Corporal Fernando Ruiz Baltazar Posthumous Citizenship Act of 2025

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6355 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 6355

    To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to extend honorary 
  citizenship to otherwise qualified noncitizens who enlisted in the 
   Philippines and died while serving on active duty with the United 
  States Armed Forces during certain periods of hostilities, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 2, 2025

  Mr. Cisneros (for himself, Mr. Sessions, Ms. Chu, and Mr. Scott of 
  Virginia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to extend honorary 
  citizenship to otherwise qualified noncitizens who enlisted in the 
   Philippines and died while serving on active duty with the United 
  States Armed Forces during certain periods of hostilities, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Corporal Fernando Ruiz Baltazar 
Posthumous Citizenship Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. GRANTING OF POSTHUMOUS CITIZENSHIP TO OTHERWISE QUALIFIED 
              NONCITIZENS WHO ENLISTED IN THE PHILIPPINES.

    (a) In General.--Section 329A(b) of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act (8 U.S.C. 1440-1(b)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(b) Noncitizens Eligible for Posthumous Citizenship.--
            ``(1) In general.--A person referred to in subsection (a) 
        is a person who, while an alien or a noncitizen national of the 
        United States--
                    ``(A) served honorably in an active-duty status in 
                the military, air, or naval forces of the United States 
                during any period described in the first sentence of 
                section 329(a);
                    ``(B) died as a result of injury or disease 
                incurred in or aggravated by that service; and
                    ``(C) either--
                            ``(i) satisfied the requirements of clause 
                        (1) or (2) of the first sentence of section 
                        329(a); or
                            ``(ii) enlisted, reenlisted, extended 
                        enlistment, or was inducted in the Philippines 
                        and died during the period beginning September 
                        1, 1939, and ending December 31, 1946.
            ``(2) Determination of satisfaction of requirements.--The 
        executive department under which a person described in 
        paragraph (1) served shall determine whether the person 
        satisfied the requirements of subparagraphs (A), (B), and 
        (C)(ii) of paragraph (1).
            ``(3) Posthumous benefits.--In the case of a person to 
        which paragraph (1)(C)(ii) applies--
                    ``(A) section 319(d) shall not apply; and
                    ``(B) section 1703 of the National Defense 
                Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 (Public Law 108-
                136; 117 Stat. 1693; 8 U.S.C. 1151 note) shall not 
                apply.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 329A(c)(2) of the Immigration 
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1440-1(c)(2)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A)(i), by inserting ``(or, in the case 
        of an individual to which clause (ii) of subsection (b)(1)(C) 
        applies, the date of the enactment of such clause (ii))'' after 
        ``the date of enactment of this section'';
            (2) by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting the 
        following new subparagraph:
                    ``(B) the request is accompanied by a duly 
                authenticated certificate from the executive department 
                under which the person served which states that the 
                person satisfied the requirements of--
                            ``(i) subparagraphs (A) and (B) of 
                        subsection (b)(1); and
                            ``(ii) if applicable, subparagraph (C)(ii) 
                        of subsection (b)(1); and''; and
            (3) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``of subsection 
        (b)(3)'' and inserting ``of subsection (b)(1)(C)(i)''.
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