S. 2840 is being considered on the floor under suspension of the rules and will require a two-thirds majority vote for passage. This legislation was introduced by Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) on April 10, 2008. The Senate passed this bill with an amendment on September 24, 2008.

S. 2840 is expected to be considered on the floor of the House on September 27, 2008.

This bill establishes an Office of the FBI Liaison in the Department of Homeland Security. The office will assist in processing the naturalization of Armed Forces members, spouses of service members, and deceased individuals eligible for posthumous citizenship. S. 2480 authorizes such sums as necessary for this Act.

S. 2840 requires that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services must process and adjudicate naturalization applications within six months.

The Comptroller General must report to Congress regarding the time taken to process and adjudicate applications for the naturalization filed by service members, deceased service members, and their spouses and children.

The provisions of this Act will sunset five years after enactment.

Many foreign-born members of the U.S. Armed Forces face significant delays in the processing and adjudicating of their naturalization applications. The delays result, in part, from lengthy Federal Bureau Investigation (FBI) background checks. Foreign names and military status also contribute to these processing delays.

Since September 2001, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has naturalized more than 37,250 foreign-born members of the US Armed Forces. Foreign-born troops have a long history in the Armed Forces. According to USCIS, foreign born soldiers composed half of all military recruits by the 1840s and 20 percent of the 1.5 million service members in the Union Army during the Civil War.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has not produced a cost estimate for S. 2840 as of September 26, 2008.