First off, I understand that the 2017 MAVNI Program is a hot topic and I hope to provide regular updates. We’ve just received notification that current MAVNI Future Soldiers will not be held over in the Delayed Entry Program until 2018.
The U.S. Army recently announced the closure of a program that expedites the citizenship process for certain legal immigrants.
The Military Accessions Vital to National Interest (MAVNI) program aims to recruit non-citizens who possess essential language or medical skills.
Currently, there are hundreds of applicants waiting for the opening of the 2017 MAVNI Program. The program started in 2008, opening to immigrants who entered the country legally and had begun the process of applying for citizenship (Navy, Marines, Air Force). The program was recently expanded to include immigrants under the Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals (DACA).
In recent years, the program has grown from 1,500 slots to 5,000 in 2016.
With the past success of the program, it is our HOPE that the program reopens in October 2016. Unfortunately, we have nothing to do with policy…
In early August, Major General Snow, the Commanding General of the United States Army Recruiting Command, hosted a Facebook town hall. During the seventy-five minute long forum, a question was asked regarding the program.
Here’s the full transcript:
Ok next question.
Alright sir and this next one has been asked by several folks as well, do you know if the Army MAVNI Program will reopen for FY 17?
Ok I could answer this one too but I’m getting tired of hearing myself talk, so I’m going to ask Mr. Todd Sherman to weigh in and answer this one.
So I start by saying as you know, the MAVNI Program is suspended now we’ve hit our 5000 allocations for FY 16 and it was a pilot program that expired in 2016.
So we while we believe it may open in fiscal year 17, what I would like to share with you is that we just had the DOD IG office, up in the G3 asking some questions regarding the processes (how MAVNIs are processed).
For security reasons, that investigation isn’t due to be completed until May of 2017. So i wouldn’t anticipate it being open anytime before then.
I suspect that when it does open it’ll be not used as an accessions tool. In other words not used just to put 5k in the Army and Army Reserve, more geared towards what initially came out as and that was Military Assessions Vital National Interest.
Which means they had a language that the Army could use. So i think it’ll be geared towards cap a number of per language for us to be able to put in.
2017 DACA Enlistments
Here’s a second clip specifically addressing Deferred Actions for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).
Until then, all interested MAVNI applicant’s can take the following actions to prepare.
How To Prepare For The 2017 MAVNI Program
Verify your qualifications. Four primary criteria must be meet to secure a future enlistment:
- Applicants must be in one of the following categories.
- Non-Immigrant: E, F, H, I, J, K, L, M, O, P, Q, R, S, T, TC, TD, TN, U or V
- Approved Asylee, Refugee, or on a Temporary Protected Status (TPS)
- Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
- Applicants must legally reside in the United States for a minimum of two years.
- No absences that last longer than 90 days
- Must be between the ages of 17 and 34 and under the age of 35 before shipping to Basic
- Applicants must meet the following educational requirements.
- Be a current high school senior or have already graduated
- Earn a minimum score of 50 on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB).
- Applicants must speak one of the following languages and demonstrate speaking skills by passing an Oral Proficiency Interview.
- Albanian, Amharic, Arabic, Azerbaijani, Baluchi, Bengali, Bulgarian, Burmese, Cebuano, Cambodian-Khmer, Chinese, Czech, French (with citizenship from an African Country), Georgian, Haitian Creole, Hausa, Hindi, Hungarian, Ibo/Igbo, Indonesian, Japanese, Kashmiri, Korean, Kurdish, Lao, Malay, Malayalam, Moro (Tausug/Maranao/Maguindanao), Nepalese, Pashto, Persian Dari, Persian Farsi, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Sindhi, Singhalese, Somali, Swahili, Tagalog, Tajik, Tamil, Thai, Turkish, Turkmen, Ukrainian, Urdu (with citizenship from Pakistan or Afghanistan), Uzbek, Yoruba
- Applicants must be in one of the following categories.
- Collect your documents. Here are the documents you should have to expedite the application process. Documents will need to be translated into English. We recommend an academic evaluation service called Spantran.
- Visa documents
- 1-94
- Valid Passport
- Social Security Card
- Birth Certificate
- Official High School Transcript
- High School Diploma
- Official College Transcripts
- Degree
- Photo ID (State ID or Driver’s License)
- Start Studying for the ASVAB; applicants are required to score a 50 or higher on the test. We recommend the following resources:
- March 2 Success: M2S is a FREE website providing our users access to online study materials to help improve their scores on standardized tests such as state exit exams, college entrance exams, military entrance exam (ASVAB) and others.
- Kaplan’s ASVAB Premier Study Guide: ASVAB Premier 2017-2018 is an in-depth study system providing online and print practice and review for all portions of the ASVAB and AFQT. This edition features mobile-ready online resources and perforated study sheets, so you’ll find everything you need to get the results you want on the ASVAB and AFQT. It also features flashcards, video resources, and an expanded Quiz Bank for use on your computer or mobile device.
- Meet Medical Procurement Standards for Enlistment. All applicants are required to pass an entrance physical at the Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS). To prepare for the physical, we recommend the following actions.
- Determine if you have a medical issue that may be a permanent disqualification.
- Verify height and weight to determine if you need to lose or gain weight.
- Drug Test. Applicants are required to pass a drug test that screens for marijuana, opiates, cocaine, or methamphetamine (Note: Oxycodone/oxymorphone (synthetic opiates) are key ingredients in the drugs Percodan, Percocet, and Tylox). If you’re currently abusing any illegal or prescription drugs please stop. Those currently detoxing from a previous exposure should monitor their levels by using a drug test kit.
6. Be prepared to enlist into the Active Army. I suspect that the MAVNI program will close for Reserve enlistments.
Verify your qualifications. Four primary criteria must be meet to secure a future enlistment:
