H.R. 5535 — Veteran Service Recognition Act of 2025

This section directs the Secretaries of Defense, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs to jointly conduct a study, due not later than one year after enactment, on noncitizen veterans and former Armed Forces members removed from the United States from January 1, 1990, through the date of enactment who served more than 180 days. The study must include (1) the number of such individuals removed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or the Immigration and Naturalization Service; (2) for each, country of nationality or last habitual residence, total service length, grounds of removal under INA §212(a) (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)) or §237(a) (8 U.S.C. 1227(a)), and whether they appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals; (3) counts of those honorably discharged, discharged under other than honorable conditions, deployed overseas, serving in overseas contingency operations, awarded decorations or medals, who applied for or received VA benefits; and (4) reasons certain applicants were denied VA benefits. Not later than 90 days after study completion, the secretaries must submit a report with results to the appropriate congressional committees.

This section directs the Secretary of Homeland Security, not later than 180 days after enactment, to establish (1) a protocol for identifying noncitizens who are or may be veterans and (2) a system—shared across DHS components including Enforcement and Removal Operations, the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Military Family Immigration Advisory Committee—to maintain information on such veterans, including data from the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. It further requires DHS to consider system information in removal proceedings or adjudications involving potentially removable noncitizen veterans; prohibits initiating such proceedings without first checking the system; mandates concurrent notification to the Military Family Immigration Advisory Committee if a veteran is identified; and requires annual training for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel on the protocol, beginning in the first fiscal year after establishment.

This section establishes the Military Family Immigration Advisory Committee to advise the Secretary of Homeland Security on exercising discretion (e.g., termination of proceedings, parole, deferred action, stay of removal, administrative closure, or other relief) in removal proceedings involving (1) members of the Armed Forces, (2) veterans, or (3) covered family members. The committee consists of 9 members appointed by the Secretary and, within 30 days of identifying or receiving notice of a case, must review it and submit a written recommendation, weighing favorable factors such as military service, medals or deployments, community contributions, and support for service members (and a precluding factor of 5 convictions for driving while intoxicated, unless over 25 years old). The Department of Defense must provide briefings and records on noncitizen veterans under review; the Department of Homeland Security must provide quarterly briefings on actions taken on recommendations and relevant case files; no individual may be ordered removed until the committee submits a recommendation; and individuals inadmissible due to a conviction for murder, rape, or other aggravated felonies under INA §101(a)(43)(A) are ineligible for review.

This section establishes a joint program between the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and the Department of Defense (DoD) to facilitate naturalization under section 329 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) (8 U.S.C. 1440)—which expedites naturalization for noncitizens serving honorably during presidentially designated periods of armed conflict—for eligible noncitizens by allowing applications on or after the first day of active duty or Selected Reserve service and requiring issuance of the required certification within 30 days of request. The section further (1) requires DoD to train Judge Advocate General Corps members as USCIS liaisons and all military recruiters on naturalization steps, family member limitations, and DHS points of contact; (2) directs each military department to submit annual reports to congressional committees on noncitizen enlistments or appointments, naturalizations, and discharges without citizenship; (3) deems honorable service in support of a contingency operation (as defined in 10 U.S.C. 101(a)(13)) as qualifying under INA section 329; and (4) amends INA section 328 (8 U.S.C. 1439)—which expedites naturalization for noncitizens with one year of honorable service outside designated conflict periods, waiving standard residence requirements—to extend the post-service application filing window to one year (from six months) in subsections (a) and (d).

This section directs the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security, to ensure that an employee of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) or, if impracticable, a member of the Armed Forces or Department of Defense employee trained in immigration laws is stationed or employed at each Military Entrance Processing Station to inform each non-citizen military recruit processed there about naturalization through service in the Armed Forces under sections 328 and 329 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1439–1440). (As background, those sections waive standard residency and physical presence requirements for otherwise eligible non-citizens with at least one year of honorable active-duty service under sec. 328 or service during designated periods of hostilities under sec. 329.)

This section establishes authority for the Secretary of Homeland Security to adjust the status to lawful permanent resident (LPR), or admit for LPR status, a noncitizen subject to a final order of removal if the noncitizen is a veteran and, consistent with specified waivers, is not inadmissible. The Secretary may waive most grounds of inadmissibility under INA §212(a) (8 U.S.C. 1182(a))—except those involving security/espionage-related activities (INA §212(a)(3)) or human trafficking (INA §212(a)(2)(H))—as well as inadmissibility under INA §212(a)(2)(A) for convictions of specified aggravated felonies (murder, rape, or sexual abuse of a minor under INA §101(a)(43)(A), (I), or (K)) or five convictions for driving while intoxicated (including driving under the influence or impaired by alcohol or drugs, unless the conviction is over 25 years old), if the waiver is in the public interest. Public interest determinations must consider the noncitizen's military service and the recency and severity of any underlying offenses. The section further (1) directs the Secretary to establish implementing procedures by rule within 180 days of enactment; (2) exempts approved LPRs from numerical limits under INA §§201-203 (8 U.S.C. §§1151-1153); (3) creates a presumption of good moral character under INA §101(f)(1)-(8) (8 U.S.C. 1101(f)(1)-(8)) for those granted LPR status; and (4) prohibits removal of prima facie eligible noncitizens until a final administrative ineligibility decision and exhaustion of remedies, allows applications notwithstanding prior removal orders or voluntary departure without a motion to reopen, and requires cancellation of removal orders upon approval.

This section deems immediate relatives (i.e., spouses, unmarried minor children, or parents) of U.S. citizens who served at least two years on active duty or in a reserve component of the Armed Forces—and, if discharged, under honorable conditions—to have been inspected and admitted into the United States for purposes of adjusting to lawful permanent resident status pursuant to an approved immediate relative petition. Such relatives are also exempt from four grounds of inadmissibility under INA §212(a) (i.e., present without admission or parole, fraud or misrepresentation, documentation requirements, and prior unlawful presence).

This section establishes definitions for terms used in the Act, including (1) "Advisory Committee" as the Military Family Immigration Advisory Committee established under section 4; (2) "appropriate congressional committees" as the specified Senate and House committees on Armed Services, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs or Homeland Security, Judiciary, and Veterans' Affairs; (3) "Armed Forces" as defined in 10 U.S.C. §101(a)(4); (4) "covered family member" as the noncitizen spouse or noncitizen child of a member of the Armed Forces or a veteran; (5) "immigration laws" as defined in section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. §1101); (6) "noncitizen" as an individual who is not a citizen or national of the United States, as defined in section 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. §1101(a)); and (7) "veteran" as defined in 38 U.S.C. §101.