[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2840 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        S.2840

                       One Hundred Tenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Thursday,
            the third day of January, two thousand and eight


                                 An Act


 
   To establish a liaison with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 
     United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to expedite 
naturalization applications filed by members of the Armed Forces and to 
         establish a deadline for processing such applications.

    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 ``Military Personnel Citizenship 
Processing Act''.
SEC. 2. OFFICE OF THE FBI LIAISON.
    (a) Establishment.--Section 451 of the Homeland Security Act of 
2002 (6 U.S.C. 271) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(g) Office of the FBI Liaison.--
        ``(1) In general.--There shall be an Office of the FBI Liaison 
    in the Department of Homeland Security.
        ``(2) Functions.--The Office of the FBI Liaison shall monitor 
    the progress of the functions of the Federal Bureau of 
    Investigation in the naturalization process to assist in the 
    expeditious completion of all such functions pertaining to 
    naturalization applications filed by, or on behalf of--
            ``(A) current or former members of the Armed Forces under 
        section 328 or 329 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
        U.S.C. 1439 and 1440);
            ``(B) current spouses of United States citizens who are 
        currently serving on active duty in the Armed Forces, who 
        qualify for naturalization under section 319(b) of the 
        Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1430(b)), and 
        surviving spouses and children who qualify for naturalization 
        under section 319(d) of such Act; or
            ``(C) a deceased individual who is eligible for posthumous 
        citizenship under section 329A of the Immigration and 
        Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1440-1).
        ``(3) Authorization of appropriations.--There are authorized to 
    be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this 
    subsection.''.
    (b) Rulemaking.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in 
consultation with the Attorney General, shall promulgate rules to carry 
out the amendment made by subsection (a).
SEC. 3. DEADLINE FOR PROCESSING AND ADJUDICATING NATURALIZATION 
APPLICATIONS FILED BY CURRENT OR FORMER MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES AND 
THEIR SPOUSES AND CHILDREN.
    (a) In General.--Section 328 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
(8 U.S.C. 1439) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(g) Not later than 6 months after receiving an application for 
naturalization filed by a current member of the Armed Forces under 
subsection (a), section 329(a), or section 329A, by the spouse of such 
member under section 319(b), or by a surviving spouse or child under 
section 319(d), United States Citizenship and Immigration Services 
shall--
        ``(1) process and adjudicate the application, including 
    completing all required background checks to the satisfaction of 
    the Secretary of Homeland Security; or
        ``(2) provide the applicant with--
            ``(A) an explanation for its inability to meet the 
        processing and adjudication deadline under this subsection; and
            ``(B) an estimate of the date by which the application will 
        be processed and adjudicated.
    ``(h) The Director of United States Citizenship and Immigration 
Services shall submit an annual report to the Subcommittee on 
Immigration, Border Security, and Refugees and the Subcommittee on 
Homeland Security of the Senate and the Subcommittee on Immigration, 
Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law and the 
Subcommittee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives that 
identifies every application filed under subsection (a), subsection (b) 
or (d) of section 319, section 329(a), or section 329A that is not 
processed and adjudicated within 1 year after it was filed due to 
delays in conducting required background checks.''.
    (b) GAO Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit a report to 
Congress that contains the results of a study regarding the average 
length of time taken by United States Citizenship and Immigration 
Services to process and adjudicate applications for naturalization 
filed by members of the Armed Forces, deceased members of the Armed 
Forces, and their spouses and children.
SEC. 4. SUNSET PROVISION.
    This Act and the amendments made by this Act are repealed on the 
date that is 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.