U.S. Army Reneges on Contracts for Foreign-Born MAVNI Recruits

[TampaChinnodu]

U.S. Army Reneges on Contracts for Foreign-Born MAVNI Recruits

09 Oct 2017

U.S. Army recruiters have canceled enlistment contracts for many foreign-born military recruits recruited through the Military Accessions Vital to National Interest (MAVNI) program. Reports state that these contracts have been cancelled because of the burdensome enlistment process for these types of recruits. Recruiters are instead focusing on individuals who can enlist with less hassle in order to satisfy recruitment targets. Cancelling these contracts could leave many of these foreign-born service men and women in a perilous position, as they typically have faced lengthy waits for their background checks to clear and are now without legal immigration status.

Background: MAVNI program

The MAVNI program was implemented in 2009 to recruit nonimmigrants with certain medical or linguistic skills critical to the success of U.S. military operations. Eligible applicants must be legally in the United States, including in nonimmigrant status (except A, B, and G statuses); asylee, refugee, or temporary protected status; or as a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) recipient. The program allows eligible applicants to bypass the lawful permanent residence (“green card”) process and become U.S. citizens after basic training or commissioning. More than 10,000 individuals have signed up, and many have already become U.S. citizens.

Cancellation of Contracts Could Expose Hundreds of Recruits to Removal

As discussed in the MurthyDotCom NewsBrief, New Vetting Policies Create Delays, Doubts for U.S. Military Path to Citizenship Under MAVNI Program (15.Jun.2017), the MAVNI program faced significant  backlogs due to the stringent screening methods imposed on recruits. Many of these men and women remained in the United States waiting for their background checks to be completed. For many, this lengthy process caused their previous status to expire. Now, these same recruits have had their contracts canceled and are currently in the U.S. with no legal status.

Conclusion

The MAVNI program has been successful in recruiting nonimmigrants with critical skills helpful for the U.S. military. In exchange for their service to this country, eligible applicants have been given an expedited path to U.S. citizenship. Unfortunately, hundreds of foreign-born individuals who have signed up to serve the United States through military service have recently had their enlistment contracts canceled and many are now facing serious immigration issues. The recent change in policy is indeed unfortunate as it violates a promise made to innocent men and women who were willing to risk their lives in service to this country.

[tennisluvr]

Yeah man this is old news, nothing new with that. 

Chaala mandi naaku telisinollu either dropped out themselves or were dropped from the program. 

[MathuloMazaahhh]

14 minutes ago, tennisluvr said:

Yeah man this is old news, nothing new with that. 

Chaala mandi naaku telisinollu either dropped out themselves or were dropped from the program. 

how were they dropped, is it like hand picked

r u still in the program

[tennisluvr]

5 minutes ago, MathuloMazaahhh said:

how were they dropped, is it like hand picked

r u still in the program

Not really hand picked. If it's been two years from the time they joined the Army, they are being dropped. 

I have 6 months to go before the 2 year rule hits me so I am good for now. In another month or two, the fate of the people in this program will be decided including my own. 

[nightcrawler]

36 minutes ago, tennisluvr said:

Not really hand picked. If it's been two years from the time they joined the Army, they are being dropped. 

I have 6 months to go before the 2 year rule hits me so I am good for now. In another month or two, the fate of the people in this program will be decided including my own. 

What happens to GC or citizenship 

[tennisluvr]

17 minutes ago, nightcrawler said:

What happens to GC or citizenship 

Won't get any 

[Kalam_Youtheman]

1 hour ago, nightcrawler said:

What happens to GC or citizenship 

lol...  em GC... andhaariki Gudddhllooo ROD dhimpaaaaru ga... GC citizenshp ani.. mast mandhi mana vaaalu bakaraluuu ayyyyaruu... ee DB lo mast mandhi unnnaru.. evvvaduu sappudu cheyyatle...

laddu kavaaalaaa nayanaaaa

[tennisluvr]

9 minutes ago, Kalam_Youtheman said:

lol...  em GC... andhaariki Gudddhllooo ROD dhimpaaaaru ga... GC citizenshp ani.. mast mandhi mana vaaalu bakaraluuu ayyyyaruu... ee DB lo mast mandhi unnnaru.. evvvaduu sappudu cheyyatle...

laddu kavaaalaaa nayanaaaa

[TampaChinnodu]

14 minutes ago, Kalam_Youtheman said:

lol...  em GC... andhaariki Gudddhllooo ROD dhimpaaaaru ga... GC citizenshp ani.. mast mandhi mana vaaalu bakaraluuu ayyyyaruu... ee DB lo mast mandhi unnnaru.. evvvaduu sappudu cheyyatle...

laddu kavaaalaaa nayanaaaa

yes. maa relative valla univ lone more than 20 people vunde anta. including more than 3 girls. 

[speedracer]

Papam, go and join indian army

[tennisluvr]

38 minutes ago, speedracer said:

Papam, go and join indian army

No entry if outside India for more than 5 years. 

[Android_Halwa]

1 hour ago, tennisluvr said:

Won't get any 

Oh so, you won’t get either GC or citizenship after serving the military ? 

[tennisluvr]

3 minutes ago, Android_Halwa said:

Oh so, you won’t get either GC or citizenship after serving the military ? 

If I serve in the military, I will get a Citizenship there's no question about that. But for that to happen we would have to be shipped to the boot camp first, currently there's a hold in getting shipped to the boot camp. There's no concept of GC in the military, if you serve you get citizenship no GC in the middle. 

Currently I am on hold to get approval/clearance to ship to the boot camp. When is that going to happen? It's a question I know as much as  you do. 

[princeofheaven]

6 minutes ago, tennisluvr said:

No entry if outside India for more than 5 years. 

india lo ilanti rules unnaya

[tennisluvr]

If someone had joined the US Army via MAVNI and got discharged at a later date after completing his Basic Combat Training aka boot camp, he will still get a honorable discharge which can be used to apply for a citizenship. However, if it's an entry level discharge they won't be able to get the citizenship, and might have to approach the court to contest that.