Expedited Citizenship Through Military Service: Policy and Issues

Publication Date: September 2003

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

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Since the events of September 11, 2001, and the war against terrorism started with Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Noble Eagle, there has been interest in legislation to expand the citizenship benefits of aliens serving in the military, which has increased considerably since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003. The reported deaths in action of noncitizen soldiers have drawn attention to provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) that grant posthumous citizenship for those who die as a result of active-duty service during a period of hostilities. The INA also provides for expedited naturalization for noncitizens serving in the United States military. During peacetime, noncitizens in the military may petition to naturalize after 3 years aggregate military service rather than the requisite 5 years of legal permanent residence. During periods of military hostilities, noncitizens serving in the armed forces can naturalize immediately. On July 3, 2002, President George W. Bush designated the period beginning on September 11, 2001, as a "period of hostilities," which triggered immediate naturalization eligibility for active-duty U.S. military servicemembers, whereupon the Department of Defense and the former Immigration and Naturalization Service announced that they would work together to ensure that military naturalization applications were processed expeditiously. This has sparked interest in legislation to further expedite the naturalization process for military servicemembers. As of February 2003, there were 37,000 noncitizens serving in active duty in the U.S. armed forces, almost 12,000 foreign nationals serving in the selected reserves, and another 8,000 serving in the inactive national guard and ready reserves.

Multiple bills provide for expedited or posthumous citizenship as the result of military service (H.R. 1275, H.R. 1588, H.R. 1685, H.R. 1691, H.R. 1714, H.R. 1799, H.R. 1806, H.R. 1814, H.R. 1850, H.R. 1953, H.R. 1954, H.R. 2887, S. 783, S. 789, S. 897, S. 922, and S. 940). Variously, these bills would, among other things, reduce or eliminate the 3-year requirement for peacetime service, permit proceedings to be conducted abroad, waive processing fees, modify posthumous citizenship procedures, and provide some type of immigration benefit to surviving immediate relatives of citizens (including posthumous citizens) who die as a result of serving in active duty or, more narrowly, in a combat zone during wartime.

Of these bills, H.R. 1588 and H.R. 1954 have emerged as the two major legislative vehicles. H.R. 1588, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004, has been in conference since July 2003. On September 23, 2003, the House voted in favor of instructing their conferees to agree to the Senate-version provisions comprising the Naturalization and Family Protection for Military Members Act of 2003, concerning military naturalization and family immigration benefits. On June 4, 2003, the House passed H.R. 1954, the "Armed Forces Naturalization Act of 2003, by a 414-5 vote. H.R. 1954 was reported by the Senate Judiciary Committee with an amendment in the nature of a substitute as the Naturalization and Family Protection for Military Members Act of 2003.

This report will be updated as legislative activity occurs or other events warrant.