Surviving Family Members of Military Personnel: Naturalization under INA 319(d) and Immigration Benefits under Pub. L. 108-136 §1703

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319(d) Is a Naturalization Provision

The Policy Manual explains that the spouse, child, or parent of a U.S. citizen service member who died during honorable service may apply for naturalization under INA 319(d). They must satisfy the general naturalization requirements, but are exempt from the U.S. residence and physical presence requirements. A widow or widower must have been living in marital union with the service member at the time of death and must not have been legally separated; the Policy Manual states that eligibility is retained after remarriage.

§1703(h) extends 319(d) to children and parents, and (f) makes it applicable to spouses of persons granted posthumous citizenship as well. The naturalization condition under 319(d) is death “during honorable service,” which is not the same as the combat-related death requirement for green card benefits under §1703(a)–(e); the two must not be conflated.

This is a pathway to citizenship, not a category for obtaining permanent residence; this site lists it in the family section to distinguish it from green card pathways.

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§1703(a): Surviving Family Members of Citizen Service Members Retain Immediate Relative Status

The common prerequisites in the original text of Pub. L. 108-136 §1703 (GovInfo public law HTML, codified as a note at 8 U.S.C. 1151) are that the deceased was a U.S. citizen, served honorably in an active-duty status in the military, air, or naval forces of the United States, and “died as a result of injury or disease incurred in or aggravated by combat.” This is more accurate than the shorthand “killed in combat”: death need not have occurred on the battlefield, but the injury or disease must have been combat-related.

(a)(1) Spouse: A person who was the deceased’s spouse at the time of death, was not legally separated, and files a petition under INA 204(a)(1)(A)(ii) within 2 years after the death continues to be treated as an immediate relative until remarriage; the spouse’s children may also benefit. (a)(2) Children: Changes in age or marital status after the death do not affect immediate relative status, but a petition must be filed within 2 years. (a)(3) Parents: A petition likewise must be filed within 2 years, and the deceased need not have been at least 21 years old.

The USCIS memorandum dated 2006-04-03 (HQPRM 70/6.1.1P) interprets “combat-related” according to Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs standards: death may be attributable to an injury or disease for which a Purple Heart was awarded, or the injury or disease may have been incurred as a direct result of armed conflict, while performing hazardous service, while performing duty under conditions simulating war, or through an instrumentality of war.

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§1703(b)–(e): Adjustment Applications Filed Before Death and Persons Granted Posthumous Citizenship

(b) If the deceased met the same conditions of honorable active-duty service and combat-related death and was granted posthumous citizenship under INA 329A, adjustment of status applications filed by the deceased’s spouse, children, or parents before the death may be adjudicated as if the death had not occurred.

(c) Spouses or children of persons granted posthumous citizenship: If they were included in an F2-category petition (INA 203(a)(2)) filed by the deceased and have not yet been granted permanent residence, they may be treated as valid petitioners for immediate relative classification; those not included in any family-based petition may self-petition within 2 years. (d) The deceased’s parents may self-petition within 2 years. These individuals may receive deferred action, advance parole, and employment authorization. (e) The public charge ground of inadmissibility under INA 212(a)(4) does not apply to persons receiving immigration benefits under this section.

Forms: The original law establishes the right to self-petition; the 2006 memorandum instructed spouses, children, and parents at that time to use Form I-360 (which could be filed concurrently with Form I-485). The current I-360 instructions reread for this review do not separately list the requirements for surviving family members under §1703. For the actual form and filing procedure, follow current USCIS instructions.

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Other Situations

If a nonmilitary U.S. citizen spouse dies, the general widow/widower I-360 process applies; if a permanent resident or another petitioner dies, consult 204(l) or humanitarian reinstatement.