I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1953

To revise the provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act relating 

to naturalization through service in the Armed Forces, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 6, 2003

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL

To revise the provisions of the Immigration and Nationality 

Act relating to naturalization through service in the 

Armed Forces, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Armed Forces Citizen5 ship Act of 2003’’. 

6 SEC. 2. NATURALIZATION THROUGH SERVICE IN ARMED 

7 FORCES. 

8 (a) REDUCTION OF PERIOD FOR REQUIRED SERV9 ICE.—Section 328(a) of the Immigration and Nationality 
2

•HR 1953 IH 

1 Act (8 U.S.C. 1439(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘three 

2 years,’’ and inserting ‘‘one year,’’. 

3 (b) PROHIBITION ON IMPOSITION OF FEES RELAT4 ING TO NATURALIZATION.—Title III of the Immigration 

5 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.) is amended—

6 (1) in section 328(b)—

7 (A) in paragraph (3)—

8 (i) by striking ‘‘honorable. The’’ and 

9 inserting ‘‘honorable (the’’; and 

10 (ii) by striking ‘‘discharge.’’ and in11 serting ‘‘discharge); and’’; and 

12 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(4) notwithstanding any other provision of 

14 law, no fee shall be charged or collected from the 

15 person for filing the application, or for the issuance 

16 of a certificate of naturalization upon being granted 

17 citizenship, and no clerk of any State court shall 

18 charge or collect any fee for such services unless the 

19 laws of the State require such charge to be made, 

20 in which case nothing more than the portion of the 

21 fee required to be paid to the State shall be charged 

22 or collected.’’; and 

23 (2) in section 329(b)—

24 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

25 the end; 
3

•HR 1953 IH 

1 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking the pe2 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

3 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(4) notwithstanding any other provision of 

5 law, no fee shall be charged or collected from the 

6 person for filing the application, or for the issuance 

7 of a certificate of naturalization upon being granted 

8 citizenship, and no clerk of any State court shall 

9 charge or collect any fee for such services unless the 

10 laws of the State require such charge to be made, 

11 in which case nothing more than the portion of the 

12 fee required to be paid to the State shall be charged 

13 or collected.’’. 

14 (c) NATURALIZATION PROCEEDINGS OVERSEAS FOR

15 MEMBERS OF ARMED FORCES.—Notwithstanding any 

16 other provision of law, the Secretary of Homeland Secu17 rity, the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of Defense 

18 shall ensure that any applications, interviews, filings, 

19 oaths, ceremonies, or other proceedings under title III of 

20 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1401 et 

21 seq.) relating to naturalization of members of the Armed 

22 Forces are available, to the maximum extent practicable, 

23 through United States embassies, consulates, and United 

24 States military installations overseas. 
4

•HR 1953 IH 

1 (d) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 328(b)(3) of 

2 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

3 1439(b)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘Attorney General,’’ 

4 and inserting ‘‘Secretary of Homeland Security,’’. 

5 (e) EFFECTIVE DATES.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para7 graph (2), this section and the amendments made by 

8 this section shall take effect on the date of the en9 actment of this Act. 

10 (2) REDUCTION OF PERIOD FOR REQUIRED

11 SERVICE.—The amendment made by subsection (a) 

12 shall take effect as if enacted on September 11, 

13 2001. 

14 (3) FEES.—The amendments made by this sec15 tion to sections 328 and 329 of the Immigration and 

16 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1439–1440), insofar as 

17 such amendments prohibit the imposition of a fee, 

18 shall not be construed to require the refund or re19 turn of any fee collected before the date of the en20 actment of this Act.

Æ