California Immigration Lawyer Blog

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") has recently published new guidance on the type of proof veterans may provide to establish eligibility for naturalization. In the past,when applying for naturalization pursuant to Sections 328 and 329 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (Naturalization through service in the Armed Forces or Naturalization through active-duty in the Armed Forces during certain specified periods of hostilities), veterans were required to submit a certified Form N-426, Certificate of Military or Naval Service. It was quite burdensome for veterans to obtain a certified Form N-426 when they were no longer on active duty because they had to request certification by sending it to the military records center for certification. It added delay to an already lengthy process.

Now USCIS has issued a new memo indicating they will accept an uncertified Form N-426 from a veteran applicant for naturalization if all of the following conditions have been met:

1. The applicant is separated from the Armed Forces at the time of filing Form N-400 (Application for Naturalization);
2. The applicant submitted a completed but uncertified Form N-426;
3. The applicant submitted a photocopy of his or her DD Form(s) 214 (report of separation) for all periods of time captured on Form N-426; and
4. The DD Form 214 lists information on the type of separation and character of service.

When all four conditions are met, the Nebraska Service Center will process the Form N-400, Application for Naturalization accompanied by an uncertified Form N-426.

You may find the entire text of the USCIS memo here: Acceptance of DD Form 214 as Certification of Military or Naval Service for Veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces.

For more information on military naturalization, please see my previous post on "USCIS releases fact sheet on military naturalization."