United States Court of Appeals For the First Circuit No. 18-2085 OLGA PAULE PERRIER-BILBO, Plaintiff, Appellant, v. UNITED STATES; L. FRANCIS CISSNA, Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Defendants, Appellees, CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES, Defendant. APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS [Hon. William G. Young, U.S. District Judge] Before Torruella, Thompson, and Barron, Circuit Judges. Michael A. Newdow, for appellant. Scott G. Stewart, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Civil Division, U.S. Department of Justice, with whom Francesca Genova, Trial Attorney, Office of Immigration Litigation, Joseph H. Hunt, Assistant Attorney General, Matthew J. Glover, Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General, Civil Division, William C. Peachey, Director, Erez Reuveni, Assistant Director, were on brief, for appellees. April 3, 2020 -2- TORRUELLA, Circuit Judge. Plaintiff-appellant Olga Paule Perrier-Bilbo ("Perrier-Bilbo") appeals the district court's order granting summary judgment in favor of the United States and Francis Cissna, the Director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") (collectively, the "Government"), on her claims that the inclusion of the phrase "so help me God" at the end of the oath of allegiance administered at United States naturalization ceremonies violates the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000bb–2000bb-4 ("RFRA"), and the Fifth Amendment equal protection and procedural due process protections. In addition, Perrier-Bilbo also appeals the district court's order denying her post-judgment motion asserting a due process violation arising from the USCIS Boston Field Office director's conduct in handling and then denying her first naturalization application. She requests that we declare the federal regulation prescribing the oath's language unconstitutional, that we enjoin USCIS and lower courts from using the phrase "so help me God" during the naturalization ceremony for which she is scheduled, and that we order USCIS to reimburse the $680 she paid for her second naturalization application. Because we find that the inclusion of "so help me God" as a means of completing the naturalization oath does not violate the First or -3- Fifth Amendments or RFRA, and because the post-judgment due process claim was not properly presented below, we affirm. I. Background A. Factual Background Perrier-Bilbo is a French citizen who moved to Scituate, Massachusetts in 2000. In 2002, she became a United States permanent resident and subsequently received a green card in 2004. In 2008, Perrier-Bilbo decided to become a United States citizen, so she submitted an application for naturalization to USCIS. After attending an interview with USCIS and passing her English language and civics tests, USCIS granted her application. Perrier-Bilbo then received a form notifying her that she would take the oath of allegiance to the United States on March 4, 2009. This was her last mandatory step towards admission to citizenship. See 8 U.S.C. § 1448(a); 8 C.F.R. § 337.1(a). The Department of Homeland Security nationality regulations provide the language of the oath, which concludes: "I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God." ...
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