There are many reasons why someone would want to join the Air Force, but for some foreign nationals, it could be a streamlined path to US Citizenship!
Citizens of foreign countries provide many benefits, such as advanced foreign language skills, vast cultural experience, and generally make the US Air Force a more diverse military fighting force. These are all critical benefits given the current threats facing the US and the world.
So what are the requirements, and what does the path to citizenship look like?
Let’s break it down.
Joining
In order to enlist in the Air Force as a foreign national there some requirements.
- Must possess an Immigration and Naturalization Service Alien Registration Card (INS Form I-155/551), more commonly known as a “Green Card.” For steps on obtaining a Green Card, see USCIS website.
- Be between 17 and 39-years-old
- Have a high school diploma or GED (with certain ASVAB score requirements)
- Meet minimum ASVAB scores
- Must meet all mental, moral, and physical standards for enlistment
- Must speak, read and write English fluently
CRITICAL LANGUAGE NOTE: The Air Force is currently recruiting certain legal, non-citizens into active duty who have critical language and cultural skills in one of seven strategic languages. You must have a valid and unexpired visa issued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service. See a recruiter for more information.
In a nutshell, you have to meet the minimum requirements of enlistment that everyone else does, but you also have to have a valid Green Card…unless you have a critical language. If you have a critical language, you are special!! You only need a valid visa.
Currently, you can join Active Duty, Reserve, or National Guard Air Force components because we are currently in a period of hostility. In peacetime, active duty would be your only option. See ways to obtain citizenship below.
Also, foreign nationals can only be in an AFSC that does not require a security clearance. Once citizenship is obtained then you can retrain and obtain the needed clearance.
Path to Citizenship
Once you have taken your oath and shipped off to basic training then your path to citizenship starts.
According to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Citizenship for Military Members webpage and Immigration and Nationality Act, Act 328 and 329, there are two ways to obtain citizenship through serving. They are:
- Naturalization through One Year of Qualifying Service during “Peacetime.”
- Naturalization through Qualifying Service during Periods of Hostilities.
You are in luck because right now because the United States is currently in a period of hostility which began on after the terror attacks on September 11th, 2001. This means that you only have to serve 1 day on active duty before you can start your citizenship application!
You’re going to be too busy in basic training to start your application, but you could start it as soon as you get to your AFSC Technical School.
Every base as a naturalization representative that is assigned to assist in military members in the citizenship process. Be sure to look them up immediately to get the ball rolling. The naturalization representative can assist you with:
- Certification of Form N-426
- Information on fingerprinting and how to comply with requirements
- Submitting the Form N-400 package to the Nebraska Service Center (NSC)
After you submit you package, you can expect to be interviewed and tested on US History and the English language.
Because the Department of Defense and USCIS have a memorandum of agreement, the application process is expedited and may take 6 to 8 months. Also, because of your military service, all naturalization fees are waived (only during periods of hostilities).
Now the bad news
If for whatever reason, if you do not obtain citizenship in a timely manner or at all, then there are a few consequences.
- Unable to reenlist without citizenship.
- Possibility of not being able to attend Airman Leadership School (ALS) due to retainability requirements.
- Unable to sew on Staff Sergeant (SSgt) due to not being able to attend ALS.
- Unable to retrain without citizenship.
- Unable to obtain a security clearance without citizenship.
- Ineligible for Palace chase/Palace Front programs without citizenship.
Well, I hope this helps you out in your decision to join as a way to obtain your US Citizenship! Remember though, your recruiter is going to be your main source of information. They’ll have all the most current information on joining.
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