizens is lower than those of the natural-born U.S. citizens. The exception to this ratio is Latinos and Asians, the two largest immigrant groups in the country.

Many federal agencies, including schools and businesses, have shifted to working and interacting through online means. These actions were triggered by the COVID-19 crisis leading to people observing social distancing and minimizing the instances of going into contact with surfaces that other people touched.

Boundless Immigration gets its earnings from assisting people for naturalization. The shutdown of the USCIS may affect the operations of the business. However, Rand believes that people will still want to apply when they become eligible, despite the coronavirus delays.