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A naturalization ceremony in Ulster County scheduled for September has been canceled by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the second time the federal agency has called off a ceremony in the county.
USCIS told the Ulster County Clerk’s Office there were not enough eligible candidates to hold the ceremony. A ceremony planned for December 12, 2025, was canceled also because of an insufficient number of candidates, according to the federal agency. USCIS oversees the administration of legal immigration.
Ulster County Clerk Taylor Bruck says the decision is frustrating, particularly for people who have spent years completing the naturalization process.
“Certainly surprising and frustrating,” Bruck said.
Bruck said the county had worked with USCIS beginning in 2024 to expand its ceremonies because of a backlog of people waiting to become citizens. The county began holding larger ceremonies, with capacity for as many as 100 people.
For this year, which marks the 250th anniversary of the United States, the county planned four ceremonies.
Bruck said USCIS has not provided a detailed explanation for the ceremony was called off.
“They just said that they prioritize a thorough screening process and vetting to make sure that all the applicants meet all the eligibility requirements,” he said. “But it does seem like fewer and fewer of them are meeting those eligibility requirements.”
Bruck said he does not know whether the eligibility requirements have changed.
The cancellations have left people who were expecting to take the oath of allegiance uncertain about when they will be able to complete the process.
“They’re confused,” Bruck said. “They’re calling and saying that they were told that they would be on the list at the next ceremony.”
Bruck also pointed to a broader decline in naturalizations nationwide. In April 2026, USCIS completed only 27,569 applications for naturalization. By comparison, in April 2025, USCIS completed over 97,000.
“So, we are naturalizing about 75% less people than we were last year,” Bruck said.
He said the situation is particularly difficult because the county has previously been able to hold ceremonies even when only a small number of people were eligible.
“We’ve held small ones through COVID,” Bruck said. “We held them with 12, 13 people. So, there was always enough to at least hold a ceremony.”
The federal government has also changed a longstanding practice of reimbursing county clerks for administering the oath of allegiance, Bruck said. He said that change has created a budgetary impact for counties across New York that conduct naturalization ceremonies.
Bruck questioned whether the delays are consistent with the stated goal of encouraging immigrants to follow the legal process.
“If the idea is to combat illegal immigration, naturalization is the obvious answer,” Bruck said. “Once they’re naturalized, they are now legal citizens.”
He said repeated cancellations and uncertainty could discourage people from engaging with the legal immigration system.
The county’s next naturalization ceremony is currently scheduled for December. Bruck said USCIS told the county it would contact officials in November about whether that ceremony will proceed.
“Hopefully they can get enough folks over the finish line that we can go ahead and host this December one,” Brock said. “We love welcoming new citizens, and it’s just a shame that this has to keep getting pushed off further and further.”
For people waiting to complete the process, Bruck said county officials are continuing to advocate on their behalf.
“I want them to know that their elected officials at least here in Ulster County have their back,” he said. “We know how expensive and arduous the process is. And anything that we can do, we are trying.”
Image: A naturalization ceremony in the Ulster County Courthouse ceremonial courtroom in May 2025. (Jon Palmer/Ulster County Government)