United States of America

The United States Military and Citizenship

The United States of America is one of the most democratic nations in the world, especially in terms of democracy. Ginsberg, 2015, (439) explicitly states in Chapter 14 that the armed unit is one of the most significant weapons of the nation. The president of the United States is the commander in charge of the armed forces, and he is briefed on a variety of topics by several military officials. The military recruiting scheme is held several times a year and is open to all people of the United States. The military hires people from all over the world who want to fight in the United States armed forces. On July 3rd, 2002, President George W Bush signed an executive order where non-citizens serving in the military could apply for citizenship. This meant that non-citizens who had served in the military had the opportunity to gain citizenship. The decision by the president to implement the executive order offers various benefits to military personnel (Samantha, 2011, 64). Once a solder has successfully enlisted in the military, the naturalization process is fast. The naturalization process for other citizens usually takes longer as one has to go through many processes. Military personnel in this case get the opportunity to gain citizenship faster.

Convenience for Military Personnel

The other benefit of the presidential executive order is convenience for military personnel in relation to immigration laws. The United States offers foreign citizens seeking citizenship an opportunity to apply upon which one is offered a green card. The foreign military personnel also go through the same process of getting a green card (Robert, 2015, 28). The executive order however offers an opportunity for members of the military to obtain citizenship faster. It is convenient for a person in the military without overseas deployment to gain citizenship. Convenience of gaining citizenship without participating in battle is one of the major benefits.

Benefits to the Government

The executive order has been in force for a long period and has benefited the government also in various ways. As we get to see on chapter 13, Ginsberg, et al, (2015, 407), the government has provided an opportunity for non-citizens to gain citizenship through military service, which in turn has increased the force. The United States military is one of the biggest in numbers compared to other forces. The government is able to rely on the naturalized citizens to maintain a good standby force in case of an attack. The naturalized citizens are bound to work better with security of citizenship in America.

Economic Benefits

The country’s economy has also benefited since implementation of the presidential executive order. The recruitment process in most cases has various requirements such as academic qualifications (Samantha, 2011, 15). The military offers an opportunity for professionals to enlist in the military which means that various professionals are enlisted every year. The military in this case spends less money in training the academically qualified. The country also saves public funds that could have been used in training. Skills possessed by the enlisted candidates in this case plays a role in building the economy.

Exemption from Fees

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is the body charged with giving various applicants citizenship. The application process requires one to pay some amount of money during the application process. The military personnel are however exempted from paying fees to the body for naturalization purposes, (Ginsberg, et al, 2015, 456). In the end it is clear that, the presidential executive order offers various benefits to the men and women in service. The country also gains various benefits by allowing other citizens to gain citizenship.

References

Ginsberg, Benjamin, Theodore J. Lowi, Margaret Weir, Caroline J. Tolbert, and Robert J. Spitzer. (2015). We the People: An Introduction to American Politics. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.

Robert, B. (2015). Shaping US Military Forces for the Asia-Pacific: Lessons from Conflict Management in Past Great Power Eras. Parameters, vol. 45, no.2: 10-112.

Samantha, O. (2011). Military Veterans and Social Security: 2010 Update. Social Security Bulletin, vol. 71, no.2: 6-84.