[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2165 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2165

   To assist members of the Armed Forces in obtaining United States 
                  citizenship, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           December 21, 2005

 Ms. Mikulski (for herself, Mr. Kennedy, and Mr. Sarbanes) introduced 
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 
                            on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To assist members of the Armed Forces in obtaining United States 
                  citizenship, 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 ``Kendell Frederick Citizenship 
Assistance Act''.

SEC. 2. WAIVER OF REQUIREMENT FOR FINGERPRINTS FOR MEMBERS OF THE ARMED 
              FORCES.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of law or any regulation, the 
Secretary of Homeland Security shall use the fingerprints provided by 
an individual at the time the individual enlists in the Armed Forces to 
satisfy any requirement for fingerprints as part of an application for 
naturalization if the individual--
            (1) may be naturalized pursuant to section 328 or 329 of 
        the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1439 or 1440);
            (2) was fingerprinted in accordance with the requirements 
        of the Department of Defense at the time the individual 
        enlisted in the Armed Forces; and
            (3) submits an application for naturalization not later 
        than 12 months after the date the individual enlisted in the 
        Armed Forces.

SEC. 3. PROVISION OF INFORMATION ON NATURALIZATION TO MEMBERS OF THE 
              ARMED FORCES.

    (a) Citizenship Advocate.--The Secretary of Defense shall establish 
the position of Citizenship Advocate at each Military Entry Processing 
Station to provide information and assistance related to the 
naturalization process to members of the Armed Forces. An individual 
serving as a Citizenship Advocate may be a civilian.
    (b) Written Materials.--The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that 
written information describing the naturalization process for members 
of the Armed Forces is provided to each individual who is not a citizen 
of the United States at the time that the individual enlists in the 
Armed Forces.
    (c) Telephone Hot Line.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall--
            (1) establish a dedicated toll free telephone service 
        available only to members of the Armed Forces and the families 
        of such members to provide information related to 
        naturalization pursuant to section 328 or 329 of the 
        Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1439 or 1440), 
        including the status of an application for such naturalization;
            (2) ensure that the telephone service required by paragraph 
        (1) is operated by employees of the Department of Homeland 
        Security who--
                    (A) have received specialized training on the 
                naturalization process for members of the Armed Forces 
                and the families of such members; and
                    (B) are physically located in the same unit as the 
                military processing unit that adjudicates applications 
                for naturalization pursuant to such section 328 or 329; 
                and
            (3) implement a quality control program to monitor, on a 
        regular basis, the accuracy and quality of information provided 
        by the employees who operate the telephone service required by 
        paragraph (1), including the breadth of the knowledge related 
        to the naturalization process of such employees.

SEC. 4. PROVISION OF INFORMATION ON NATURALIZATION TO THE PUBLIC.

    Not later than 30 days after the date that a modification to any 
law or regulation related to the naturalization process becomes 
effective, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall update the 
appropriate application form for naturalization, the instructions and 
guidebook for obtaining naturalization, and the Internet website 
maintained by the Secretary of Homeland Security to reflect such 
modification.

SEC. 5. REPORTS.

    (a) Adjudication Process.--Not later than 120 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 
States shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a 
report on the entire process for the adjudication of an application for 
naturalization filed pursuant to section 328 or 329 of the Immigration 
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1439 or 1440), including the process that 
begins at the time the application is mailed to, or received by, the 
Secretary of Homeland Security, regardless of whether the Secretary 
determines that such application is complete, through the final 
disposition of such application. Such report shall include a 
description of--
            (1) the methods of the Secretary of Homeland Security and 
        the Secretary of Defense to prepare, handle, and adjudicate 
        such applications;
            (2) the effectiveness of the chain of authority, 
        supervision, and training of employees of the Government or of 
        other entities, including contract employees, who have any role 
        in such process or adjudication; and
            (3) the ability of the Secretary of Homeland Security and 
        the Secretary of Defense to use technology to facilitate or 
        accomplish any aspect of such process or adjudication.
    (b) Implementation.--
            (1) Study.--The Comptroller General of the United States 
        shall conduct a study on the implementation of this Act by the 
        Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of Defense, 
        including studying any technology that may be used to improve 
        the efficiency of the naturalization process for members of the 
        Armed Forces.
            (2) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date that 
        the Comptroller General submits the report required by 
        subsection (a), the Comptroller General shall submit to the 
        appropriate congressional committees a report on the study 
        required by paragraph (1). The report shall include any 
        recommendations of the Comptroller General for improving the 
        implementation of this Act by the Secretary of Homeland 
        Security or the Secretary of Defense.
    (c) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this section, 
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
            (1) the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on 
        the Judiciary of the Senate; and
            (2) the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on 
        the Judiciary of the House of Representatives.
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