Naturalization for US military service members is governed by INA §§ 328 and 329, two statutes that materially reduce or eliminate the residency, physical presence, and fee requirements that apply to civilian applicants under INA § 316. Section 328 covers peacetime service and requires one year of honorable service, lawful permanent residence, and good moral character, but waives the five-year continuous residence and 913-day physical presence requirements that govern civilian N-400 filings. Section 329 covers service during designated periods of hostilities and is even more generous: any honorable service qualifies, and the statute waives every naturalization requirement except honorable service and the oath of allegiance. The current designated period of hostilities began on 11 September 2001 and was formally designated by Executive Order 13269, signed by President Bush on 3 July 2002, and remains in effect as of 2025 — meaning every active-duty service member who has served since 11 September 2001 can naturalize under § 329. The application uses Form N-400 with the military box checked, supported by Form N-426 (Certification of Military or Naval Service) authenticated by the service branch, and the filing fee is waived under 8 CFR § 329.2. Service members can naturalize at US embassies and consulates while stationed abroad, can naturalize as young as age 18 (the civilian minimum age is 18, but military members need not wait for any residence period), and the surviving family of a service member killed in action can pursue posthumous citizenship under INA § 329A.
Two statutes: § 328 peacetime and § 329 wartime
The civilian naturalization statute, INA § 316, requires five years of continuous residence, 913 days of physical presence, three months of state residence, good moral character, English and civics knowledge, and attachment to the Constitution. INA § 328 and INA § 329 each carve out a parallel track for military service members that strips away most of those requirements. Section 328 applies to service during peacetime and is the older provision, dating in recognisable form to the Act of 24 June 1948. Section 329 applies to service during periods of active hostilities designated by Presidential Executive Order and is the more generous of the two — it waives every requirement except honorable service. The choice between the two statutes is dictated by the calendar, not by the applicant: a service member who enlisted during the current designated period (since 11 September 2001) files under § 329, while a member who served only outside any designated period files under § 328.
The current designated period of hostilities under § 329 was established by Executive Order 13269, signed on 3 July 2002, and designates the period beginning on 11 September 2001 as a period in which the Armed Forces were engaged in military operations qualifying for the wartime naturalization provisions. That designation has not been revoked and remains in effect as of 2025 — more than 23 years later. A service member who entered on active duty at any point since 11 September 2001 can naturalize under § 329 without regard to the length of service, the location of service, or the residency history. The broader effect is that, in practice, virtually every active-duty applicant since 2001 files under § 329 rather than § 328, and § 328 has become the route used primarily by veterans who served only in the pre-2001 peacetime periods or who prefer its more favourable treatment of certain conduct issues. The filing fee is waived under both sections, and the application is processed on an expedited track at the USCIS Nebraska Service Center, which has a dedicated military naturalization unit.
| Requirement | INA § 316 (civilian) | INA § 328 (peacetime) | INA § 329 (wartime) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Years of honorable service | Not applicable | 1 year, active or reserve | Any length, active or reserve |
| Continuous residence | 5 years (3 if married to US citizen) | Waived | Waived |
| Physical presence | 913 days (548 if married) | Waived | Waived |
| State residence (3 months) | Required | Waived | Waived |
| LPR status required | Yes | Yes (at enlistment or filing) | Yes (at enlistment or filing) |
| Good moral character | Required | Required | Required (statutory period tied to service) |
| English and civics | Required | Required | Required (accommodations available overseas) |
| Designated period of hostilities | Not applicable | Not applicable | 11 Sept 2001 – present (EO 13269) |
| Form N-400 filing fee | $760 paper / $710 online (2025) | Waived | Waived |
| Expedited processing | No | Yes — Nebraska Service Center military unit | Yes — Nebraska Service Center military unit |
| Oath of allegiance | Required | Required | Required |
INA § 328: the peacetime one-year path
INA § 328, codified at 8 U.S.C. § 1439, provides that any person who has served honorably in the US Armed Forces for at least one year may be naturalized without regard to the five-year continuous residence and 913-day physical presence requirements of § 316. The statute applies to both active-duty and reserve service, including the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve, and the one-year requirement is measured by actual service days rather than calendar time — a reservist who drills one weekend per month and two weeks per year accumulates service days at roughly 63 per year and would need approximately six years to reach the one-year threshold. The applicant must be a lawful permanent resident at the time of enlistment (or must have acquired LPR status after enlistment under the special provisions of 8 U.S.C. § 1439(b) for service during the Vietnam, Persian Gulf, or post-9/11 hostilities periods) and must be an LPR at the time of filing. Good moral character during the statutory period is still required, and the statutory period is the five years immediately preceding filing — not the period of service — unless the applicant elects to use the period of service as the statutory period under § 328(b).
