QUNATICO HOSTS ALL-MILITARY NATURALIZATION CEREMONY
Thirty-nine active-duty service members representing all five branches of the
U.S. military became citizens during a special military naturalization ceremony
held on Marine Corps Base Quantico. Joining the new citizens to celebrate the
swearing in were U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Deputy Director
Michael Petrucelli and Brigadier General William Cato, Commander, Marine Corps
Systems Command.
“As the Deputy at USCIS, I have had the privilege of attending numerous
naturalization ceremonies. While each is special in it’s own way, military
ceremonies are extra significant,” said Deputy Director Petrucelli. “Today,
we naturalized men and women who had pledged to die in defense of liberties they
had yet to receive. Thousands of immigrant troops are making extraordinary sacrifices
for America. There is no more fitting way for a grateful nation to demonstrate
its appreciation than through expedited citizenship.
The new Americans hail from the following 27 countries: Afghanistan, Barbados,
Bolivia, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, Ghana, Guyana, Jamaica,
Korea, Liberia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland,
Romania, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, and United
Kingdom.
Under an Executive Order signed by President Bush in July 2002, legal permanent
residents actively serving in the U.S. military, and legal permanent residents
who were on active duty on September 11, 2001 or after, and honorably discharged,
are immediately eligible to apply for naturalization. The President is authorized
to waive the normal residency requirements for naturalization during specified
periods of military hostilities. The July 2002 Executive Order designates the
War on Terrorism, including the current conflict in Iraq, is such a period. More
than 19,000 military personnel have become U.S. citizens since the Executive Order
was enacted.
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