Featured in Immigration Rundown
Servicemember to citizen: a few things to keep in mind
Starting in 2016, the U.S. began implementing policies that greatly hindered foreign-born servicemembers from applying for citizenship.
How to become a US citizen through military service
The top resources to help you on your path.
As a child in Baghdad, he watched US Marines on patrol. Now he’ll make Marines as a drill instructor
"I had already been through so much worse, what’s the worst that could happen?”
A beginner’s guide to earning your citizenship through military service
Let's break it down.
Three immigrants who earned the US military’s highest award for combat bravery
As Alfred V. Rascon fought through a rain of grenades, gunfire, and mortars in a heavily engaged firefight, neither Rascon...
He began as an American soldier, he’s now also an American citizen
"I’m ready to serve this country as best I can."
The path from immigrant, to soldier, to officer
"I always wanted to give back."
From civil war to citizenship: A soldier’s journey from El Salvador to US Army service
"The military has had a profound impact on my life."
Iraqi Translator Becomes U.S. Airman
In 2003, Airman 1st Class Saeed Shnawa was not Airman 1st Class Saeed Shnawa. He was a 21-year-old Iraqi student...
Freedom and Opportunity: A Togolese-American story
In West Africa on the Gulf of Guinea stands Lomé, a port of trade and transportation hub that is the...
I dreamed of becoming a Marine my entire life. Then I learned I was undocumented
"I couldn’t work legally. I couldn’t get a driver’s license. Worst of all, I was prohibited from defending my country."
War after the war: The long fight to bring our unsung heroes home
Only time will tell if we will make good on those promises.
Pledging allegiance from Iraqi interpreter to US soldier to American citizen
"I didn't have a normal and safe childhood ... I did this so my kids could live, and be safe"
Meet the refugee who escaped civil war and became an American soldier
At 20 years old, Army Spc. Poe Hsee understands selfless service more than others. Born into the ethnic Karen minority in Burma (Myanmar), Hsee fled to Thailand before moving to the United States when he was 8. He knew nothing about the culture or how to speak much English, but today he’s on his way to achieving U.S. citizenship while stationed with the Oregon Army National Guard in Kosovo.
From Mexico to the US Army, this recruiter excels at serving his adopted country
Staff Sgt. Roberto Morales, a recruiter for Superstition Recruiting Station, Tempe Recruiting Company, was born and raised in Mexico until he left for the United States at the age of 9
Immigrant Guardsman helps community while activated for COVID-19 response
U.S. Army Spc. Juan Herrera, 142nd Area Support Medical Company combat medic, helped spearhead a grassroots effort to deliver food to local families in need during the pandemic
A former war refugee lives the American dream as a Reserve airman
As a result of the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, an estimated 40,000 Bosnian refugees immigrated to St. Louis, Missouri, in the 1990s and early 2000s. Tech. Sgt. Muris Secerbegovic, 433rd Maintenance Group quality assurance inspector in the 433rd Airlift Wing here, was one of them
Deployed soldier becomes US citizen
U.S. Army Spc. Daniel Rivera Romero, a CH-47 helicopter repairer currently deployed with Bravo Company, 628th Aviation Support Battalion, 28th Expeditionary Combat Aviation Brigade, gained U.S. citizenship during a naturalization ceremony here, Aug. 25, 2020.
Holocaust survivor, Korean War hero, and one-man wrecking crew: New comic celebrates MoH recipient Tibor Rubin
A new comic book pays homage to Cpl. Tibor Rubin, a Holocaust survivor whose battlefield bravery during the Korean War was surpassed only by his indomitable spirit.
He was born in a village in Sudan. It took joining the Army to find his home
Seven years before he was granted U.S. citizenship at a federal district courthouse in Des Moines, Pfc. Fortytwo Chotper was learning English from American cartoons in a Kenyan refugee camp
He came to America to join the military. Then he sacrificed his life and became a community hero
On that fateful December night in 2017, he could have easily escaped the flames unharmed, but Emmanuel Mensah's overwhelming sense of duty to both nation and community propelled him back inside the burning building
I was in the wrong fight in Iraq. As an immigration lawyer, I found the right one
Editor's note: this post first appeared in November, 2016 I can’t remember the exact moment (if there even was one)...
The Taliban drove his family out of Afghanistan when he was a child. Now he wants to go back as a Marine
23 years ago, the Taliban drove Pvt. Atiqullah Assadi and his family from their home in Afghanistan. Now, he's a United States Marine, and he intends to go back.
She was born in a Russian prison and became a trailblazing infantry Marine
18-year-old Maria Daume’s path to the yellow footprints of Parris Island, South Carolina, which will culminate in her graduation on Jan. 13 before later heading off to the Marine Corps’ School of Infantry, began years ago in a prison in Siberia, Russia, where she was born.
One State Wants To Help Refugees And Immigrants Who Aided US Troops Abroad Pay For College
Maytham Alshadood came to the U.S. and Colorado in 2008 after years of serving as a combat interpreter for American...