In United States law, good moral character describes behaviors in which the applicants have been involved and details requirements for consideration for certain benefits or positions. The term is chiefly used by the federal government in immigration law, but it can also be a requirement for a particular position of employment or licensure in a particular occupation or profession, such as admission to practice law and teaching. In order to gain U.S. citizenship through naturalization, a person must be considered of "good moral character".
It is the opposite of moral turpitude, another legal concept in the United States used in similar instances.
Good moral character is an important aspect of immigration law and even minor violations can be the sole reason for a dismissal of a case appealing for citizenship.
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services describes "good moral character" as an absence of involvement in the following activities:
Moral character or character is an evaluation of a particular individual's stable moral qualities. The concept of character can imply a variety of attributes including the existence or lack of virtues such as empathy, courage, fortitude, honesty, and loyalty, or of good behaviors or habits. Moral character primarily refers to the assemblage of qualities that distinguish one individual from another — although on a cultural level, the set of moral behaviors to which a social group adheres can be said to unite and define it culturally as distinct from others. Psychologist Lawrence Pervin defines moral character as "a disposition to express behavior in consistent patterns of functions across a range of situations".
The word "character" is derived from the Ancient Greek word "charaktêr", referring to a mark impressed upon a coin. Later it came to mean a point by which one thing was told apart from others. There are two approaches when dealing with moral character: Normative ethics involve moral standards that exhibit right and wrong conduct. It is a test of proper behavior and determining what is right and wrong. Applied ethics involve specific and controversial issues along with a moral choice, and tend to involve situations where people are either for or against the issue.