Gaining US citizenship gets harder for immigrant soldiers

A growing number of immigrant soldiers are being denied citizenship even after reporting for duty.

Monday is Memorial Day in the United States, when Americans honour the military servicemen and women killed on duty.

But not all those who serve in the US military are American born.

Around 40,000 immigrants in military service hope to gain US citizenship.

But in 2017, the Pentagon announced major changes to the way non-citizens are recruited, leading to long delays.

Al Jazeera’s Heidi Zhou-Castro explains why from Washington.