The United States is grateful to immigrants who have worked for the government or the military. One sign of this gratitude is the privilege of applying for naturalization and citizenship is less than the usual five-year waiting period.
There are two separate laws regulating this privilege: one for a “wartime” military naturalization procedure and another for a “peacetime” naturalization process.
In 2013, the Obama administration went even further, offering undocumented immigrants who are close relatives of active soldiers and veterans to stay in the U.S. and obtain permanent resident status.
Like Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, this reform comes not in the form of a law but as an executive order. But it reduces the anxieties of men and women fighting for the country that their close relatives will be removed from the country.
The new policy applies to active-duty members of the Army, Air Force, Navy, plus the Coast Guard, reservists in the National Guard, and to all veterans.
Their spouses, children and parents are now eligible for a parole in place, meaning they will be allowed to remain in the United States and can proceed, in many cases, to apply for green cards.
Immigration law often affects members of the military and their families, as immigrants form an important element in our armed forces. At Mark E. Jacobs, P.C., in Dallas, Texas, lawyer Mark Jacobs works with families to use the leverage of military service to pave pathways to permanent legal residency and citizenship for themselves and loved ones.
You shouldn’t have to fight America’s enemies and USCIS at the same time. Call Dallas military immigration attorney Mark E. Jacobs at 972-445-7577, or write to him using this email link.