Concerns regarding eligibility of non-citizens

RobertEXT

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Apr 27, 2021
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Good evening, today I started my application for USAFA. At the pre-candidate questionnaire it stated that you must be a US citizen to proceed. Previously, I thought that I just had to be a citizen prior to arriving at the academy. That being said, I can start my naturalization process October 14th this year. I am aware that the process usually takes around 5 months. Will this affect my application if I am even eligible at all? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
Successful College Reapplicant here.
tldr: Yes you are eligible, but it could affect your application timeline.

When I applied last cycle (2024), I started the application for USMA, USNA, USAFA, & USMMA before I had my US citizenship. I naturalized about 3 months after I finished all 4 applications. However, you will NOT receive an appointment until you provide proof that you naturalized. You can still complete the academy applications, take the CFA, DODmerb, apply for nominations, etc. however you won't be fully qualified for an appointment by the committee until you become a US citizen. In some cases, for high-achieving students, my RC [for USMA] told me that they give out LOA's contingent on providing proof of citizenship-- but I didn't get one and they're pretty rare.
Also I didn't make it that cycle because I didn't get a nomination, but ended up reapplying this year and got in. I personally believe that it actually worked out better this way because I had more time to apply for a US passport and more time to take care of any personal (foreign) affairs that could affect my security clearance process.

Also, 5 months? You must live in a pretty rural area. I live in a mid/large city and the whole process took me 23 months (and this was PRE-Covid). From what I heard from some friends going through the process right now, the USCIS offices throughout the country are backloaded by about 4 months. The estimated timeline is 10-24 months right now.

My advice: Just apply, and if for some reason you can't naturalize in time, just reapply next year.
 
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