"The number of noncitizens serving in the U.S. armed forces peaked in 2003 at 37,000, after President Bush signed an order waiving the three-year waiting period for active-duty service members to apply for citizenship if they had joined before Sept. 11, 2001. Legislation passed the following year waived application fees for active-duty service members and allowed them to be sworn in as citizens overseas. There currently are about 25,000 noncitizens in uniform, said Maj. Stewart Upton, a Defense Department spokesman. About 8,000 noncitizens enlist each year, he said."