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Military Immigrant Program a Success

Chris Gafner — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 12:38:46 +0000

Last February the U.S. military instituted a pilot program to allow for certain temporary immigrants to enter into the Armed Forces in key, strategically important positions. The program has been a great success and will hopefully expand in the coming years. Over a thousand recruits have enlisted through the program.

The program allows for foreign nationals living in the United States on temporary visas to enter into the military if they possess certain language abilities or certain, in demand, skill sets (such as medical physicians). The program is a win-win for both sides: the military gets highly skilled and critically important recruits while the foreign nationals get the opportunity to become U.S. citizens at an accelerated speed.

The New York Times quotes military officials as saying these recruits score 20% higher on military entrance tests than regular recruits and have significantly more education than other recruits.

Let’s hope the program is full speed ahead in the years to come.

Over 10,000 Soldiers Became U.S. Citizens Last Year

Chris Gafner — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:39:01 +0000

Last year, 10,505 U.S. service members became U.S. Citizens. This is the largest number since the Vietnam War. Being a member of the Armed Forces offers numerous advantages to those seeking to become U.S. Citizens. These advantages include a waiver of the $675 application fee and accelerated eligibility for citizenship.

To learn more about becoming a citizen, please visit Gafner Law Firm’s citizenship website.

Immigrant Soldier with Temporary Visa Becomes U.S. Citizen

Chris Gafner — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 12:52:21 +0000

The USCIS recently announced that the first nonimmigrant soldier to participate in the Defense Department’s Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MAVNI) recruiting program has become a naturalized U.S. Citizen. As previously discussed on the Immigration Insight blog, MAVNI allows a foreign national who is in the United States on a temporary visas to enter an accerated track to U.S. Citizenship if the foreign national agrees to serve in the U.S. military. Although it is only open to those foreign nationals who have special, high-need skills or language expertise, MAVNI is an excellent win-win situation for the nation and for the soldier. In this case, the soldier is a medical doctor who joined the Army in April and become a naturalized citizen this month. The soldier will now serve in the U.S. military for a minimum of six years.

For more information, please contact Gafner Law Firm, or visit the military’s MAVNI website.

Nonimmigrant Recruits Sworn in at Times Square

Chris Gafner — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 10:30:00 +0000

As was previous reported on this blog, the United States recently began to recruit nonimmigrants into the military in an attempt to fill critical-need positions. Last week the New York Times reported about the first of these recruits to be inducted into the military. Judging from the article, the program appears to be a success. Over four thousand nonimmigrants have applied for the program and, so far, fifty-two nonimmigrants have enlisted. Of those fifty -two recruits: 11 have master’s degrees, 31 have bachelor’s degrees, and four have associate degrees.

Congratulations to all. Those fifty-two recruits will soon be eligible for naturalization and the United States has fifty-two new protectors.

Military to Recruit Non-Immigrants and Offer Citizenship

Chris Gafner — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 11:07:00 +0000

The New York Times is reporting that the United States Military will recruit non-immigrants into its ranks for the first time since the Vietnam War. Non-immigrants who volunteer to serve the country will have the opportunity to naturalize within six months of entering the miilitary.

Non-immigrants are foreign nationals who are legally in the United States on a temporary basis. The military is seeking to fill critical military positions, including medical care, language interpretation and field intelligence.

Currently, over 29,000 foreign born individuals serve in the U.S. Military.