Naturalization Based on Military Service

(1) Lawful Permanent Residents with Three Years U.S. Military Service

An applicant who has served for three years in the U.S. military and who is a lawful permanent resident is excused from any specific period of required residence, period of residence in any specific place, or physical presence within the United States IF an application for naturalization is filed while the applicant is still serving or within six months of an honorable discharge.

To be eligible for these exemptions, an applicant must:

• Have served honorably or separated under honorable conditions;
• completed three years or more of military service;
• Be a legal permanent resident at the time of his or her examination on the application; or
• Establish good moral character if service was discontinuous or not honorable.

Applicants who file for naturalization more than six months after termination of three years of service in the U.S. military may count any periods of honorable service as residence and physical presence in the United States.

(2) Active Duty Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, certain reserve components of the National Guard and the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve, and Certain Veterans

Members and certain veterans of the U.S. armed forces are eligible to apply for United States citizenship under special provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). In addition, USCIS has streamlined the application and naturalization process for military personnel serving on active-duty or recently discharged. Generally, qualifying service is in one of the following branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, certain reserve components of the National Guard and the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve.

(a) Qualifications

A member of the U.S. Armed Forces must meet certain requirements and qualifications to become a citizen of the United States. This includes demonstrating:

• Good moral character;
• Knowledge of the English language;
• Knowledge of U.S. government and history (civics); and
• Attachment to the United States by taking an Oath of Allegiance to the U.S. Constitution.

Qualified members of the U.S. Armed Forces are exempt from other naturalization requirements, including residency and physical presence in the United States. An individual who obtains U.S. citizenship through his/her military service and separates from the military under "other than honorable conditions" before completing five years of honorable service may have his or her citizenship revoked.

(b) Service in Wartime

All immigrants who have served honorably on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces or as a member of the Selected Ready Reserve on or after September 11, 2001 are eligible to file for immediate citizenship under the special wartime provisions in Section 329 of the INA. This section also covers veterans of designated past wars and conflicts.

• World War I - 4/16/17 to 11/11/18;
• World War II - 9/1/39 to 12/31/46;
• Korean Conflict - 6/25/50 to 7/1/55;
• Vietnam Conflict - 2/28/61 to 10/15/78;
• Operation Desert Shield/ Desert Storm - 8/29/90 to 4/11/91; or
• Any other period which the President, by Executive Order, has designated as a period in which the Armed Forces of the United States are or were engaged in military operations involving armed conflict with hostile foreign forces.

(c) Service in Peacetime

These provisions apply to all members of the U.S. Armed Forces or those already discharged from service. An individual may qualify for naturalization if s/he has:

• Served honorably for at least one year.
• Obtained lawful permanent resident status.
• Filed an application while still in the service or within six months of separation.

(d) Posthumous Benefits

The INA provides for grants of posthumous citizenship to certain members of the U.S. Armed Forces. Other provisions of law extend benefits to surviving spouses, children, and parents.

• A member of the U.S. Armed Forces who served honorably during a designated period of hostilities and dies as a result of injury or disease incurred in, or aggravated by, that service (including death in combat) may receive posthumous citizenship.
• The service member's next of kin, the Secretary of Defense, or the Secretary's designee in USCIS must make this request for posthumous citizenship within two years of the service member's death.
• A spouse, child, or parent of a U.S. citizen who dies while serving honorably in active-duty status in the U.S. Armed Forces, can file for naturalization if the family member meets naturalization requirements other than residency and physical presence.
• For other immigration purposes, a surviving spouse (unless s/he remarries), child, or parent of a member of the U.S. Armed Forces who served honorably on active duty and died as a result of combat, and was a citizen at the time of death (including a posthumous grant of citizenship) is considered an immediate relative for two years after the service members dies and may file a petition for classification as an immediate relative during such period. A surviving parent may file a petition even if the deceased service member had not reached age 21.