U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is issuing policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to provide clarifications regarding certain naturalization applications

On November 12th, 2021, USCIS issued policy guidance to clarify the adjudication of naturalization applications filed by current or former members of the U.S. military. 

Current or former members of the U.S. armed forces who serve honorably for any period of time during specifically designated periods of hostilities may be eligible to naturalize.  In accordance with the statutory provisions (sections 328 and 329 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA)), some former members of the U.S. armed forces who served during designated periods of hostility and were honorably discharged but are not LPRs may be eligible to naturalize even if currently residing outside of the United States.

Under INA 329, a member of the U.S. armed forces who serve honorably for any period of time during specifically designated periods of hostilities may be eligible to naturalize.   USCIS’s newly issued guidance updates USCIS’s interpretation of the “qualified period of service” requirement under INA 329, and specifies that the qualifying period of service does not need to be the most recent period of service.  An applicant who was discharged from the armed forces under honorable conditions after completing a qualified period of service may be eligible to naturalize even if the applicant received a different type of discharge for a different, separate period of service. 

Additionally, former service members who live outside the United States may concurrently file their Application for Naturalization (N-400) along with an Application for Travel Document (I-131) without a fee to request an advance parole document to attend their naturalization interview in the U.S.   USCIS may interview a former service member at a land port of entry even if the applicant has not demonstrated preliminary eligibility for naturalization, or requested a visa or parole.  If the application for naturalization is approved after an interview at a land port of entry, the applicant may be administered the Oath of Allegence at the port of entry unless a court has exclusive authority to administer the oath.