The § 328 applicant must still demonstrate attachment to the principles of the Constitution, favourable disposition toward the good order and happiness of the United States, and a working knowledge of English and US civics. The civics test is the same 100-question bank used for civilian applicants, and the English requirement is the same reading, writing, and speaking assessment administered at the naturalization interview. The fee waiver under 8 CFR § 329.2(d) applies to both § 328 and § 329 filings, so the applicant pays no N-400 filing fee, no biometrics fee, and no Form N-426 fee. A § 328 applicant who entered the military as a nonimmigrant (such as an F-1 student or H-1B worker) and acquired LPR status through military service under the MAVNI program (Military Accessions Vital to National Interest, suspended since 2017) can naturalize under § 328 once the one-year service threshold is reached, provided the discharge is honorable. A service member who receives an other-than-honorable, bad-conduct, or dishonorable discharge is statutorily barred from naturalization under both § 328 and § 329 — the discharge characterization is the single most important fact in any military naturalization case.
INA § 329: the wartime path and EO 13269
INA § 329, codified at 8 U.S.C. § 1440, provides that any person who has served honorably in the US Armed Forces during a designated period of hostilities may be naturalized without regard to the residence, physical presence, or time-of-service requirements that govern civilian and § 328 filings. The current designated period began on 11 September 2001 and was formally designated by Executive Order 13269, signed by President George W. Bush on 3 July 2002. The order designates the period beginning 11 September 2001 as one in which the Armed Forces were engaged in military operations qualifying for the wartime naturalization provisions of § 329, and the designation remains in effect as of 2025 — it has not been revoked by any subsequent executive order. The practical effect is that any service member who has served honorably for any length of time — even a single day of active duty — since 11 September 2001 can naturalize under § 329, regardless of how long they have lived in the United States, whether they have ever been an LPR, or how old they were at enlistment.
The § 329 applicant must still be an LPR at the time of filing (or must have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence after enlistment under the special provisions of § 329(b)). Good moral character is required, but the statutory period is compressed to the period since the applicant's enlistment rather than the standard five years — a meaningful reduction for applicants who recently enlisted and whose pre-service conduct would have raised GMC issues. The English and civics requirements are technically still applicable under § 329, but USCIS operates an accommodation regime for deployed service members: interviews can be conducted overseas at US embassies and consulates, civics testing can be deferred until return from deployment, and the dedicated military naturalization unit at the USCIS Nebraska Service Center prioritises § 329 filings with a target processing time of approximately six months from filing to oath, compared to the civilian average of 8 to 12 months. The filing fee, biometrics fee, and Form N-426 fee are all waived. In fiscal year 2023, USCIS naturalised 8,800 service members under §§ 328 and 329 combined, with § 329 accounting for the substantial majority because of the ongoing designated period.
Forms N-400 and N-426: how the application is built
The military naturalization application is built around two forms. Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, is filed with the military box checked at Part 2, Question 14 (military service), and the applicant selects either § 328 or § 329 as the basis for eligibility at Part 2, Question 1. Form N-426, Request for Certification of Military or Naval Service, is completed by the applicant and then authenticated by the service branch's personnel office, which verifies the dates of service, the characterisation of service, and the absence of any pending adverse action. The N-426 is the single most important document in a military naturalization case because it is the primary evidence of honorable service — without an authenticated N-426, the application will be denied even if the service is otherwise documented. The form must bear the signature of an O-6 (colonel or captain) or higher-ranking officer or a designated personnel official, and it must be dated within six months of the N-400 filing.
