President Signs Bill Easing Naturalization Requirements for Hmong Veterans

IMMIGRATION LAW & POLICY

Naturalization and Citizenship

PRESIDENT SIGNS BILL EASING NATURALIZATION REQUIREMENTS FOR HMONG VETERANS Immigrants’ Rights Update, Vol. 14, No. 4, July 26, 2000

President Bill Clinton has signed a bill that exempts up to 45,000 Hmong immigrants from having to meet the English language requirement for naturalization. Under the new law, Hmong veterans who militarily assisted the United States during the Vietnam War, as well as their spouses or widows, may take the citizenship test with an interpreter’s assistance. In addition, they will receive "special consideration" with regard to the "knowledge of U.S. history and government" requirement that naturalization applicants must meet in order to become citizens.

The president, who signed the measure into law on May 26, 2000, characterized it as a "tribute to the service, courage, and sacrifice of the Hmong people who were our allies in Laos during the Vietnam War." It is appropriate that the requirements be eased, the president added, because until recently the Hmong language did not have a written form. Since illiteracy in one’s native language makes it particularly difficult to gain literacy in a second language, learning English and gaining knowledge about the history and government of the U.S. has been especially difficult for Hmong refugees living here.

To qualify for the exemption, Hmong veterans must have served with a special guerrilla unit or irregular forces that operated in Laos in support of the U.S. military between Feb. 28, 1961, and Sept. 18, 1978. Eligible Hmong have until Dec. 26, 2001, to apply for naturalization under this law’s provisions.