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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Armed Forces Citizen-
ship Act of 2003’’. 
SEC. 2. NATURALIZATION THROUGH SERVICE IN ARMED 
FORCES. 
(a) REDUCTION OF PERIOD FOR REQUIRED SERV-
ICE.—Section 328(a) of the Immigration and Nationality
Act (8 U.S.C. 1439(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘three 
years,’’ and inserting ‘‘one year,’’. 
(b) PROHIBITION ON IMPOSITION OF FEES RELAT-
ING TO NATURALIZATION.—Title III of the Immigration 
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.) is amended—
(1) in section 328(b)—
(A) in paragraph (3)—
(i) by striking ‘‘honorable. The’’ and 
inserting ‘‘honorable (the’’; and 
(ii) by striking ‘‘discharge.’’ and in-
serting ‘‘discharge); and’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(4) notwithstanding any other provision of 
law, no fee shall be charged or collected from the 
person for filing the application, or for the issuance 
of a certificate of naturalization upon being granted 
citizenship, and no clerk of any State court shall 
charge or collect any fee for such services unless the 
laws of the State require such charge to be made, 
in which case nothing more than the portion of the 
fee required to be paid to the State shall be charged 
or collected.’’; and 
(2) in section 329(b)—
(A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 
the end;
(B) in paragraph (3), by striking the pe-
riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(4) notwithstanding any other provision of 
law, no fee shall be charged or collected from the 
person for filing the application, or for the issuance 
of a certificate of naturalization upon being granted 
citizenship, and no clerk of any State court shall 
charge or collect any fee for such services unless the 
laws of the State require such charge to be made, 
in which case nothing more than the portion of the 
fee required to be paid to the State shall be charged 
or collected.’’. 
(c) NATURALIZATION PROCEEDINGS OVERSEAS FOR 
MEMBERS
OF ARMED FORCES.—Notwithstanding any 
other provision of law, the Secretary of Homeland Secu-
rity, the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of Defense 
shall ensure that any applications, interviews, filings, 
oaths, ceremonies, or other proceedings under title III of 
the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1401 et 
seq.) relating to naturalization of members of the Armed 
Forces are available, to the maximum extent practicable, 
through United States embassies, consulates, and United 
States military installations overseas.
(d) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 328(b)(3) of 
the 
Immigration 
and 
Nationality 
Act 
(8 
U.S.C. 
1439(b)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘Attorney General,’’ 
and inserting ‘‘Secretary of Homeland Security,’’. 
(e) EFFECTIVE DATES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), this section and the amendments made by 
this section shall take effect on the date of the en-
actment of this Act. 
(2) REDUCTION
OF
PERIOD
FOR
REQUIRED 
SERVICE.—The amendment made by subsection (a) 
shall take effect as if enacted on September 11, 
2001. 
(3) FEES.—The amendments made by this sec-
tion to sections 328 and 329 of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1439–1440), insofar as 
such amendments prohibit the imposition of a fee, 
shall not be construed to require the refund or re-
turn of any fee collected before the date of the en-
actment of this Act.
Æ