The supporting documentation includes the applicant's DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) for veterans, the most recent enlistment contract and active duty orders for current service members, the permanent resident card (Form I-551), two passport-style photographs, and the filing fee waiver request (which is automatic under § 328/§ 329 and requires no separate form). For deployed service members, USCIS permits the N-400 and N-426 to be filed by mail or online from overseas, and the biometrics appointment can be conducted at a US military installation's biometrics collection facility or deferred until the service member returns to the United States. The interview is conducted by a USCIS officer — either at a domestic field office or at a US embassy or consulate under the overseas naturalization provisions of 8 CFR § 329.2(f) — and the oath ceremony can be administered overseas by a USCIS officer, by a military judge advocate, or by the US ambassador or consul. The total filing cost for a military naturalization case is $0 in USCIS fees, compared to $760 (paper) or $710 (online) for a civilian N-400 — a saving that, combined with the expedited processing, makes § 328 and § 329 the fastest and cheapest naturalization routes in US immigration law.
Overseas naturalization at US embassies and consulates
Service members stationed abroad can naturalize without returning to the United States, a feature unique to §§ 328 and 329 and unavailable to civilian applicants. Under 8 CFR § 329.2(f), a service member stationed overseas can file the N-400 and N-426 by mail to the USCIS Nebraska Service Center, attend the naturalization interview at a US embassy or consulate, and take the oath of allegiance at the same embassy or consulate — typically during a single visit. USCIS deploys officers to US embassies and consulates on a rotating basis to conduct military naturalization interviews and oath ceremonies, with priority given to forward-deployed locations such as Camp Humphreys (South Korea), Ramstein Air Base (Germany), and US Naval Base Guantanamo Bay (Cuba). The service member's command must release the member for the interview and oath, and the embassy's consular section must have capacity to host the USCIS officer — scheduling can take four to eight weeks from the N-400 filing.
The overseas naturalization process is functionally identical to the domestic process for §§ 328 and 329: the same forms, the same fee waiver, the same English and civics requirements, and the same oath of allegiance. The Certificate of Naturalization (Form N-550) is issued on the spot at the oath ceremony, and the new citizen can apply for a US passport at the same embassy or consulate immediately after the ceremony — typically receiving the passport within two to three weeks. The expedited passport fee for a service member is $190 (adult passport book) plus $60 expedited processing, but the passport application fee is waived for service members deployed in support of military operations under 22 CFR § 51.52. The overseas naturalization path is particularly valuable for service members who are not yet LPRs and who would otherwise need to wait for an immigrant visa to be processed at the embassy before they could enter the United States to naturalize — under § 329(b), a non-LPR service member who enlisted abroad and who has served honorably during the designated period can be naturalised without ever entering the United States, provided the service branch certifies the enlistment was vital to the national interest.
Posthumous citizenship under INA § 329A
INA § 329A, codified at 8 U.S.C. § 1440-1, provides for posthumous citizenship for service members who die from injury or disease incurred in or aggravated by service during a designated period of hostilities. The provision applies to any service member — whether a US citizen, an LPR, or a nonimmigrant — who died on or after 11 September 2001 in combat or in combat-related training, and who was not a US citizen at the time of death. The posthumous citizenship is effective as of the date of death, and it is granted upon the filing of Form N-644 (Application for Posthumous Citizenship) by the service member's next of kin, surviving spouse, parent, child, or sibling, or by the executor or administrator of the estate. The form is filed with USCIS, the filing fee is waived, and the processing time is typically six to nine months.
The granting of posthumous citizenship under § 329A does not, by itself, confer any immigration benefit on the service member's surviving family members. However, the surviving spouse, children, and parents of a service member whose death qualifies under § 329A are eligible for special immigrant status under INA § 101(a)(27)(D), which allows them to obtain LPR status outside the normal numerical limitations and regardless of their prior immigration status. The surviving family's application is made on Form I-360 (Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant) and is processed by USCIS; once approved, the family members can apply for LPR status on Form I-485 if they are in the United States, or for an immigrant visa at a US embassy or consulate if they are abroad. The provision has been used most heavily in the post-9/11 era: between 2002 and 2023, USCIS granted posthumous citizenship under § 329A to approximately 170 service members, and granted special immigrant status to several hundred surviving family members. The benefit is one of the most generous in US immigration law, and it survives the service member's death — the family's eligibility does not depend on any action the service member took before death.
