U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is publishing an update to its Policy Manual to clarify that a current or former service member who received an uncharacterized discharge may be eligible for naturalization. To learn more about naturalization, please click here.
The United States allows paths for foreign born individuals to gain US citizenship through military service. Sometimes the individual can gain citizenship without going obtaining permanent residency first if the military service is provided during war times. Military members can take steps toward U.S. citizenship by serving in either the U.S. Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, or Coast Guard, or in a National Guard unit while the unit was federally recognized as a reserve component of the U.S. Armed Forces. War time citizenship can take as little as one day to be approved. Peace time citizenship usually requires at least one year of service before getting a green card. After receiving permanent residency, the applicant must wait at least one more year to apply for citizenship.
For those who are leaving or have left military service, they leave either as “separated” or discharged”. USCIS has different interpretations of citizenship applications in cases where the individual leaves military service before the required time is completed.
Uncharacterized discharges are given to individuals who separate from the military prior to completing 180 days of military service, or when discharge action was initiated prior to 180 days of service. This type of discharge does not attempt to characterize service as good or bad.
Previously, USCIS had interpreted the requirement for a separation “under honorable conditions” to require a separation characterized as either Honorable or General-Under Honorable Conditions. This new policy guidance changes the USCIS interpretation of “under honorable conditions” to encompass uncharacterized discharges as well as Honorable and General-Under Honorable Conditions discharges.
This interpretation aligns with a Department of Defense instruction on the interpretation of discharges and with a recent district court decision. This guidance will be effective upon publication of the Policy Manual update and will apply to all pending and future applications. Applicants whom USCIS previously denied can submit a new application without fee.
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