Ever heard of MAVNI? No! Let me tell you what it is all about. In November 2008, a memorandum was signed by the U.S Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, giving authority to all army secretaries, The Air force, the Army and the Navy to implement a new non-citizen recruitment pilot program for the United States Armed Forces. This program is to allow non citizens of the US already in the United States legally to join the military and apply immediately for, and get US citizenship within 6 months. The program is called the, “Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest” MAVNI for short.

The idea was initiated in 2002 after the invasion of Iraq and the military was having a bit of a problem recruiting new cadets. So to incentivize the process they applied this unique opportunity to recruit non us citizens. The program is a one year pilot study expected to end by December 2009. Then depending on the outcome of the study it could be discontinued or rolled out. For the United States Army it is expected to provide about 14,000 recruits every year.

Requirements for applying for the MAVNI program include:-

– Applicant must be legally present in the US
– Applicant must be able to provide legal documents such as passport, employment authorization document etc proving legal presence in the United States
– Must be able to speak one of 35 languages
– Students on visas can also apply

The army will assist the new recruit in his or her application, and if any family members are involved, such as spouses and children, the military will provide the necessary guidance also wave the application fee of $625.