USCIS issues updated guidance on naturalization for veterans living overseas

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services has issued an updated guidance providing clarification regarding certain naturalization applications filed by veterans of the US Armed Forces. Under the law, specifically INA section 329, certain veterans who served and were honorably discharged from the military but are not lawful permanent residents may file an Application for Naturalization even if they are presently residing outside the United States. Unlike in an ordinary naturalization application where there is a residency requirement, veterans are exempted from this requirement. Under this updated guidance, veterans who are eligible to naturalize may be admitted or paroled into the US for the purpose of completing their naturalization interview and ceremony in coordination with the US Customs and Border Protection.

Current service members and their eligible family members may complete the naturalization process via remote secure video and they are not required to be present in the US for any part of the naturalization process. This is a distinction that must be underscored between a veteran and a current military member filing for naturalization.

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In another development, now that there is an updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the USCIS has also relaxed its visitor policy. Fully-vaccinated individuals are no longer required to wear a face covering. Those who are two years old and older who are not fully vaccinated must still wear face covering. As defined, a fully-vaccinated individual is one who has received the second dose of the two-dose vaccine at least two weeks prior or one who has received a dose of a single-dose vaccine two weeks prior. USCIS has also eased restrictions for fully-vaccinated individuals with no COVID-19 symptoms, those who have recent travel in the past 10 days, and healthcare workers. My unsolicited advice is that if you have an interview or appointment with the USCIS local office, it is best to give them a call ahead of time and to be at the office earlier than usual.

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Speaking of lifting of restrictions, Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York has announced that COVID-19 restrictions are lifted immediately as there are now 70% of New Yorkers aged 18 or older who have received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. This means that the state's health guidance on social gathering limits, face coverings, capacity restrictions, social distancing, cleaning and disinfection, health screening and contract tracing are now optional for retail, food services, offices, gyms, fitness centers, amusement and family entertainment centers, hair salons, barber shops and personal care services and other commercial settings. Exempted from this updated guidelines are large-scale indoor event venues, pre-K to grade 12 schools, public transit, homeless shelters, correctional facilities, nursing homes, and healthcare settings.

This is a very significant milestone for every New Yorker. Remember that the state was once the epicenter of COVID-19 leading the nation in coronavirus cases and deaths. During the pandemic, the "City That Never Sleeps" turned into a ghost town where everyone seemed to have abandoned the city. Though there were a lot of mistakes made by incumbent officials, and there is a proper time and venue of reckoning for those fatal errors, the rise of New York is better attributed to the resilience, tenacity, and courage of its people. Slowly, New Yorkers rebuilt the state, block by block, town by town, city by city, into what is now a better and stronger New York. Cebuanos have a lot to learn from this New York experience and from other places where COVID-19 was successfully contained.