Veterans Visa and Protection Act of 2026

The Veterans Visa and Protection Act of 2026 establishes a program to allow noncitizen veterans who were previously removed from or barred from entering the United States to return and obtain permanent resident status. It requires government officials to reopen and terminate removal cases for eligible veterans, provided they were not deported due to violent crimes or serious offenses involving at least five years in prison. The bill also mandates that noncitizen service members and veterans cannot be removed unless convicted of a crime of violence, while granting them access to military benefits and a streamlined path to naturalization. Additionally, the law directs immigration authorities to identify at-risk veterans, seek supervisory approval before initiating removal proceedings against them, and annotate official records with specific details about their military service.