Any qualifying service period may support wartime military naturalization

Policy effect

From November 12, 2021, USCIS no longer required the qualifying military service for naturalization under INA 329 to be the current or most recent period of service. An applicant separated under honorable conditions after a qualifying period could remain eligible under INA 329 even if a different period ended with another type of discharge. Other eligibility requirements continued to apply. This change did not remove the separate INA 328 requirement that an applicant never have been separated except under honorable conditions.

Conditions and exceptions

Validated condition or limit: From November 12, 2021, USCIS no longer required the qualifying military service for naturalization under INA 329 to be the current or most recent period of service.; An applicant separated under honorable conditions after a qualifying period could remain eligible under INA 329 even if a different period ended with another type of discharge.; Other eligibility requirements continued to apply.; This change did not remove the separate INA 328 requirement that an applicant never have been separated except under honorable conditions.

Official source excerpt

Quoted verbatim from the official source below. Ellipses indicate omitted text.

This update is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) initiative to conduct a review of policies and practices to ensure that all eligible current and former noncitizen service members and the families of service members are able to remain in or return to the United States, to remove barriers to naturalization for those eligible, and improve access to immigration services.

Review method

Two separate automated exact-claim source reviews

Other United States changes operative in 2021

• 2021-01-19DHS and DOJ finalize third-country transit asylum bar
• 2021-01-20Memorandum on Reinstating Deferred Enforced Departure for Liberians
• 2021-01-30Suspension of Entry for Travelers from Republic of South Africa
• 2021-03-012008 civics test restored with a transition for recent applicants
• 2021-03-09DHS removes 2019 public charge regulatory text after vacatur
• 2021-03-22DHS extends temporary asylum interview interpreter rule
• 2021-04-16President revises FY2021 refugee admissions allocations
• 2021-04-27Deference restored for qualifying petition-extension decisions
• 2021-05-03President raises FY2021 refugee admissions ceiling to 62,500
• 2021-05-14President revokes immigrant health-insurance entry restriction
• 2021-05-19regulatory text restored to appear as it did before the October 2020 IFR
• 2021-06-09Initial and renewal work permits for adjustment applicants extended to two years
• 2021-06-14Bona fide review introduced for work authorization while U petitions are pending
• 2021-06-16Attorney General Vacatur of Matter of A-B- and Matter of L-E-A-
• 2021-07-15Attorney General Overruling of Matter of Castro-Tum and Restoration of Administrative Closure (Matter of Cruz-Valdez)
• 2021-07-20Repeated status-maintenance applications removed during eligible F-1 requests
• 2021-07-26Attorney General Vacatur of Matter of A-C-A-A- I (Matter of A-C-A-A- II)
• 2021-07-30Military civil-surgeon designation expanded for certain Afghan visa applicants
• 2021-08-03New 2021 Haiti TPS designation expands eligibility
• 2021-08-04Extension of Initial TPS Registration Periods for Venezuela, Syria, and Burma
• 2021-08-05implementing DED for Hong Kong through February 5, 2023
• 2021-08-05Legal-parent recognition expanded for children born abroad
• 2021-08-122019 discretionary work-authorization guidance for parolees rescinded
• 2021-08-12Temporary four-year validity allowed for qualifying medical reports
• 2021-09-20DHS further extends asylum interview interpreter rule
• 2021-10-01COVID-19 vaccination required for immigration medical exams, with waivers
• 2021-10-01President sets FY2022 refugee admissions ceiling at 125,000
• 2021-10-20T derivative family relationships assessed at favorable adjudication
• 2021-11-08COVID-19 geographic entry restrictions ended
• 2021-11-08COVID-19 vaccination condition for nonimmigrant air entry
• 2021-11-12Automatic EAD renewal extension extended to qualifying H-4, E and L spouses
• 2021-11-12E and L dependent spouses recognized as work-authorized by status
• 2021-11-29Suspension of Entry for Noncitizens Present in Southern African Countries
• 2021-12-09Medical-report signature timing rule temporarily waived
• 2021-12-13Temporary interview waivers for qualifying repeat immigrant-visa applicants
• 2021-12-31Southern Africa COVID-19 entry restriction ended