[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2516 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2516
To assist members of the Armed Forces in obtaining United States
citizenship, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 18, 2007
Ms. Mikulski (for herself and Mr. Kennedy) 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. FINGERPRINTS FOR MEMBERS OF ARMED FORCES.
(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
including section 552a of title 5, United States Code (commonly
referred to as the ``Privacy Act of 1974''), the Secretary of Homeland
Security shall use the fingerprints provided by an individual at the
time the individual enlisted in the Armed Forces to satisfy any
requirement for fingerprints in connection with an application for
naturalization if--
(1) the individual may be naturalized pursuant to section
328 or 329 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1439 and 1440);
(2) the individual was fingerprinted in accordance with the
requirements of the Department of Defense at the time the
individual enlisted in the Armed Forces;
(3) the individual submits an application for
naturalization not later than 24 months after the date on which
the individual enlisted in the Armed Forces; and
(4) the Secretary of Homeland Security determines that the
fingerprints are sufficient to adjudicate the applicant's
naturalization application.
(b) More Timely and Effective Adjudication.--Nothing in this
section precludes an individual described in subsection (a) from
submitting a new set of fingerprints to the Secretary of Homeland
Security. If the Secretary of Homeland Security determines that
submitting a new set of fingerprints would result in more timely and
effective adjudication of the individual's naturalization application,
the Secretary shall--
(1) inform the individual of such determination; and
(2) provide the individual with a description of how to
submit such fingerprints.
(c) Cooperation.--The Secretary of Homeland Security, in
consultation with the Secretary of Defense, shall determine the format
of fingerprints acceptable for usage under subsection (a). The
Secretary of Defense, or any other official having custody of the
fingerprints referred to in subsection (a), shall--
(1) make such prints available, without charge, to the
Secretary of Homeland Security for the purpose described in
subsection (a); and
(2) otherwise cooperate with the Secretary of Homeland
Security to facilitate the processing of applications for
naturalization under subsection (a).
SEC. 3. PROVISION OF INFORMATION ON MILITARY NATURALIZATION.
(a) In General.--Not later than 30 days after the effective date of
any modification to a regulation related to naturalization under
section 328 or 329 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1439 and 1440), the Secretary of Homeland Security shall make
appropriate updates to the Internet sites maintained by the Secretary
to reflect such modification.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the
Secretary of Homeland Security, not later than 180 days after each
effective date described in subsection (a), should make necessary
updates to the appropriate application forms of the Department of
Homeland Security.
SEC. 4. REPORTS.
(a) Adjudication Process.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 120 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the
United States shall submit a report to the appropriate
congressional committees 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 and 1440), including the process
that--
(A) 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; and
(B) ends on the date of the final disposition of
such application.
(2) Contents.--The report submitted under paragraph (1)
shall include a description of--
(A) the methods used by the Secretary of Homeland
Security and the Secretary of Defense to prepare,
handle, and adjudicate such applications;
(B) the effectiveness of the chain of authority,
supervision, and training of employees of the Federal
Government or of other entities, including contract
employees, who have any role in such process or
adjudication; and
(C) 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 on
which the Comptroller General submits the report required under
subsection (a), the Comptroller General shall submit a report
to the appropriate congressional committees on the study
required by paragraph (1) that includes recommendations for
improving the implementation of this Act.
(c) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this section,
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(1) the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate;
(2) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate;
(3) the Committee on Armed Services of the House of
Representatives; and
(4) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of
Representatives.
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