US immigration naturalises first MAVNI military enlistee

July 21 2009 by Mark Johnstone

US visa for first MAVNI military recruit

The first non-citizen to be made a member of the US military under a pilot recruitment scheme has become a US citizen following a naturalisation ceremony.

The ‘Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest’ (MAVNI) pilot programme is to run for a year and will allow as many as 1,000 non-citizens who do not have a permanent resident status allowing them to live and work in the US long-term, to become members of the US military. These non-immigrants must have lived legally in the US for two years and are likely to hold medical, cultural or language skills that are in demand by the US military.

Although this MAVNI military recruit has been made a citizen very soon after joining the programme, citizenship is not guaranteed under the MAVNI scheme. However, MAVNI members are able to apply for a citizenship and may well be granted the right to move to the US long-term providing they pass the screenings, checks and qualification requirements.

The programme provides a route to citizenship for non-immigrants who would like to join the armed forces and who possess skills that are particularly in demand by the military. This is particularly of interest to foreigners who moved to the US on student visas or who are working in the US temporarily.

See the latest Immigration News