Citing a need for “smart and talented people”, the U.S. Army has doubled its enlistment cap for foreign nationals.
The Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MAVNI) offers U.S. citizenship after basic training is completed — without the need for a green card or lawful permanent residency, making it by far the fastest method to become a citizen, The Wall Street Journal reports.
This program was started in 2009 and currently has a cap of 1,500. The Army wants to double this to 3,000 next fiscal year and eventually bring in 5,000 foreign mercenaries under the auspices of the program.
The Army cites the need for specialized skills like languages such as “Mandarin, Urdu and Arabic. Officials have indicated that 44 different languages could make one eligible for the program.”
Recently, President Obama made illegal aliens eligible for expedited green cards through this program.
While usually the program attracts skilled foreigners in the U.S. on some sort of student or work visa, in September of last year, President Barack Obama expanded the program to allow for kids brought to the U.S., who have recently received deportation reprieve from Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), to apply.
As of April 2, just 43 have enlisted via DACA. The new DACA enlistees will start basic training near the end of this year.
