II 109th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 3947 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES September 27, 2006 Mr. Frist introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To permit the Secretary of Homeland Security to grant citizenship to an alien who serves on active duty in the Armed Forces, to assist such an alien in applying for citizenship, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Soldiers to Citizens Act.

2.

Citizenship for members of the Armed Forces

Section 329 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1440) is amended— (1)in subsection (b), by striking subsection (a) and inserting subsection (a) or (d); and (2)by adding at the end the following: (d)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, except for provisions relating to revocation of citizenship under subsection (c), an individual who is not a citizen of the United States shall not be denied the opportunity to apply for membership in the United States Armed Forces. Such an individual who becomes an active duty member of the United States Armed Forces shall, consistent with this section and with the approval of the individual's chain of command, be granted United States citizenship after performing at least 2 years of honorable and satisfactory service on active duty. Not later than 90 days after such requirements are met with respect to an individual, such individual shall be granted United States citizenship. (e)An alien described in subsection (d) shall be naturalized without regard to the requirements of this title or any other requirements, processes, or procedures of the Secretary of Homeland Security, if the alien— (1)files an application for naturalization in accordance with such procedures to carry out this section as may be established by regulation by the Secretary of Homeland Security or the Secretary of Defense; (2)demonstrates to the alien's military chain of command proficiency in the English language, good moral character, and knowledge of the Federal Government and United States history, consistent with the requirements contained in this Act; and (3)takes the oath required under section 337 of this Act and participates in an oath administration ceremony in accordance with this Act. .

3.

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 and 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.

4.

Provision of information on naturalization to members of the Armed Forces

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 and 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.