Resources Related to DOD’s Tightening of Rules and Discharges of Immigrants from the Military
If you are a service member who has served or is serving in the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve (the “Selected Reserve”), who enlisted through the MAVNI program, and who has not yet become a naturalized U.S. citizen, you may be affected by ongoing litigation in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia (the “Court”). Several MAVNI soldiers brought two lawsuits (the Kirwa litigation and the Nio litigation) against the DOD, DHS, USCIS, and certain government officials challenging the lawfulness of Defendants’ policies affecting naturalization.
Please read this website carefully if you are have a client who is a MAVNI service member who has not been naturalized.
In October 2017, the Department of Defense issued several memoranda that tightened the rules for immigrants joining the military.
The Congressional Research Service issued an In Focus report on expedited citizenship through military service describing the current law and eligibity, as well as the MAVNI program and deportation of U.S. military veterans.
On April 24, 2020, the ACLU filed a lawsuit against the Pentagon on behalf of six non-citizen U.S. troops, who allege they are being blocked from accessing the expedited citizenship procedures they are eligible for as military personnel. According to the National Immigration Forum, roughly 8,000 non-citizens join the active duty military each year, and as long as they have received certification from the Pentagon that they have served honorably, all are eligible for expedited citizenship under the INA. In 2017, the Department of Defense (DoD) issued policy guidance which dramatically slows the certification process and limits the number of officials who can approve it. This new lawsuit claims the 2017 guidance “makes it difficult, if not impossible, for service members to benefit from expedited naturalization.”
In July 2020, the number of immigrant military personnel receiving U.S. citizenship is beginning to rise after years of decline, and service members are getting approved for naturalization at a higher rate than civilian applicants for the first time since 2017, government data shows.
Practice Resources
- National Immigration Forum: Essentials of Naturalization for Military Service Members and Veterans
Government Memos
Congressional Action
- On September 12, 2019, several members of Congress sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and DHS Acting Secretary Kevin McAleenan inquiring about DOD policy on the process for noncitizen service members seeking naturalization and how USCIS evaluates such applications for citizenship.
Media Coverage
- McClatchy: Military personnel getting U.S. citizenship on the rise for first time in years - July 23, 2020
- Military.com: Immigrant Soldiers Sue to Become US Citizens, Saying DoD Broke Its Promise – May 5, 2020
- The Hill: Non-citizen US troops sue Pentagon over slowed naturalization process – April 24, 2020
- American Homefront Project: In Limbo For Years: US Military Recruited Non-Citizens, But Hasn’t Allowed Them To Serve – January 29, 2020
- The Washington Post: The military needs immigrants. The Trump administration wants to keep them out. – November 21, 2019
- Vice: Hector Barajas Served in the American Military. He Was Deported Just the Same. - September 11, 2019
- The Washington Post: Military service was once a fast track to U.S. citizenship. The Trump administration keeps narrowing that possibility. - September 6, 2019
- The Hill: Trump USCIS 'technical correction' hurts military families, readiness - September 1, 2019
- The Washington Post: The military is kicking out foreign recruits it needs — for having foreign ties - July 30, 2019
- The Hill : Immigrants in US military denied citizenship more often than civilians - May 15, 2019
- Miltary.com: After Serving in the Military, Immigrants Now Face Deportation - April 6, 2019
- NPR: Judge Orders Pentagon To Stop Discriminating Against Naturalized Citizen Soldiers - February 2, 2019
- In Tiwari v. Mattis,U.S. District Judge Thomas Zilly ruled Thursday that the Pentagon may not require soldiers who are naturalized citizens to undergo "continuous monitoring," or security checks every two years, when such scrutiny is not applied to U.S.-born soldiers.
Tiwari v. Mattis, page 17 - "[The] evidence shows that the DoD was aware of the equal protection violations that would arise if naturalized MAVNI soldiers were treated differently from other citizens,21 but it nevertheless persisted in the discrimination."
- In Tiwari v. Mattis,U.S. District Judge Thomas Zilly ruled Thursday that the Pentagon may not require soldiers who are naturalized citizens to undergo "continuous monitoring," or security checks every two years, when such scrutiny is not applied to U.S.-born soldiers.
- The Washington Post: Pentagon developing plan to scrutinize recruits with green cards and other foreign ties, memos show – January 16, 2019
- More than 10,400 immigrants entered the military through the MAVNI program. Last year, the Army sought to force out some soldiers recruited this way while citing security concerns. The service paused that process after several lawsuits were filed.
- The Washington Post: After losing court battle, Pentagon will send green-card holders to recruit training - December 3, 2018
- NPR Analysis: Army Tightens Rules For Immigrants Joining As a Path To Citizenship
Litigation
- Samma v. DOD: Challenges the Trump administration’s 2017 policy making it difficult, if not impossible, for non-citizen U.S. military members to obtain expedited citizenship, as Congress has long promised them.
- Documents Related to Lawsuit Over Discharge of Non-Citizens from U.S. Military (Calixto v. Department of the Army, 7/18/18)
- Certification of Honorable Service for Purposes of Naturalization for Members of the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve
- Documents Relating to Class Action Lawsuit by MAVNI Enlistees with Form N-426 (Nio v. DHS)
- Documents Relating to Class Action Lawsuit by MAVNI Enlistees Seeking Form N-426 (Kirwa v. DOD)
Department of Defense Memos Issued in October 2017
- DOD Memo on the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest Pilot Program
- DOD Memo on Certification of Honorable Service for Purposes of Naturalization
- DOD Memo on Military Service Suitability Determinations for Foreign Nationals Who Are LPRs
Department of Defense Press Release (October 13, 2017)
Advocacy Resources
- National Immigration Forum: Naturalizations in the Military: A Recent Decline - July 11, 2019
- Migration Policy Institute: Immigrant Veterans in the United States - May 16, 2019
- National Immigration Forum: For Love of Country: New Americans Serving in our Armed Forces – November 7, 2017
Older Resources:
- USCIS Policy Manual Technical Update on MAVNI and Time of Filing for Naturalization (October 19, 2016)
- DOD Letter Regarding MAVNI Applicants in the Army's Delayed Entry Program (September 30, 2016)
- DOD Memo on the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest Pilot Program Extension (September 30, 2016)
- USCIS Policy Alert: Department of Defense MAVNI Program (August 3, 2016)
- DOD Fact Sheet on MAVNI Recruitment Pilot Program (May 1, 2016)
- USCIS Guidance on Ability of J-2 Derivatives to Adjust Based on J-1 Naturalization Under MAVNI (January 1, 2015)
- AILA: Obama Talks Big on Immigration Reform, But is Not Delivering (October 6, 2014)
- DOD Memo Expanding MAVNI to Include Army Reservists (December 13, 2013)
Related Resources
- USCIS Website for Members of the Military and Their Families
- USCIS Military Help Line Information
- American Immigration Council Resources on the Military
- USCIS Announces New Locations for Onsite Overseas Military Naturalization Services
- FAQs on Military Parole in Place and Deferred Action
- Website on MAVNI Federal Class Action Litigation
- AILA Leadership Blog: MAVNI: A Successful Program Currently SNAFUed
- AILA Quicktake #193: MAVNI Program