As I indicated in March, the Defense Department has now reinstated the “Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest” that allows some individuals here in temporary status to join the armed services.
The reinstated program will run through May 16, 2014 under the same rules as the earlier program. Normally, to join the U.S. military you must be a permanent resident or U.S. citizen and nationals. Under MAVNI however, certain asylees, refugees, individuals with temporary Protected Status (TPS) and nonimmigrants such as international students, can join the military and then immediately qualify for U.S. citizenship.
Automatic citizenship is available to any member of the U.S. military who services during a time of active hostilities. That rule applies to anyone in the military from September 11, 2001 to the present.
To enlist under MAVNI, the individual must be a needed health care professional or have a strategic foreign language skill. The enlistee also must have been in the United States legally for at least two years.
I’ve posted the reinstatement notice and related documents online at scribd.com/doc/94213360/MAVNI. There you will find information on the medical health care professionals who qualify and a list of needed languages. If you want to join the military under MAVNI, I suggest you print the letter and take it with you to a recruiting station.
A few languages have been added for 2012, including Haitian Creole. That means that Haitians with TPS can enlist once they have been here legally for at least two years. The medical professionals who qualify to enlist under MAVNI are primarily doctors, dentists and nurses.
For information on needed healthcare skills, write to the Army through its website at goarmy.com/info/mavni/healthcare for more information.
Note that if you have a criminal record, you can’t enlist under MAVNI. “Conduct waivers” available to some permanent residents and U.S. citizens seeking to enlist, are not available to MAVNI recruits. Also, MAVNI recruits must pass an English test and score 50 or higher on the Armed Forces Qualification Test, a higher standard than required of other recruits.
Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/restored-military-accessions-vital-national-interest-program-citizenship-path-article-1.1082502