Do you know that people who are not citizens of America are part of our military?

My ex was a regugee from Guatemala and served 4 years in the Army, First Airborn. He is still not a naturalized citizen, but has an American wife and family. I told him he should never go to Arizona, because he might be deported.

Anyone who served in the armed forces of the U.S. should de facto become a U.S. citizen.

Canadians often fight in the U.S. forces.

@tinyfaery I agree they should be able to be citizens in short order once serving. From what I understand they have changed some things to make it easier for military to become citizens, but I have a feeling it isn’t enough.

No! OMG! Run! Hide! We’re ALL gonna DIE! Hehehe!

It’s always been like this. The military makes incredibly easy for them to become citizens. If they don’t become a US citizen, it’s because they don’t want it.

I still find it surprising. My husband actually was supposed to sign up for selective service when he first came here on a student visa. He didn’t know, no one had told him, and he had done all his immigration paperwork paying a high priced immigration lawyer. When he was able to apply for citizenship years later, he had a problem because he had never signed up. We were able to straighten it because he did not intentionally avoid signing up for selective service, and he had come to America when the military admitted themselves they would not have sent him information to sign up, or something like that. Whatever it was he was not held accountable because of the specific years he actually had lived here in America. I don’t see why anyone would know to sign up to be in another country’s military while living there temporarily, having pledged no oath to defend the country.

@rts486 It can’t be true it has always been easy, because there has been reports on the fact that they have made efforts to streamline the process. It also has been discussed rather recently in politics.

It wasn’t easy 10 years ago. I’m not sure about now.

@tinyfaery: Hilarious but scary true about AZ. I live in this shitehole state and when I first moved and was applying for jobs, the attitude I got about supplying documents was horrible. It was if I was living the Cheech Marin movie where he’s deported even though he’s a citizen. I feel sorry for anyone who has to live here who looks anything other than anglo.

@Neizvestnaya A week ago this guy I was talking to told me he thinks the first state to secede will be AZ and it will not be without bloodshed.

@JLeslie: I don’t know anyone that extremist out here but it wouldn’t surprise me either. I’m just trying to get my family the hell out of here and back home in the next few years.

@Neizvestnaya I don’t believe it for a second. The guy was from Kentucky if I remember correctly. Anyway, big right winger on everything we discussed. His friend said it would be TX first. They were wild to listen to, all sorts of opinions. I figured if there was bloodshed, he was envisioning the federal government against Arizonians (is that what people from AZ are called?) I figure it would be a civil war within the state borders.

Hey, that just gave me an idea for a new question.

@JLeslie When I was still on active due (a span of 30 years), I knew quite a few people who gained their citizenship. I never heard any of them complain about how hard it was. Rather I saw how much the command took an interest in it. That might be the difference. How much the particular service and command is willing to get behind the person.

When I was in the Navy, the U.S. had a close relationship with the Philippines. We had Filipino cooks, and storekeepers. They would do their 20 or thirty years in the Navy then retire to the Philippines and live like princes on their retirement money. In fact many Americans married Filipinas and retired to the islands, raise families and enjoy the good life.