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ImmigrationProf Blog
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Citizenship Via Military Service

By immigrationprof

Approximately 24,754 of the nation’s 1.4 million military personnel are noncitizens. The two biggest groups come from the Philippines and Mexico, according to February 2006 data from the Department of Defense. 

For young legal permanent U.S. residents like Armando Calderon (whose mother was undocumented), military service is a sure way to secure U.S. citizenship because service members can skip the five-year wait to apply for citizenship. More than 20,000 military personnel have become American citizens since President Bush signed an order providing this in 2002. Click here.

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