INA 328 Military Naturalization: Eligibility, Filing, and Deadlines

Military naturalization under INA 328 lets a lawful permanent resident who has served honorably in the U.S. armed forces for at least one year become a U.S. citizen on a faster timeline than civilian applicants. The core benefit: if you file while you’re still serving or within six months of an honorable discharge, the usual five-year residency and 30-month physical-presence requirements are waived entirely.¹ The provision applies regardless of whether the country is at war, which is why it’s sometimes called the peacetime military naturalization path.

Who Qualifies

You need at least one year of honorable service in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, or Space Force, in either active or reserve status. National Guard service can also count. That year does not have to be continuous; eight months in one enlistment and five months in another add up.¹²

If you’ve already separated, every period of your service must have ended with an honorable discharge. A single separation under less-than-honorable conditions disqualifies you even if your other service periods were exemplary. The military branch confirms this through a certified statement.¹

A recent change matters here. USCIS now treats uncharacterized discharges issued on or after August 1, 2024 as failing the “honorable conditions” standard. Uncharacterized discharges issued before that date still qualify.³

The military service piece is only part of it. INA 328 does not waive the other core naturalization requirements:

You must be a lawful permanent resident. Green card status is required; INA 328 does not waive it.
You must be at least 18 when you file Form N-400.⁴
You must show good moral character for the five years before filing through the time you naturalize.²
You must read, write, and speak basic English, pass the civics test, and show attachment to the Constitution.

The Six-Month Window and What Happens If You Miss It

The residency waiver is the whole point of INA 328 for most applicants. File while you are still serving, or within six months of an honorable discharge, and the five-year continuous residence and 30-month physical presence requirements disappear.¹

Miss that window and you lose the full waiver, but not the whole benefit. Any time you spent in military service during the five years before filing counts as both residence and physical presence in the United States. So if you served four of those five years, you only need to show one additional year of U.S. residence.¹ Filing late does not shut you out. It just adds requirements.

Check Whether INA 329 Applies to You First

Many people looking at INA 328 actually qualify under INA 329, which is more generous. INA 329 covers anyone who served honorably during a designated period of hostilities. The current open-ended hostilities period began on September 11, 2001 and remains in effect.⁵ If any of your service falls on or after that date, INA 329 almost certainly gives you a better path.

Under INA 329, you do not need a green card. You can have as little as one day of honorable service. There is no minimum age. Residency and physical presence are fully waived no matter when you file. And the statute itself prohibits any fee for the application or certificate.⁶

INA 328 is really the right vehicle if all your service predates September 11, 2001 or falls into a gap between designated hostility periods. If any of your service overlaps the post-9/11 period, look at INA 329 first.

Forms and Filing

The application itself is Form N-400. What you file alongside it depends on your status.

If You Are Currently Serving

File Form N-426, Request for Certification of Military or Naval Service, together with your N-400. The N-426 is your proof of honorable service and must be signed by authorized military personnel before it goes to USCIS.⁷ The certifying official is generally at pay grade O-6 or higher, or a civilian at GS-15 or higher. Recruiters cannot certify the form, and each branch has its own policy on who can, so check yours.⁸

If You Have Separated

Do not submit an N-426. Instead, include a copy of your DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, for each period of service. National Guard members submit NGB Form 22 or an equivalent discharge document.⁷

Either way, include a copy of your green card. Fill in the travel, address, and employment sections of the N-400 carefully. Mistakes there are one of the most common causes of processing delays.

Fees, Biometrics, Interview

The standard N-400 filing fee is $710 online or $760 by mail.⁹ INA 329 fees are waived by statute. For INA 328 filers, USCIS has historically waived or reduced fees for military applicants, so confirm the current policy on the USCIS military naturalization page before you file.

After filing, USCIS schedules a biometrics appointment at a local Application Support Center for fingerprints and a photograph. Biometrics are mandatory for naturalization applicants.¹⁰ Then comes an in-person interview covering your background, moral character, and the English and civics tests. If you pass, you take the Oath of Allegiance at a naturalization ceremony and receive your Certificate of Naturalization.

If You Are Overseas

Active-duty service members stationed abroad may be able to complete the interview and oath ceremony at a U.S. military installation overseas. Separated veterans living abroad face a harder road: USCIS no longer coordinates with Customs and Border Protection to hold naturalization interviews and ceremonies at ports of entry, so veterans outside the country must obtain a visa or parole to enter the United States for the interview.³

The Five-Year Revocation Rule

This part catches people off guard. If you naturalize through military service and then receive an other-than-honorable discharge before you have completed five years of aggregate honorable service, your citizenship can be revoked.¹ That five-year clock is separate from the one-year minimum needed to qualify. Naturalize after a single year of service and you leave a four-year window in which a bad discharge could undo your citizenship.

This revocation provision sits on top of all other grounds for revoking naturalization, such as fraud in the application. The same five-year rule applies to INA 329 applicants.⁶

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1439 – Naturalization Through Service in the Armed Forces
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 2 – One Year of Military Service During Peacetime (INA 328)
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Updates Guidance on Military Naturalization
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I Am a Lawful Permanent Resident of 5 Years
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 3 – Military Service During Hostilities (INA 329)
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1440 – Naturalization Through Active-Duty Service in Time of War or National Emergency
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. N-426, Request for Certification of Military or Naval Service
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Request for Certification of Military or Naval Service
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. N-400, Application for Naturalization
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 2 – Biometrics Collection