Pentagon Announces MAVNI Program Reinstatement

We reported previously on the expected MAVNI reinstatement for 2012, and the official announcement came from the Pentagon this week: MAVNI has been reinstated until May 16, 2014.

The popular Department of Defense (DoD) naturalization program was first introduced as a pilot in 2009, and was extended after a delay due to the finalization of enhanced security and monitoring protocols, according to the DoD memorandum.  A new skills and languages list has been designated for 2012, with the addition of some languages not allowed previously in the program.   Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MAVNI), allows certain non-citizens who are legally present in the United States to join the Army and apply immediately for U.S. citizenship without first obtaining lawful permanent residence. Other participating branches include the Marine Corps, Air Force, and Navy.
 


To be eligible for the program, applicants must have been legally present in the U.S. for at least two years and possess the skilled medical training or language skills the DoD has designated as in demand.  Those who are out of status or undocumented, visitors on B visas or the Visa Waiver Program, as well as those with serious criminal records, are ineligible for the program.  Those who previously maintained H status and fell out of status after filing an application for adjustment of status may be allowed to participate on a case-by-case basis.  Applicants in nonimmigrant status must not have a single absence of more than 90 days in the two year period prior to applying for the program.

Through the military naturalization process applicants pay no fees for the application, but do have a contractual obligation to serve in the military for a minimum of four years active duty for language recruits, or a choice of three years active duty or six years Select Reserve for medical recruits. In either case, a recruit has an eight-year contractual commitment to the military, including non-active service, and the naturalization can be revoked if an applicant does not provide at least five years of honorable service.
 
This program could help many people with limited immigration options, including J-1 physicians who have been in the U.S. for two years and have a U.S. medical license, but are subject to the two-year home residence requirement.  Such physicians could naturalize without completing the home residence requirement nor requesting a waiver.  Nurses could also benefit when they might otherwise have difficulty obtaining appropriate work visas.  Those in TPS, U or T status for at least two years could also enlist and naturalize when they might otherwise have very limited immigration options.
 


For 2012, those in the following fields may apply: General Dentists, Oral Surgeons, Comprehensive Dentists, Prosthodontists, Oral Surgeons, Preventive Medicine, Urologists, Anesthesiologists, Ophthalmologists, Otolaryngologists, Pediatricians, Psychiatrists, Internists, Family Physicians, General Surgeons, Thoracic Surgeons, Orthopedic Surgeons, Emergency Medicine Physicians, Nuclear Science Officers, Entomologists, Licensed Clinical Social Workers, Physician Assistants, Licensed Clinical Psychologists, Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners, and Nurse Anesthestists. 
 


Those with skills in the following languages may also apply: 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, Nepalese, Pashto, Persian Dari, Persian Farsi, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Sindhi, Serbo-Croatian, Singhalese, Somali, Swahili, Tagalog, Tajik, Tamil, Thai, Turkish, Turkmen, Urdu (with citizenship or birth certificate from Pakistan or Afghanistan), Uzbek, and Yoruba.