Case studies
A 19-year-old Marine private (Lance Corporal) enlisted in June 2024 at age 18, three weeks after his 18th birthday, having been a lawful permanent resident since 2016 when his parents sponsored him from the Philippines. He completed boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego in September 2024 and was stationed at Camp Pendleton, California, as an infantryman. Because he enlisted after 11 September 2001 — the start of the designated period of hostilities under EO 13269 — he was eligible to naturalize under INA § 329 immediately, with no minimum service length, no continuous residence requirement, and no physical presence requirement. His command's legal assistance office helped him prepare Form N-400 with the § 329 box checked, and his personnel office authenticated Form N-426 in October 2024, certifying his dates of service and his honorable service status.
He filed the N-400, N-426, and DD Form 214 (or, for an active-duty member, his most recent active duty orders) with the USCIS Nebraska Service Center in November 2024, paying no filing fee and no biometrics fee under the § 329 fee waiver. USCIS scheduled his biometrics appointment at the San Diego ASC in December 2024 and his naturalization interview at the USCIS San Diego Field Office in March 2025 — a four-month processing time, compared to the civilian average of 8 to 12 months. He passed the English and civics tests at the interview and took the oath of allegiance at a ceremony at the San Diego Field Office in April 2025, becoming a US citizen at age 19 and 10 months. Total cost: $0 in USCIS fees. He immediately applied for a US passport ($130 book fee for an adult first-time applicant, no expedite fee because he was not deploying within two weeks), which was issued in May 2025. The entire process from enlistment to citizenship was 10 months.
A 26-year-old Army Specialist (E-4) stationed at Ramstein Air Base in Germany since January 2024 was born in Jamaica and became a lawful permanent resident in 2019 through marriage to a US citizen. She enlisted in the Army in 2022 and deployed to Germany in support of US European Command operations. Because her service began after 11 September 2001, she was eligible to naturalize under § 329 with no residence or physical presence requirement. She filed Form N-400 with the § 329 box checked and Form N-426 authenticated by her battalion personnel officer in February 2025, mailing the package to the USCIS Nebraska Service Center. She paid no filing fee and no biometrics fee. USCIS scheduled her biometrics appointment at the Ramstein Air Base biometrics collection facility in March 2025, and her naturalization interview was scheduled at the US Embassy in Berlin in May 2025, where a USCIS officer was deployed on a rotating basis to conduct military naturalization interviews.
She attended the interview in uniform with her command's permission, passed the English and civics tests, and took the oath of allegiance the same day at the US Embassy in Berlin — administered by the USCIS officer in the embassy's consular section. She received her Certificate of Naturalization (Form N-550) at the ceremony and immediately applied for a US passport at the embassy's consular section, paying the $130 adult passport book fee plus $60 expedite fee (waived because she was deployed in support of military operations). Her passport was issued in three weeks. Total cost: $0 in USCIS fees and $0 in passport fees (the expedite fee was waived and the book fee was waived under 22 CFR § 51.52 for deployed service members). The entire process from filing to oath was four months, and she did not need to leave Germany. She is now a US citizen and can vote in federal elections, hold a security clearance at a higher level, and apply for federal employment that requires US citizenship.
A 32-year-old Navy veteran served on active duty from 2014 to 2018 as a yeoman, completing four years of service and separating in June 2018 with an Other Than Honorable (OTH) discharge characterization following a positive urinalysis for a controlled substance in 2017. He had been a lawful permanent resident since 2010. He filed Form N-400 under § 328 in October 2022, citing his four years of service and arguing that the OTH discharge should not bar naturalization because the underlying conduct was a single positive urinalysis and not a court-martial conviction. USCIS denied the application in March 2023 on the ground that an OTH discharge does not qualify as "honorable service" for purposes of § 328, citing 8 CFR § 328.2(b) and Matter of Rosa, 11 I&N Dec. 630 (BIA 1966). He lost no filing fee because the § 328 fee waiver had applied, but he lost eight months of processing time.
