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S. 3947 · 109th Congress

Soldiers to Citizens Act

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Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 109th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.

BFR FristSponsor

No cosponsors.

Soldiers to Citizens Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to state that, except for provisions relating to revocation of citizenship for separation from service under other than honorable conditions, noncitizens: (1) shall not be denied the opportunity to apply for Armed Forces membership; and (2) who become active duty Armed Forces members…

What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in Senate · Sep 27, 2006

Soldiers to Citizens Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to state that, except for provisions relating to revocation of citizenship for separation from service under other than honorable conditions, noncitizens: (1) shall not be denied the opportunity to apply for Armed Forces membership; and (2) who become active duty Armed Forces members shall, consistent with active duty naturalization provisions and with the approval of their chain of command, be granted U.S. citizenship after performing at least two years of honorable active duty service. Requires citizenship to be granted within 90 days of application.

Waives certain naturalization requirements, but requires that the applicant participate in the oath ceremony and demonstrate to his or her military chain of command English proficiency, good moral character, and knowledge of U.S. government and history.

Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to use the fingerprints provided by an individual at the time of military enlistment to satisfy any naturalization fingerprint requirements if the individual: (1) may be naturalized; (2) was fingerprinted at the time of enlistment; and (3) submits a naturalization application within 12 months of enlistment.

Requires the Secretary to: (1) establish a toll-free naturalization assistance telephone service for Armed Forces members and their families; (2) ensure that such service is operated by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employees with specialized training on the naturalization process for Armed Forces members, and who are located in the same unit as the military processing unit that adjudicates naturalization applications; and (3) monitor the accuracy and quality of information provided by such employees.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov

About this bill and sources

Official title: Soldiers to Citizens Act

Latest action (Sep 27, 2006): Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced: CR S10290-10291)

Policy area: Immigration · Origin: Senate · Introduced: Sep 27, 2006

Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)

No recorded floor vote found.