8 U.S.C. § 1426 — Citizenship denied alien relieved of serv-

Page 491 TITLE 8—ALIENS AND NATIONALITY § 1427 1 See References in Text note below. § 1425. Ineligibility to naturalization of deserters from the Armed Forces A person who, at any time during which the United States has been or shall be at war, de- serted or shall desert the military, air, or naval forces of the United States, or who, having been duly enrolled, departed, or shall depart from the jurisdiction of the district in which enrolled, or who, whether or not having been duly enrolled, went or shall go beyond the limits of the United States, with intent to avoid any draft into the military, air, or naval service, lawfully ordered, shall, upon conviction thereof by a court mar- tial or a court of competent jurisdiction, be per- manently ineligible to become a citizen of the United States; and such deserters and evaders shall be forever incapable of holding any office of trust or of profit under the United States, or of exercising any rights of citizens thereof. (June 27, 1952, ch. 477, title III, ch. 2, § 314, 66 Stat. 241.) § 1426. Citizenship denied alien relieved of serv- ice in Armed Forces because of alienage (a) Permanent ineligibility Notwithstanding the provisions of section 405(b) 1 but subject to subsection (c), any alien who applies or has applied for exemption or dis- charge from training or service in the Armed Forces or in the National Security Training Corps of the United States on the ground that he is an alien, and is or was relieved or discharged from such training or service on such ground, shall be permanently ineligible to become a cit- izen of the United States. (b) Conclusiveness of records The records of the Selective Service System or of the Department of Defense shall be conclusive as to whether an alien was relieved or dis- charged from such liability for training or serv- ice because he was an alien. (c) Service in armed forces of foreign country An alien shall not be ineligible for citizenship under this section or otherwise because of an ex- emption from training or service in the Armed Forces of the United States pursuant to the ex- ercise of rights under a treaty, if before the time of the exercise of such rights the alien served in the Armed Forces of a foreign country of which the alien was a national. (June 27, 1952, ch. 477, title III, ch. 2, § 315, 66 Stat. 242; Pub. L. 100–525, § 9(v), Oct. 24, 1988, 102 Stat. 2621; Pub. L. 101–649, title IV, § 404, Nov. 29, 1990, 104 Stat. 5039.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Section 405(b), referred to in subsec. (a), is section 405(b) of act June 27, 1952, ch. 477, title IV, 66 Stat. 280, which is set out as a Savings Clause note under section 1101 of this title. AMENDMENTS 1990—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 101–649, § 404(1), inserted ‘‘but subject to subsection (c)’’ after ‘‘section 405(b)’’. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 101–649, § 404(2), added subsec. (c). 1988—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 100–525 substituted ‘‘Depart- ment of Defense’’ for ‘‘National Military Establish- ment’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1990 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 101–649 applicable to exemp- tions from training or service obtained before, on, or after Nov. 29, 1990, see section 408(e) of Pub. L. 101–649, set out as a note under section 1421 of this title. § 1427. Requirements of naturalization (a) Residence No person, except as otherwise provided in this subchapter, shall be naturalized unless such ap- plicant, (1) immediately preceding the date of filing his application for naturalization has re- sided continuously, after being lawfully admit- ted for permanent residence, within the United States for at least five years and during the five years immediately preceding the date of filing his application has been physically present therein for periods totaling at least half of that time, and who has resided within the State or within the district of the Service in the United States in which the applicant filed the applica- tion for at least three months, (2) has resided continuously within the United States from the date of the application up to the time of admis- sion to citizenship, and (3) during all the periods referred to in this subsection has been and still is a person of good moral character, attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States, and well disposed to the good order and happiness of the United States. (b) Absences Absence from the United States of more than six months but less than one year during the pe- riod for which continuous residence is required for admission to citizenship, immediately pre- ceding the date of filing the application for nat- uralization, or during the period between the date of filing the application and the date of any hearing under section 1447(a) of this title, shall break the continuity of such residence, unless the applicant shall establish to the satisfaction of the Attorney General that he did not in fact abandon his residence in the United States dur- ing such period. Absence from the United States for a contin- uous period of one year or more during the pe- riod for which continuous residence is required for admission to citizenship (whether preceding or subsequent to the filing of the application for naturalization) shall break the continuity of such residence, except that in the case of a per- son who has been physically present and resid- ing in the United States, after being lawfully ad- mitted for permanent residence, for an uninter- rupted period of at least one year, and who thereafter is employed by or under contract with the Government of the United States or an American institution of research recognized as such by the Attorney General, or is employed by an American firm or corporation engaged in whole or in part in the development of foreign trade and commerce of the United States, or a subsidiary thereof more than 50 per centum of whose stock is owned by an American firm or