Marion County Marine veteran U.S. citizenship status still in limbo

MARION COUNTY, Fla. — A Marion County U.S. Marine Corps veteran is once again in limbo after his third attempt to get citizenship.

Channel 9 first told you about Paul Canton in February of last year.

READ: ‘I didn’t know if I was going to see my wife and kids again’: U.S. veteran denied citizenship decades after service

He’d been living in the U.S. for decades thinking he was a U.S. citizen, and even voted in eight elections before he found out he wasn’t actually a citizen.

Canton didn’t get the news he was hoping for during a naturalization hearing on Wednesday, but it wasn’t all bad news either.

READ: Marion County veteran denied citizenship for second time

Canton said he wasn’t denied, but that immigration officials need to take another look at his military record and do some more research before making a decision.

If he’s denied, he would have to appeal and the next step would be legal action and seeking a green card, but that route could take years.

READ: Veteran dealt another blow in quest for U.S. citizenship

But by serving in the U.S. military, Canton lost his citizenship in Australia, so he has no home country where he can be sent.