As of September 27, 2012 the MAVNI program is officially reopened.  MAVNI is expected to remain open until May 15, 2014.

The Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest recruiting program (MAVNI) allows certain noncitizens who have been in the US at least two years to enlist in the Army. The Army is seeking critical language and technical skills, particularly those who are licensed Health Care Professionals into the Officer Corps.

The Department of Defense (DOD) has released the following information for interested applicants.

Benefits for the Soldier:

Soldiers may apply to receive expedited citizenship. The goal is to naturalize all Soldiers by the time they graduate from ten weeks of Basic Training. Soldiers who enlist in this program are able to move from nonimmigrant visa or asylee/refugee/ TPS status directly to citizenship, bypassing the lengthy Green Card process.

Military service is an honorable profession that provides a steady income with benefits for Soldiers and family members, first class training, educational benefits, and may open the door to future opportunities.

Program Criteria:

1. Individuals must be in one of the following categories at the time of their enlistment:

• nonimmigrant categories E, F, H, I, J, K, L, M, O, P, Q, R, S, T, TC, TD, TN, U OR V
• asylee, refugee, Temporary Protected Status (TPS)

2. They must be legally present in the U.S. for a minimum of 2 years without a single extended absence over 90 days.

3. Must meet certain Army criteria to include: a high school diploma, plus qualifying scores on the Armed Forces Qualification Test and proficiency test in the native language.

Current languages recruited:

Albanian ･Amharic ･Arabic ･Azerbaijani ･ Bengali ･Burmese ･Cebuano ･ Cambodian-Khmer ･Chinese ･ Czech ･ French (with citizenship from an African Country) ･ Georgian ･ Haitian Creole ･Hausa ･ Hindi ･ Igbo ･Indonesian ･Korean ･ Kurdish ･ Lao ･ Malay ･ Malayalam ･ Moro (Tausug/Maranao/Maguindanao)･ Nepalese ･ Pashto ･Persian Dari ･ Persian Farsi ･Portuguese ･ Punjabi ･ Russian ･ Sindhi ･ Serbo-Croatian ･Singhalese ･Somali ･Swahili ･Tagalog ･ Tajik ･Tamil ･Thai ･ Turkish ･Turkmen ･ Urdu(with citizenship from Pakistan or Afghanistan) ･ Uzbek ･Yoruba

Current medical specialties recruited:

Regular Army (Active Duty): General Dentist, Comprehensive Dentist, Oral Surgeon, Pediatrician, Psychiatrist, Internal Medicine, Family Practice, General Surgery, Emergency Medicine, Nuclear Science Officer, Entomologist, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, Nurse Anesthetist

Army Reserve: General Dentist, Comprehensive Dentist, Prosthodontist, Oral Surgeon, Preventive Medicine, Urology, Anesthesiologist, Ophthalmology, Otolaryngologist (ENT), Psychiatrist, Family Physician, General Surgeon, Thoracic Surgeon, Orthopedic Surgeon, Emergency Medicine, Entomologist, Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Physician Assistant, Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner

The army has not yet updated its web page for the program but it is expected to be updated soon. The army page and FAQ link can be found here. Or click to read the DOD memo reinstating the MAVNI program or the full text of the MAVNI Information Sheet.

Related Articles:

Pentagon Announces MAVNI Program Reinstatement