USCIS Veteran’s Day Acitivites and Naturalization Ceremonies for Noncitizens in Military

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will honor Veterans Day this week by holding more than 90 ceremonies naturalizing more than 4,440 current and former members of the military and their families who have served our country and defended our freedom. USCIS Director Ur M. Jaddou said:

“USCIS is committed to serving the U.S. military community by making sure they have meaningful and efficient access to the immigration benefits they or their families may be entitled to…  USCIS is dedicated to improving policies and procedures that assist service members and their loved ones on their path to U.S. citizenship.

Special Events
In honor of Veterans Day, this week Department of Homeland Security Deputy Secretary John K. Tien delivered a keynote address  during a naturalization ceremony for 78 candidates at the New York City Federal Building. Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough hosted a special naturalization ceremony for current and former members of the military at the agency’s headquarters in Maryland. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas will conclude a series of special Veterans Day events at the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House in Baltimore, Maryland, where he’ll administer the Oath of Allegiance (Links to an external site.) to 17 naturalization candidates, all of whom are military veterans or active-duty servicemembers.

The USCIS will also present retired Major Gen. Viet Xuan Luong with the Outstanding Americans by Choice (Links to an external site.) award. This initiative recognizes the outstanding achievements of naturalized U.S. citizens. Luong is a native of Vietnam who fled the country with his family at a young age. He had a distinguished career in the U.S. military, having received numerous awards and decorations, and recently retired after 34 years of service.

Policy Initiatives
Recently, USCIS has enacted a number of policy initiatives to facilitate the naturalization process for current and former U.S. service members and their families. These initiatives include:

• Overseas Military Naturalization Video Oath Ceremonies: In December 2020, USCIS began conducting video interviews at overseas DOD facilities for eligible military members and qualifying family members stationed overseas. In March 2021, we began administering the Oath of Allegiance by video at overseas DOD facilities, allowing us to perform the entire naturalization process for eligible military members and qualifying family members stationed overseas. As of today, we have conducted 707 video interviews and administered 501 oaths virtually through this process.
• Military Veterans Residing Abroad Policy Manual Update: In May 2021, USCIS updated guidance to ensure eligible former service members who served honorably during specifically designated periods of hostility and meet all other statutory requirements for naturalization can naturalize and become U.S. citizens in accordance with U.S. immigration laws.

For more background on challenges in military naturalization, see recent reports and my law review article Citizenship Denied  Updated military naturalization statistics can be found at the Military Naturalization Statistics webpage (Links to an external site.). Last summer, Congress held hearings on the progress of military naturalization programs, in conjunction with Rep. Tammy Duckworth’s efforts to enact legislative reform that would aid deported veterans who had been eligible for citizenship prior to removal.

MHC