[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2160 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2160

   To amend title 10, United States Code, relating to enlistment and 
  consequences of certain service in the Armed Forces, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 7, 2015

 Mr. Kirk (for himself and Mr. Heller) introduced the following bill; 
  which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 10, United States Code, relating to enlistment and 
  consequences of certain 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 ``Military Enlistment Opportunity Act 
of 2015''.

SEC. 2. QUALIFICATIONS FOR ENLISTMENT IN THE ARMED FORCES.

    (a) Additional Qualified Persons.--Paragraph (1) of subsection (b) 
of section 504 of title 10, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as subparagraph (E); 
        and
            (2) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following new 
        subparagraphs:
            ``(C) An alien who, at the time of enlistment in an armed 
        force, has resided continuously in a lawful status in the 
        United States for at least two years.
            ``(D) A person who, at the time of enlistment in an armed 
        force, possesses an employment authorization document issued by 
        United States Citizenship and Immigration Services under the 
        requirements of the Department of Homeland Security policy 
        entitled `Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals' (DACA).''.
    (b) Admission to Permanent Residence of Certain Enlistees.--Such 
section is further amended by adding at the end the following new 
subsection:
    ``(c) Admission to Permanent Residence of Certain Enlistees.--(1) A 
person described in subsection (b) who, at the time of enlistment in an 
armed force, is not a citizen or other national of the United States or 
lawfully admitted for permanent residence shall be adjusted to the 
status of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence under the 
provisions of section 249 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
U.S.C. 1259), except that the alien need not--
            ``(A) establish that he or she entered the United States 
        prior to January 1, 1972; and
            ``(B) comply with section 212(e) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 
        1182(e)).
    ``(2) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall rescind the lawful 
permanent resident status of a person whose status was adjusted under 
paragraph (1) if the person is separated from the armed forces under 
other than honorable conditions before the person served for a period 
or periods aggregating five years. Such grounds for rescission are in 
addition to any other provided by law. The fact that the person was 
separated from the armed forces under other than honorable conditions 
shall be proved by a duly authenticated certification from the armed 
force in which the person last served. The service of the person in the 
armed forces shall be proved by duly authenticated copies of the 
service records of the person.
    ``(3) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to alter the 
process prescribed by sections 328, 329, and 329A of the Immigration 
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1439, 1440, 1440-1) by which a person may 
naturalize through service in the armed forces.''.
    (c) Clerical Amendments.--
            (1) Section heading.--The heading of such section is 
        amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 504. Persons not qualified; citizenship or residency 
              requirements; exceptions''.
            (2) Table of sections.--The table of sections at the 
        beginning of chapter 31 of such title is amended by striking 
        the item relating to section 504 and inserting the following 
        new item:

``504. Persons not qualified; citizenship or residency requirements; 
                            exceptions.''.

SEC. 3. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN PERSONS AS HAVING SATISFIED ENGLISH AND 
              CIVICS, GOOD MORAL CHARACTER, AND HONORABLE SERVICE AND 
              DISCHARGE REQUIREMENTS FOR NATURALIZATION.

    (a) Immigration and Nationality Act.--The Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) is amended by inserting after 
section 329A (8 U.S.C. 1440-1) the following:

``SEC. 329B. PERSONS WHO HAVE RECEIVED AN AWARD FOR ENGAGEMENT IN 
              ACTIVE COMBAT OR ACTIVE PARTICIPATION IN COMBAT.

    ``(a) In General.--
            ``(1) In general.--For purposes of naturalization and 
        continuing citizenship under the following provisions of law, a 
        person who has received an award described in subsection (b) 
        shall be treated--
                    ``(A) as having satisfied the requirements under 
                sections 312(a) and 316(a)(3), and subsections (b)(3), 
                (c), and (e) of section 328; and
                    ``(B) except as provided in paragraph (2), under 
                sections 328 and 329--
                            ``(i) as having served honorably in the 
                        Armed Forces for (in the case of section 328) a 
                        period or periods aggregating 1 year; and
                            ``(ii) if separated from such service, as 
                        having been separated under honorable 
                        conditions.
            ``(2) Revocation.--Notwithstanding paragraph (1)(B), any 
        person who separated from the Armed Forces under other than 
        honorable conditions may be subject to revocation of 
        citizenship under section 328(f) or 329(c) if the other 
        requirements under such section are met.
    ``(b) Application.--This section shall apply with respect to the 
following awards from the Armed Forces of the United States:
            ``(1) The Combat Infantryman Badge from the Army.
            ``(2) The Combat Medical Badge from the Army.
            ``(3) The Combat Action Badge from the Army.
            ``(4) The Combat Action Ribbon from the Navy, the Marine 
        Corps, or the Coast Guard.
            ``(5) The Air Force Combat Action Medal.
            ``(6) Any other award that the Secretary of Defense 
        determines to be an equivalent award for engagement in active 
        combat or active participation in combat.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents of such Act (8 
U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) is amended by inserting after the item relating to 
section 329A the following:

``Sec. 329B. Persons who have received an award for engagement in 
                            active combat or active participation in 
                            combat.''.
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