Speaker. I urge the Members of the House to vote favorably on the conference report on H.R. 15147. This legislation will place the noncitizen national serving in our forces during the Vietnam conflict on the same basis with noncitizen nationals serving in our forces during World War I. World War II. and the Korean conflict. It will enable the noncitizen veteran to be naturalized without satisfying a residence requirement. He must serve honorably and have been either legally within the United States when he enlisted or a lawfully admitted permanent resident. Enactment of this report will give foreign nationals serving in Vietnam fair naturalization treatment. They should obviously be afforded the same benefits as those who served our country in other wars. The bill recommended by the conference report extends those naturalization benefits to anyone having military service during a period designated by the President as a period in which the Armed Forces of the United States were engaged in military operations involving armed conflict with hostile foreigh forces. This is consistent with the existing provisions of section 329 of the Immigration and Nationality Act which it proposes to amend. This section represents a long legislative history which has made service during prescribed periods the sole criterion for eligibility. Moreover. this report contains a provision to exempt members of the Armed Forces who would be eligible for naturalization under the provisions of this report from the payment of naturalization fees. The Subcommittee on Immigration and Nationality has spent considerable time on this proposal. It is only just that Vietnam veterans be treated the same as those of other wars. Therefore.
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naturalization Immigration noncitizen naturalized