In April 2023, he retained a military law attorney ($4,500 flat fee) to petition the Naval Discharge Review Board (NDRB) for an upgrade of his discharge characterization. The NDRB reviewed his case in November 2023 and upgraded his characterization from OTH to General (Under Honorable Conditions), based on his otherwise unblemished four-year service record, strong performance evaluations, and the passage of five years since the underlying incident. With a General discharge, he now qualified as having "served honorably" for purposes of § 328 under the BIA's decision in Matter of S-, 4 I&N Dec. 522 (BIA 1952), which holds that a General discharge qualifies as honorable service. He refiled Form N-400 under § 328 in January 2024 with the upgraded DD Form 214, paid no filing fee, and was naturalised in August 2024 after a seven-month processing time. Total cost: $4,500 in legal fees for the discharge upgrade, $0 in USCIS fees, and 22 months from the first filing to citizenship. The case illustrates that the discharge characterization is the single most important fact in any § 328 or § 329 case — and that an upgrade, even years after separation, can resurrect a naturalization claim that was previously denied.
Common mistakes
- Filing under § 328 when § 329 is available — Service members who enlisted after 11 September 2001 are eligible under § 329, which waives more requirements than § 328 and has a shorter statutory period for good moral character. Filing under § 328 unnecessarily imposes the one-year service requirement and the five-year GMC statutory period, and can slow adjudication by requiring USCIS to evaluate eligibility under the more demanding statute. Always file under § 329 if the service began on or after 11 September 2001.
- Filing Form N-426 late or with an outdated signature — The N-426 must be authenticated by the service branch's personnel office and must be dated within six months of the N-400 filing. A service member who obtains the N-426 in January and files the N-400 in August will have the form returned as stale, delaying the case by weeks. Obtain the N-426 as close to the N-400 filing date as possible, and verify that the authenticating official is authorized (typically an O-6 or higher, or a designated personnel officer).
- Assuming any discharge characterization qualifies as "honorable" — Only an Honorable discharge and a General (Under Honorable Conditions) discharge qualify as "honorable service" for purposes of §§ 328 and 329. An Other Than Honorable (OTH), Bad Conduct, or Dishonorable discharge is disqualifying, and the BIA has consistently held that the characterisation controls regardless of the underlying circumstances. Veterans with a disqualifying characterization should petition the appropriate Discharge Review Board for an upgrade before filing the N-400 — the upgrade typically takes 12 to 18 months but is the only path to eligibility.
- Failing to request the fee waiver — Although the filing fee is automatically waived under §§ 328 and 329, the applicant must still indicate on the N-400 that the filing is fee-exempt under the military provisions. Applicants who leave the fee section blank or who pay the fee by mistake lose the $710 (online) or $760 (paper) fee — USCIS does not automatically refund fees that were paid in error. Check the appropriate box and pay $0.
- Not requesting overseas processing when stationed abroad — Service members stationed overseas can naturalize at a US embassy or consulate without returning to the United States, but the request must be made affirmatively in a cover letter accompanying the N-400. Service members who file without requesting overseas processing will be scheduled for an interview at a domestic USCIS field office, requiring costly and disruptive travel back to the United States — particularly problematic for forward-deployed members in Korea, Germany, or the Middle East.
- Overlooking the MAVNI and non-LPR service member rules — Service members who enlisted as nonimmigrants (F-1, H-1B, J-1) and who have not yet obtained LPR status cannot naturalize under § 328 or § 329 unless they fall within the narrow § 329(b) exception for service members who enlisted abroad in support of military operations. Most non-LPR service members must first obtain LPR status (typically through the MAVNI program or through a separate immigration petition) before they can naturalize. Filing the N-400 before LPR status is granted will result in a denial and the loss of any fees paid.
- Disclosing conduct during the GMC period that triggers a discharge review — The § 329 statutory period for good moral character is the period since enlistment, not the standard five-year period. Service members who disclose conduct during the GMC period (such as drug use, fraud, or domestic violence) that did not result in disciplinary action can trigger a discharge review by USCIS notification to the service branch, potentially converting an Honorable discharge to an OTH and destroying eligibility. Consult a military law attorney before disclosing any conduct that could affect the discharge characterization.
