NATURALIZATION THROUGH MILITARY SERVICE

This thesis analyzes the accelerated process for immigrants to become naturalized citizens in the United States and the arguments made for and against the allowance of the process and having immigrants serve in the U.S. military. Immigrants have been serving in the U.S. armed forces since the Revolutionary War and have had an expedited pathway to citizenship since 1952, when the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) of 1952 established guidelines to the process. The Trump administration enacted policy changes that impacted the ability of the Military Accessions Vital to National Interest (MAVNI) program to recruit service members and the ability for members to be naturalized. This thesis explores the history of changes made to the immigration and naturalization policy and how that has influenced the policy in place today. The standard and accelerated policies are described as well as the goals of the MAVNI program. The discussion continues into the main arguments made for the allowance of immigrants to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces and those against, as well as recommendations for the path forward with allowing immigrants to serve in the armed forces and the continued use of the process for naturalization through military service.Lieutenant, United States NavyApproved for public release. Distribution is unlimited