II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2160 

To amend title 10, United States Code, relating to enlistment and 

consequences of certain service in the Armed Forces, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 7, 2015 

Mr. KIRK (for himself and Mr. HELLER) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend title 10, United States Code, relating to enlistment 

and consequences of certain 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 ‘‘Military Enlistment 

5 Opportunity Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. QUALIFICATIONS FOR ENLISTMENT IN THE ARMED 

7 FORCES. 

8 (a) ADDITIONAL QUALIFIED PERSONS.—Paragraph 

9 (1) of subsection (b) of section 504 of title 10, United 

10 States Code, is amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as sub2 paragraph (E); and 

3 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol4 lowing new subparagraphs: 

5 ‘‘(C) An alien who, at the time of enlistment in 

6 an armed force, has resided continuously in a lawful 

7 status in the United States for at least two years. 

8 ‘‘(D) A person who, at the time of enlistment 

9 in an armed force, possesses an employment author10 ization document issued by United States Citizen11 ship and Immigration Services under the require12 ments of the Department of Homeland Security pol13 icy entitled ‘Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals’ 

14 (DACA).’’. 

15 (b) ADMISSION TO PERMANENT RESIDENCE OF CER16 TAIN ENLISTEES.—Such section is further amended by 

17 adding at the end the following new subsection: 

18 ‘‘(c) ADMISSION TO PERMANENT RESIDENCE OF

19 CERTAIN ENLISTEES.—(1) A person described in sub20 section (b) who, at the time of enlistment in an armed 

21 force, is not a citizen or other national of the United 

22 States or lawfully admitted for permanent residence shall 

23 be adjusted to the status of an alien lawfully admitted for 

24 permanent residence under the provisions of section 249 


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1 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1259), 

2 except that the alien need not— 

3 ‘‘(A) establish that he or she entered the 

4 United States prior to January 1, 1972; and 

5 ‘‘(B) comply with section 212(e) of such Act (8 

6 U.S.C. 1182(e)). 

7 ‘‘(2) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall re8 scind the lawful permanent resident status of a person 

9 whose status was adjusted under paragraph (1) if the per10 son is separated from the armed forces under other than 

11 honorable conditions before the person served for a period 

12 or periods aggregating five years. Such grounds for rescis13 sion are in addition to any other provided by law. The 

14 fact that the person was separated from the armed forces 

15 under other than honorable conditions shall be proved by 

16 a duly authenticated certification from the armed force in 

17 which the person last served. The service of the person 

18 in the armed forces shall be proved by duly authenticated 

19 copies of the service records of the person. 

20 ‘‘(3) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to 

21 alter the process prescribed by sections 328, 329, and 

22 329A of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

23 1439, 1440, 1440–1) by which a person may naturalize 

24 through service in the armed forces.’’. 

25 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.— 


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1 (1) SECTION HEADING.—The heading of such 

2 section is amended to read as follows: 

3 ‘‘§ 504. Persons not qualified; citizenship or residency 

4 requirements; exceptions’’. 

5 (2) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections 

6 at the beginning of chapter 31 of such title is 

7 amended by striking the item relating to section 504 

8 and inserting the following new item: 

‘‘504. Persons not qualified; citizenship or residency requirements; exceptions.’’. 

9 SEC. 3. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN PERSONS AS HAVING SAT10 ISFIED ENGLISH AND CIVICS, GOOD MORAL 

11 CHARACTER, AND HONORABLE SERVICE AND 

12 DISCHARGE REQUIREMENTS FOR NATU13 RALIZATION. 

14 (a) IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT.—The Im15 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) is 

16 amended by inserting after section 329A (8 U.S.C. 1440– 

17 1) the following: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 329B. PERSONS WHO HAVE RECEIVED AN AWARD FOR 

19 ENGAGEMENT IN ACTIVE COMBAT OR ACTIVE 

20 PARTICIPATION IN COMBAT. 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of naturaliza23 tion and continuing citizenship under the following 

24 provisions of law, a person who has received an 

25 award described in subsection (b) shall be treated— 


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1 ‘‘(A) as having satisfied the requirements 

2 under sections 312(a) and 316(a)(3), and sub3 sections (b)(3), (c), and (e) of section 328; and 

4 ‘‘(B) except as provided in paragraph (2), 

5 under sections 328 and 329— 

6 ‘‘(i) as having served honorably in the 

7 Armed Forces for (in the case of section 

8 328) a period or periods aggregating 1 

9 year; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) if separated from such service, as 

11 having been separated under honorable 

12 conditions. 

13 ‘‘(2) REVOCATION.—Notwithstanding para14 graph (1)(B), any person who separated from the 

15 Armed Forces under other than honorable conditions 

16 may be subject to revocation of citizenship under 

17 section 328(f) or 329(c) if the other requirements 

18 under such section are met. 

19 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.—This section shall apply with re20 spect to the following awards from the Armed Forces of 

21 the United States: 

22 ‘‘(1) The Combat Infantryman Badge from the 

23 Army. 

24 ‘‘(2) The Combat Medical Badge from the 

25 Army. 


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1 ‘‘(3) The Combat Action Badge from the Army. 

2 ‘‘(4) The Combat Action Ribbon from the 

3 Navy, the Marine Corps, or the Coast Guard. 

4 ‘‘(5) The Air Force Combat Action Medal. 

5 ‘‘(6) Any other award that the Secretary of De6 fense determines to be an equivalent award for en7 gagement in active combat or active participation in 

8 combat.’’. 

9 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

10 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) is amended by insert11 ing after the item relating to section 329A the following: 

‘‘Sec. 329B. Persons who have received an award for engagement in active 

combat or active participation in combat.’’. 

Æ 


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