When to consult a professional
Most straightforward § 329 cases — service members who enlisted after 11 September 2001 with an Honorable discharge, clean GMC, and an LPR card — can be self-managed using the USCIS military naturalization guide and the service branch's legal assistance office, which provides free N-400 preparation assistance to active-duty members. A consultation with an immigration attorney is strongly recommended where any of the following apply. The service member has an OTH, Bad Conduct, or Dishonorable discharge characterization, because a discharge upgrade is required before naturalization is possible. The service member is not yet an LPR and is filing under the § 329(b) non-LPR exception, which involves a separate eligibility analysis. The service member has prior immigration violations, criminal convictions, or GMC issues during the statutory period that could trigger a denial or a discharge review. The service member is stationed overseas and the command is not cooperating with overseas processing, or the service member has already been denied and is considering refiling after a discharge upgrade or a GMC rehabilitation period.
Hourly rates for immigration attorneys with military naturalization experience range from $250 to $500 per hour, and fixed-fee packages for a straightforward § 329 filing typically run from $1,000 to $2,500. Discharge upgrade representation before the Naval Discharge Review Board, the Army Board for Correction of Military Records, or the Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records typically costs $3,500 to $7,500 on a flat-fee basis, with a 12-to-18-month processing time. The Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAG) provides free legal assistance to active-duty service members for many naturalization matters, but JAG attorneys cannot represent service members before USCIS or in federal court — for that, a private immigration attorney is required. For more on the broader naturalization framework, see our N-400 timeline, our physical presence guide, and try our US citizenship physical presence calculator to verify the parent's presence record before filing (the calculator is primarily for civilian § 316 cases, but service members can use it to document pre-service presence if helpful).
Frequently asked questions
Yes. INA § 329 requires only that the service be "honorable" and that it occur during a designated period of hostilities — there is no minimum length of service. The current designated period began on 11 September 2001 and remains in effect as of 2025. A service member who served a single day of active duty during the designated period, with an Honorable or General discharge characterization, is eligible to naturalize under § 329 without regard to the length of service, the location of service, or the residency history. The one-year minimum service requirement applies only to § 328 (peacetime) filings.
Yes. The Board of Immigration Appeals has consistently held that a General discharge qualifies as honorable service for purposes of §§ 328 and 329, while an Other Than Honorable (OTH), Bad Conduct, or Dishonorable discharge does not. The distinction matters because many service members receive a General discharge for minor misconduct or medical reasons, and they remain eligible for military naturalization. The DD Form 214 will show the characterization in block 24 ("Character of Service"), and USCIS will use that characterization to determine eligibility.
Yes. Under 8 CFR § 329.2(d), the N-400 filing fee, the biometrics fee, and the Form N-426 fee are all waived for filings under §§ 328 and 329. The applicant pays $0 to USCIS. The waiver is automatic — no separate fee waiver request (Form I-912) is required — but the applicant must indicate on the N-400 that the filing is fee-exempt under the military provisions. The passport application fee is a separate matter and is not automatically waived, although 22 CFR § 51.52 waives the passport expedite fee for deployed service members and waives the passport book fee for service members deployed in support of military operations.
Yes, but only under §§ 328 and 329. Under 8 CFR § 329.2(f), service members stationed overseas can file the N-400 by mail, attend the naturalization interview at a US embassy or consulate, and take the oath of allegiance at the same embassy or consulate. USCIS deploys officers to US embassies and consulates on a rotating basis to conduct military naturalization interviews and oath ceremonies, with priority given to forward-deployed locations. The request for overseas processing must be made affirmatively in a cover letter accompanying the N-400 — otherwise, USCIS will schedule the interview at a domestic field office, requiring travel back to the United States.
For more on the broader naturalization framework, see our N-400 timeline guide, our physical presence guide, our green card to citizenship timeline, and try our US citizenship physical presence calculator to model the pre-service presence record if relevant.
Last reviewed June 26, 2026. This article is informational and does not constitute legal, tax, or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional for guidance specific to your situation.