Military naturalization could get revoked. Here's exactly when.

The statutory trigger is specific: if you're separated from the Armed Forces under other-than-honorable conditions before logging 5 aggregate years of honorable service, your citizenship is at risk. Once you hit five years of honorable service, that revocation ground under that military naturalization law is gone.

One thing most people don't know, though: USCIS cannot administratively revoke naturalization on its own. It takes a final order in a judicial proceeding. That's not a small distinction.

The discharges that create exposure

There are several discharge categories. “Honorable” and “general under honorable conditions” are good for military naturalization. Other than honorable, bad conduct, and dishonorable are "bad paper." The four that matter here:

Other Than Honorable (OTH): administrative, not punitive. Think drug use, force or violence, abuse of authority, security violations, civilian arrests, and convictions. An OTH can make you ineligible for naturalization.

Bad Conduct Discharge: punitive, comes out of a General Court-Martial. Drunk driving, insubordination, petty theft. Same ineligibility risk, plus the court-martial conviction carries its own immigration consequences.

Dishonorable Discharge: General court-martial only. Desertion before an enemy, drug distribution, sexual assault, and murder. This is the most severe.

Uncharacterized: This type of discharge is generally given to individuals who serve on active duty for less than 180 days (such as failing to complete basic training). While typically "uncharacterized," it can occasionally be designated as "honorable" or "under other than honorable conditions." The new 2025 policy states that this does NOT allow military naturalization.

The one that may keep immigration attorneys up at night: certain court-martial convictions, such as drug trafficking, crimes of violence with a sentence of one year or more, qualify as aggravated felonies under immigration law. That's a permanent bar to naturalization.

The 2025 update practitioners need to have on their radar

Effective August 1, 2024, USCIS changed how it treats uncharacterized discharges. One issued before that date still satisfies the "under honorable conditions" requirement. One issued on or after that date does not. If you're advising anyone with an uncharacterized discharge, the date matters.

There's still an exit ramp

A discharge upgrade, through the Discharge Review Board within 15 years or the Board for Correction of Military Records, can restore eligibility. It's not easy, but it's real.

The overlooked caveat

If a service member is an LPR who qualifies under both military and civilian naturalization statutes, run the comparison before filing. The civilian path doesn't carry the same revocation exposure as the 5-year honorable service rule. The military path does. That asymmetry should drive the decision, not just speed.

Revocation risk is bounded. Aggravated felony bars are not. Know which one you're actually dealing with.

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