Sponsors (3)
The bill lets lawful permanent resident spouses of active-duty service members file for naturalization immediately—improving citizenship access for military families—while imposing only modest verification complexity on USCIS and minor administrative costs for taxpayers.
Lawful permanent residents married to active-duty U.S. service members can file for naturalization without waiting three months in the local USCIS district, speeding family reunification, improving access to citizenship, and reducing residency-timing barriers during military relocations.
USCIS adjudicators must apply the new active-duty exemption and verify spouses' active-duty status, creating a small increase in processing complexity that could temporarily slow some case reviews.
Taxpayers may face minor administrative costs to update USCIS guidance, train personnel, and modify systems to implement the exception.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Exempts lawful permanent residents married to active-duty U.S. service members serving in the U.S. from the three-month State/Service district residency requirement for naturalization filings.
Exempts lawful permanent residents who are married to active-duty U.S. Armed Forces members serving in the United States from the three-month State or Service district residency requirement that otherwise applies when filing for naturalization. The change lets qualifying military spouses file naturalization applications without meeting that short-term residency rule while their spouse is on active duty at a U.S. location.
Introduced May 13, 2025 by Marilyn Strickland · Last progress May 13, 2025