Over 100,000 noncitizens joined the US military between 2010 and 2021. Image: Deutschlandreform/Shutterstock.com
The armed services should do more to provide service members who are not U.S. citizens with information that would expedite the naturalization process, the government’s top watchdog agency stated.
In a report last month, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) noted that more than 100,000 noncitizens joined the armed services between 2010 and 2021.
Naturalization applications, meanwhile, have fallen. GAO cites a 78-percent drop from 11,000 to 2,500 between 2017 and 2018 as an example, citing DoD policy changes.
“The military services don’t ensure timely certification of applicants’ service and could provide more information to service members on the military naturalization process,” GAO stated. The report offered several recommendations, directed at each individual service.
First, they should develop procedures that would “ensure timely processing of military service certifications,” GAO stated. Four of the five armed services lack such procedures.
Also, the report called upon DoD to ensure that each service tell non-citizens how they can get naturalization assistance. Additionally, GAO recommended that the services assess the progress of actions they have undertaken to enhance the naturalization process.
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