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Citizenship through military service – Permanent Bar to Naturalization

By November 14, 2022Immigration
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Applicants for Naturalization based on military service can be permanently barred based on being discharged or exempted from military service based on the applicant being a noncitizen of the United States. This means that the applicant previously sought the discharge or the exemption where the applicant claimed ineligibility based on not being a citizen of the United States. As noted under the exception list below, this is not the case where the government automatically finds that a noncitizen is ineligible because he is a noncitizen of the United States.

Applicant noncitizens of the United States can seek exception of this permanent bar if he establishes by clear and convincing evidence that:

  • The applicant had no liability for military service at the time he was requesting the exemption.
  • The applicant never requested an exemption, but the U.S. Government automatically granted it.
  • A granted exemption was based on a ground other than the applicant not being a citizen of the United States.
  • The applicant was unable to make an intelligent choice from military service and citizenship because he was misled by the U.S. Government or a government official from his country of origin.
  • The applicant received an exemption from military service based on not being a citizen from the United States, but was later inducted into the U.S. armed forces or the National Security Training Corps.
  • The applicant prior to requesting the exemption from military service, served a minimum of eighteen months in the armed forces of a nation that was a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization at the time of his service, or the applicant served a minimum of twelve months, applying for registration with the Selective Service Administration after September 28, 1971.
  • Prior to requesting the exemption from military service, the applicant was a “treaty national” who had served in the armed forces of the country of which he was a national from.

The Countries that are part of treaties providing reciprocal exemption from military service include:

  • Argentina
  • Austria
  • China
  • Costa Rica
  • Estonia
  • Honduras
  • Ireland
  • Italy
  • Latvia
  • Liberia
  • Norway
  • Paraguay
  • Spain
  • Switzerland
  • Yugoslavi Serbia

Therefore, it is important to understand the naturalization bar will not apply to an applicant who had served in the armed forces of one of these treaty countries prior to requesting the exemption.

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