[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4575 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4575

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to change the requirements 
 for naturalization to citizenship through service in the Armed Forces 
                         of the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 24, 2002

 Mr. Frost (for himself, Mr. Reyes, Mr. Skelton, Mr. Menendez, and Mr. 
    Ortiz) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to change the requirements 
 for naturalization to citizenship through service in the Armed Forces 
                         of the United States.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. REQUIREMENTS FOR NATURALIZATION TO CITIZENSHIP THROUGH 
              SERVICE IN THE ARMED FORCES OF THE UNITED STATES.

    (a) Period of Required Service Reduced to 2 Years.--Section 328(a) 
of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1439(a)) is amended by 
striking ``three'' and inserting ``two''.
    (b) Prohibition on Imposition of Fees Relating to Naturalization.--
Section 328(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1439(b)) is amended--
            (1) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (3) and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (2) by adding after paragraph (3) the following:
            ``(4) notwithstanding any other provision of law, no fee 
        shall be charged or collected from the applicant for filing a 
        petition for naturalization or issuing a certificate of 
        naturalization upon his admission to citizenship, and no clerk 
        of any State court shall charge or collect any fee for such 
        services unless the laws of the State require such charge to be 
        made, in which case nothing more than the portion of the fee 
        required to be paid to the State shall be charged or 
        collected.''.
    (c) Naturalization Through Enlistment in the Armed Forces and 
Service With an Eligibility for Access to Classified Information.--The 
Immigration and Nationality Act is amended by adding after section 328 
the following new section:

 ``naturalization through enlistment in the armed forces of the united 
    states and service with an eligibility for access to classified 
                             information''

    ``Sec. 328A. (a) A person who has served honorably at any time in 
the Armed Forces of the United States, who enlisted for such service 
and was not inducted to service, whose eligibility for access to 
classified information has been certified to the Service by the 
relevant military department, and who, if separated from such service, 
was never separated except under honorable conditions, may be 
naturalized without having resided, continuously immediately preceding 
the date of filing such person's application, in the United States for 
at least five years, and in the State or district of the Service in the 
United States in which the application for naturalization is filed for 
at least three months, and without having been physically present in 
the United States for any specified period, if such application is 
filed while the applicant is still in the service or within six months 
after the termination of such service.
    ``(b) A person filing a application under subsection (a) of this 
section shall comply in all other respects with the requirements of 
this title, except that--
            ``(1) no residence within a State or district of the 
        Service in the United States shall be required;
            ``(2) notwithstanding section 318 insofar as it relates to 
        deportability, such applicant may be naturalized immediately if 
        the applicant be then actually in the Armed Forces of the 
        United States, and if prior to the filing of the application, 
        the applicant shall have appeared before and been examined by a 
        representative of the Service;
            ``(3) the applicant shall furnish to the Attorney General, 
        prior to any final hearing upon his application a certified 
        statement from the proper executive department for each period 
        of his service upon which he relies for the benefits of this 
        section--
                    ``(A) clearly showing that such service was 
                honorable and that no discharges from service, 
                including periods of service not relied upon by him for 
                the benefits of this section, were other than 
                honorable;
                    ``(B) clearly showing that the applicant entered 
                the Service through enlistment and not induction; and
                    ``(C) clearly showing that the applicant was 
                eligible for access to classified information; and
            ``(4) notwithstanding any other provision of law, no fee 
        shall be charged or collected from the applicant for filing a 
        petition for naturalization or issuing a certificate of 
        naturalization upon his admission to citizenship, and no clerk 
        of any State court shall charge or collect any fee for such 
        services unless the laws of the State require such charge to be 
        made, in which case nothing more than the portion of the fee 
        required to be paid to the State shall be charged or 
        collected.''.
``The certificate or certificates herein provided for shall be 
conclusive evidence of such service and discharge.
    ``(c) In the case such applicant's service was not continuous, the 
applicant's residence in the United States and State or district of the 
Service in the United States, good moral character, attachment to the 
principles of the Constitution of the United States, and favorable 
disposition toward the good order and happiness of the United States, 
during any period within five years immediately preceding the date of 
filing such application between the periods of applicant's service in 
the Armed Forces, shall be alleged in the application filed under the 
provisions of subsection (a) of this section, and proved at any hearing 
thereon. Such allegation and proof shall also be made as to any period 
between the termination of applicant's service and the filing of the 
application for naturalization.
    ``(d) The applicant shall comply with the requirements of section 
316(a) of this title, if the termination of such service has been more 
than six months preceding the date of filing the application for 
naturalization, except that such service within five years immediately 
preceding the date of filing such application shall be considered as 
residence and physical presence within the United States.''.
    ``(e) Any such period or periods of service under honorable 
conditions, and good moral character, attachment to the principles of 
the Constitution of the United States, and favorable disposition toward 
the good order and happiness of the United States, during such service, 
shall be proved by duly authenticated copies of the records of the 
executive departments having custody of the records of such service, 
and such authenticated copies of records shall be accepted in lieu of 
compliance with the provisions of section 316(a).''.
    (d) Conduct of Naturalization Proceedings Overseas for Members of 
the Armed Forces of the United States.--Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, the Attorney General, the Secretary of State, and the 
Secretary of Defense, shall ensure that any applications, interviews, 
filings, oaths, ceremonies, or other proceedings under title III of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act relating to naturalization of members 
of the Armed Forces are available through United States embassies and 
consulates and, as practicable, United States military installations 
overseas.
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