[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1953 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1953

    To revise the provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
relating to naturalization through service in the Armed Forces, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 6, 2003

  Mr. Hastings of Washington introduced the following bill; which was 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To revise the provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
relating to naturalization through service in the Armed Forces, and for 
                            other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Armed Forces Citizenship Act of 
2003''.

SEC. 2. NATURALIZATION THROUGH SERVICE IN ARMED FORCES.

    (a) Reduction of Period for Required Service.--Section 328(a) of 
the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1439(a)) is amended by 
striking ``three years,'' and inserting ``one year,''.
    (b) Prohibition on Imposition of Fees Relating to Naturalization.--
Title III of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1401 et 
seq.) is amended--
            (1) in section 328(b)--
                    (A) in paragraph (3)--
                            (i) by striking ``honorable. The'' and 
                        inserting ``honorable (the''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``discharge.'' and 
                        inserting ``discharge); and''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) notwithstanding any other provision of law, no fee 
        shall be charged or collected from the person for filing the 
        application, or for the issuance of a certificate of 
        naturalization upon being granted 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.''; and
            (2) in section 329(b)--
                    (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the 
                end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) notwithstanding any other provision of law, no fee 
        shall be charged or collected from the person for filing the 
        application, or for the issuance of a certificate of 
        naturalization upon being granted 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 Proceedings Overseas for Members of Armed 
Forces.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of 
Homeland Security, 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 (8 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.) relating to naturalization of 
members of the Armed Forces are available, to the maximum extent 
practicable, through United States embassies, consulates, and United 
States military installations overseas.
    (d) Technical Amendment.--Section 328(b)(3) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1439(b)(3)) is amended by striking ``Attorney 
General,'' and inserting ``Secretary of Homeland Security,''.
    (e) Effective Dates.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), this 
        section and the amendments made by this section shall take 
        effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.
            (2) Reduction of period for required service.--The 
        amendment made by subsection (a) shall take effect as if 
        enacted on September 11, 2001.
            (3) Fees.--The amendments made by this section to sections 
        328 and 329 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
        1439-1440), insofar as such amendments prohibit the imposition 
        of a fee, shall not be construed to require the refund or 
        return of any fee collected before the date of the enactment of 
        this Act.
                                 <all>