LOS ANGELES (AP) — A U.S. Army specialist born in South Korea has sued to demand a response to her American citizenship application after the military moved to honorably discharge her.
Yea Ji Sea, a 29-year-old from Gardena, California, who has served four years and is assigned to the duty station at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, filed a lawsuit Thursday in federal court.
She came to the country as a child on a visitor visa and held other visas before enlisting in 2013.
She applied to naturalize in 2014 but was denied after immigration officials alleged there was a fraudulent document in one of her visa applications.
Sea reapplied for citizenship in 2016, but has not yet received an answer. Once discharged, she can’t work legally and could face deportation proceedings.
A Department of Justice spokesman declined comment. Messages were sent to the Defense Department and Army.
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