What Are the Requirements to Apply For US Citizenship Based on Service in the Armed Forces?

Anyone who is serving currently in the U.S. armed forces or has served in the U.S. armed forces has the eligibility to apply for U.S. citizenship based on certain special provisions under the Immigration and Nationality Act or INA. According to U.S. citizenship requirements for military personnel, Form N-426 should be filed for naturalization. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services or USCIS has made the process of naturalization easy for members in the U.S. armed forces. U.S. citizenship requirements for military personnels states that a person is not eligible to become a U.S. citizen if involved in murder, crime or violation of law during the past five years.

U.S. citizenship requirements for military personnels

USCIS has laid down certain qualifications and citizenship requirements for military personnels:
The applicant who is applying for U.S. citizenship should have good moral character during the legal period in the armed forces.
The military personnel should not be involved in crime during the past five years.
The member of the armed forces should not be involved in illegal gambling, prostitution and smuggling.
The applicant should not practice polygamy.
U.S. citizenship requirements also states that the applicant should not be a drunkard.
The applicant should have proficient knowledge and fluency in English.
The applicant should have knowledge concerning the history, role and functioning of the U.S. government.
The applicant should take an oath, that he is attached to the U.S. constitution.

Usually an interview is conducted for the applicant to test the moral character. Avoid lying during the interview, as this would result in the rejection of your citizenship. If you have any queries about the interview, you can seek the help of an attorney.

U.S. citizenship requirements for military personnels states that, while applying for citizenship the following forms should be submitted to the USCIS:
Application for Naturalization, Form N-400.
Request for Certification of Military or Naval Services, Form N-426.
Copy of certificate of release or discharge from duty, Form DD-214.
Form G-325B, Biographic Information.

U.S. citizenship requirements for military personnels states that, those who obtained the U.S. citizenship through the INA act and has not completed the legal period in the armed forces, will have the citizenship revoked by USCIS.

If you have served the U.S. armed forces during wartime on or after September 11, 2001, you are eligible to apply for immediate citizenship. If you have offered your services to the U.S. armed forces during a time of peace, you are eligible to apply for citizenship if the following conditions are satisfied:

- You should have served in the armed forces for at least one year.
- You should be a Lawful Permanent Resident.
- You should submit the application for U.S. Citizenship while in service or within six months from the time you were relieved from service.

Read More

Armed Forces Special Immigration Provisions

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services is keeping up with the times by streamlining their application and naturalization procedures for military personnel. This applies to those on active duty and recently discharged.

Generally speaking if you are in one the following areas of service, you will qualify: Coast Guard, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Army, some members of the National Guard (ask an immigration lawyer about this) and the selected reserve of the Ready Reserve.

There are some requirements you need to meet prior to becoming a US citizen. Those requirements are be of good moral character, know the English language and the US government and history and take the oath of allegiance.

If you are qualified, then you are exempt from other naturalization rules - including residency and a physical presence in the US. One thing to note about his area of immigration law is that if you are discharged from the Armed Forces for any reason other than under "honorable conditions" before serving five years, you may have your citizenship revoked.

You might not know this, as it is another consequence of 9/11. Immigrants who have served active duty on or after 9/11 are able to file for immediate citizenship under the special wartime provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act. This section also covers other veterans. Ask a knowledgeable immigration lawyer about this.

The other section that may be applicable in your circumstance is if you have already been discharged. To qualify for citizenship the requirements are: honorable service of at least one year, permanent resident status, have filed your application within 6 months of leaving the service or while still in the service.

There are other areas of immigration law that will apply to you and your special circumstances. To find out what those are, you need to speak to an attorney familiar with the laws who will assist you during your application process. Immigration law changes all the time and doing things for yourself will not always work.

Read More

The Current State of American Immigration

One thing is certain about the future of US Immigration: the process is constantly changing. This article looks briefly at the past year and the issues that have arisen in the field of US Immigration.

American immigration rules are subject to constant changes. However in recent years the rate of change has accelerated greatly. Some attribute this to the organizational changes made to the Immigration system itself. At one time, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was under the jurisdiction of the United States Attorney General. Now United States Immigration matters are dealt with under the authority of the Department of Homeland Security.

Further compounding the changes to the Immigration system are the proposed changes to be made to Immigration law should recently proposed changes be made to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Under the current provisions of the INA same sex couples are not allowed to petition for Immigration benefits based upon marriage to a same sex partner. There have been numerous recent attempts to repeal this restriction. At the time of this writing, none of the proposed legislation on this issue has been passed by either House of the Legislative Branch of the United States Federal Government.

Recently, a bill was proposed in the US Congress that would make sweeping changes to the American Immigration system. Commonly referred to as "Comprehensive Immigration Reform," or "CIR" for short, this initiative seeks to rectify perceived injustices in the current United States visa process. The ultimate impact of the CIR movement remains to be seen.

An interesting aspect of the current Immigration environment within the past year is the increasing attention that immigration fraud is getting from the New York Attorney General's office. This attention to fraudulent activity has been most apparent in the current Attorney General's attitude toward those who would take advantage of the lack of consumer sophistication on the part of the immigrant community. This endeavor to thwart illegal activity should be embraced by the community at large.

When this article was written, the K1 visa was still a highly utilized travel document for those traveling to America in order to re-unite with a fiance. Also, the K3 marriage visa is still commonly used by those with an alien spouse. Those interested in filing for a K-1 or K-3 visa should look into filing a well-founded I-129f petition.

USCIS: The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service is the main adjudicator of K visa applications and it is in their position as adjudicators that the American Department of Homeland Security pre-screens virtually all family based visa applicants to ensure that they are both eligible for benefits and do not pose a foreseeable threat to the United States. The Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Service offers one more layer of security as it is their responsibility to inspect and admit aliens at ports of entry in America.

Read More