Naval Station Great Lakes, Illinois. (November 21, 2024): The U.S. Navy welcomed a slew of new Americans this week who obtained their citizenship through military service. In this photo by Petty Officer 1st Class John Suits, recruits take the Oath of Allegiance to the United States during a naturalization ceremony in the Recruit Memorial Chapel here. Naturalization ceremonies like these have taken place in more than thirty countries from Albania to the United Arab Emirates. Since 2002, the U.S. has naturalized more than 187,000 members of the armed forces both at home and abroad.
The largest number of naturalizations come from the Army (60%) followed by the Navy (20%), the Air Force (16%) and the Marines (6%). The service with the fewest military naturalizations is the Coast Guard at less than one percent.
Most of these new citizens hail from the Philippines, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, and Ghana representing over thirty eight percent of all naturalizations since 2020. The next five countries of birth — Haiti, China, Cameroon, Vietnam, and South Korea — comprised an additional 16% of military naturalizations from 2020 to 2024.
To be eligible to gain U.S. citizenship through service in the armed forces, candidates must:
- Be 18 years old or older.
- Have served honorably at any time in the U.S. armed forces for a period or periods totaling at least 1 year.
- Demonstrate that you were separated under honorable conditions.
- Demonstrate the ability to read, write and speak English.
- Demonstrate knowledge of U.S. history and government.
- Demonstrate good moral character for at least five years.
- Demonstrate an “attachment to the principles of the U.S. Constitution and be well disposed to the good order and happiness of the United States.”
Support Our Troops welcomes these young people willing to earn their citizenship by serving and defending our great nation.