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On 19 October 2009 USCIS Bangkok District Deputy Director Stacy Strong and Seoul Field Office Director Kenneth Sherman visited the aircraft carrier USS George Washington to enable nine sailors to complete the naturalization process. The two USCIS officers held interviews and made it possible for the nine sailors to take the naturalization tests. The nine sailors were originally from China, the Dominican Republic, Guinea, Jamaica, the Philippines, and the United Kingdom.
Deputy Director Strong pointed out that immigrants who are in the armed forces are given priority and will be naturalized more quickly than normal. During fiscal year 2009, immigration officers from USCIS' Bangkok District naturalized 640 members of the U.S. armed forces in ceremonies in Afghanistan (183), Japan (276), the Philippines (4), and South Korea (177).
