Today U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that it will provide military naturalization services at four overseas military bases, due to the agency’s shifting international footprint and office closures overseas.
Service members and eligible family members who are stationed overseas will now complete their naturalization process at one of four “hubs” located at Camp Humphreys, South Korea; Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan; U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart, Germany; and Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy. These hubs were selected based on their proximity to locations where USCIS international offices historically provided the most overseas military naturalization services.
“Ensuring that the men and women who dedicate their lives to protecting the United States of America can become citizens while serving abroad is of paramount importance,” said USCIS Acting Director Ken Cuccinelli. “These service members and their families sacrifice so much to keep our country safe and free. I thank the Department of Defense for partnering with USCIS to ensure naturalization services remain available throughout their deployments overseas.”
USCIS officers, in close coordination with the Defense Department, will travel to each hub for one week each quarter to provide onsite naturalization services and answer applicant questions. Appointments will be required so that USCIS officers have case information necessary to complete the process. In fiscal year 2018, USCIS recieved 347 overseas military naturalization applications. Thus far in FY 2019, the agency has received 520.
The first hub visits by USCIS officers are scheduled to occur in late October and early November to Camp Humphreys, South Korea, and Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan, respectively. The USCIS office in Seoul closes on Sept. 30, making this region the first to receive onsite services at a hub location. Other overseas regions will phase in to this hub approach over the next nine months. If an applicant is unable to travel to the designated hub during the quarter that USCIS officers will be there, USCIS will follow exisiting procedures and coordinate with the applicant on a case-by-case basis to determine the best way to handle their case.
