Soon after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, the number of people seeking to become United States citizens shot up.
In line with that feeling of wanting to belong and of making the decision finally, many people who had been postponing the paperwork, sent in their applications for citizenship.
The president’s executive order
makes up to 15,000
noncitizens — men and women — serving in U.S. military
since Sept. 11 immediately
eligible to apply to become
American citizens.
And in order to help a small section of them, President George W. Bush, earlier this month, passed an executive order allowing noncitizens in the U.S. military to get expedited treatment if they wanted to become citizens.
The president’s executive order, entitled ‘Expedited Naturalization of Aliens and Noncitizen Nationals Service in An Active-Duty Status During the War on Terrorism,’ makes up to 15,000 noncitizens — men and women — serving in U.S. military since Sept. 11 immediately eligible to apply to become American citizens, according to the Department of Defense.
“Those persons serving honorably in active-duty status in the Armed Forces of the United States, during the period beginning on Sept. 11, 2001, and terminating on the date to be so designated, are eligible for naturalization in accordance with the statutory exception to the naturalization requirements, as provided in section 329 of the (Immigration and Nationality) Act,” says the presidential order.
“There is a provision of federal law which allows for noncitizens serving in the U.S. military to have expedited consideration for citizenship when there is a presidential declaration,” Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) spokesperson Russ Bergeron told News India-Times. But, he added, “We have no information on the number or nationality of people who might be affected by this.”
Enlistment into any branch of the military by citizens of countries other than the U.S. is limited to foreign nationals who are legally residing in the U.S. and possess an INS Alien Registration Card (commonly known as a green card).
Section 329 of Immigration and Nationality Acy (INA) allows noncitizens to receive immediate naturalization through their active duty service in the Armed Forces during periods of military hostilities, if the president designates by executive order that the armed services are or were engaged in armed conflict with a hostile foreign force. The order signed by Bush designates that the U.S. military has been engaged in armed conflict with a hostile foreign force — terrorists around the globe — since Sept. 11, 2001.
The background factsheet on the executive order, says service in the U.S. military, particularly in times of conflict, is the ultimate act of patriotism.
According to the INS, there were 519,523 new applications for citizenship between Oct. 1, 2001, and May 31, 2002. This is in contrast to the 314,971 applications made in the same period the year before, a 65-percent rise that many attribute to Sept. 11.
But the higher filings have not meant higher levels of approval for the general immigrant who is not in military service. The number granted citizenship in the period Oct. 2001 to May 2002, actually went down compared to the year before, by some 10 percent according to INS, a sign that the Justice Department has been tightening the approval process.
