The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued a Policy Alert (PA-2025-22), effective immediately, updating naturalization guidance for former non-U.S. citizen service members.
The new guidance explains that uncharacterized discharges no longer meet the requirement of a separation “under honorable conditions” for former non-U.S. citizen service members to naturalize under Sections 328 and 329 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), specifically when the separation occurred on or after August 1, 2024.
This change is consistent with an amendment to the Department of Defense Instructions (DODI) on August 1, 2024, which removed language that had previously treated an “uncharacterized” discharge as “under honorable conditions” for “administrative matters.” For a discharge to qualify as “under honorable conditions,” the only accepted characterizations are “Honorable” and “General-Under Honorable Conditions.”
The authority to determine if the discharge was “under honorable conditions” rests with the Department of War (DOW), formerly the U.S. Department of Defense. Alien service members who were discharged under less than honorable conditions, such as for failure to comply with COVID vaccination requirements, may request a change in the “characterization of their discharge” with the DOW.
In addition to the discharge characterization updates, USCIS is rescinding guidance that provided for offering naturalization interviews and oath ceremonies for former service members at ports of entry. Consequently, USCIS will no longer coordinate with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to have USCIS officers conduct naturalization interviews and oath ceremonies of certain alien veterans at a port of entry.
Instead, former non-U.S. citizen service members of the U.S. armed forces who reside overseas must now seek a visa or parole to enter the United States for a naturalization interview. The update also includes administrative changes, such as replacing all instances of the term “Department of Defense” with the new name, “Department of War.”
Kishor Panthi
View More PostsKishor Panthi is the founder and editor-in-chief of Khasokhas and NepYork. He is the author of three books, “Kampan,” "UNTRANSLATABLE" and “Zero Mile.” He writes about social issues, immigration, and politics.
