PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Jul 28, 2017
Veterans' Pathway to Citizenship Act of 2017
This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide that a current or former member of the Armed Forces who would be eligible for naturalization but is not because of failure to complete a specified period of residence or physical presence within the United States or failure to maintain lawful permanent resident status shall be deemed to be a lawful permanent resident and to have fulfilled any residency and physical presence requirements solely for naturalization purposes.
With respect to any such individual seeking naturalization: (1) a prior removal may be not taken into account for purposes of any immigration benefit or in determining deportability or inadmissibility, and (2) an offense for which a pardon was received may not be taken into account for naturalization purposes unless the offense was the same offense that caused the individual's separation from the Armed Forces in any manner other than honorable.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
A military recruiter or officer overseeing an enlistment shall inform every recruit of, and the Department of Homeland Security shall provide every separating member of the Armed Forces with notice of, naturalization options and available naturalization assistance services.
In the case of a current or former member of the Armed Forces who would be eligible for naturalization but is not because of failure to timely file an application for naturalization, a subsequently filed naturalization application shall be reviewed as if it were timely filed. This provision is repealed one year after the date of enactment of the bill.
People & committees
Rep. Barragan, Nanette Diaz [D-CA-44] · D–CA
Legislative record
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Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security.
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
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No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Aug 11, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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