Mr. Speaker. the country was recently faced with. the- distressing circumstance of a petitioner. for naturalization. who was fully eligible for that exalted privilege except for the fact that although she had fully complied with all of the requirements for naturalization as the spouse of a U.S. citizen. her eligibility failed suddenly because of the death. in action. of her husband in the Armed Forces. shortly before the final hearing on her petition. Under the existing law. this unfortunate result must follow because the spouse of a U.S. citizen who applies on that basis. with the accompanying exemptions from the usual requirements of law. must be a "spouse" right up until the final hearing on the petition when citizenship is conferred by the court. There is no provision for a person in the situation I have mentioned who becomes widowed just before the final hearing. In my view. provision should be made to permit the naturalization of the surviving spouse of a U.S. citizen who dies during the period the citizen spouse is in an active duty status in the Armed Forces of the United States. In that direction. last Thursday I introduced H.R. 10135. a bill to amend the existing law. My bill would permit naturalization of such a person. male or female. upon compliance with the usual requirements of the naturalization law. except that the petitioner will be required to have resided in the United States for only 3 years after being lawfully admitted for permanent residence and to establish that he has lived in marital union with the deceased citizen spouse from the date of marriage until the date of death of the citizen spouse. My bill specifically declares that no specified period of physical presence within the United States. or residence within the State in which the petition is filed. or specified period during which the citizen spouse was a citizen. or specified period of marital union with such citizen spouse. shall be required in respect to a petition for naturalization under the amendment provided by my bill. I believe that there can be no question that the surviving spouse of a citizen who dies while on active duty in the Armed Forces should be given these exemptions in order to permit naturalization.
Keywords matched
naturalization