<P> Pursuant to this power , Congress in 1790 passed the first naturalization law for the United States , the Naturalization Act of 1790 . The law enabled those who had resided in the country for two years and had kept their current state of residence for a year to apply for citizenship . However it restricted naturalization to `` free white persons '' of `` good moral character '' . </P>
the first significant restriction on free immigration in u.s. history was the
Naturalization Act of 1790