The U.S. Army is enlisting foreign nationals – individuals with legal U.S. residency, whose skills are considered to be vital to the national interest, such as physicians, nurses, and experts in languages and cultures – under the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MAVNI) program. One in three applicants for translators positions is Korean.
According to a Korea Times survey obtained from Army recruiters, as of March 17, a total of 350 foreign nationals applied for positions as translators with the U.S. Army, of which 32.8 percent of them – 115 – are Korean.
The Army will recruit a total of 50 foreign nationals through the end of March, and the selected soldiers will be sworn in on April 1 at a ceremony to be held in Times Square. Mr. Gundersdorf, director of the New York Recruiting Center’s Office of Public Information, told the Korea Times by phone that given the high volume of Koreans applicants, recruiters are still busy reviewing applications and skills; some failed the necessary English proficiency test and were disqualified. Recruiters think that many Koreans responded to the job program because of the excellent benefits it offers.
“If accepted by the MAVNI program, the recruit could apply for U.S citizenship within six months of enlisting. The program offers a variety of benefits including education support, enlistment bonus, etc,” Gundersdorf explained.
The U.S. Army intends to enlist a total 890 soldiers – 557 soldiers who can speak and interpret certain languages in 35 language fields, and 333 medical service soldiers who are physicians or nurses. The enlistment of translators and interpreters began on February 23, at the Recruiting Center in New York; the enlistment of medical service soldiers began on March 2.
To be eligible to apply one must pass the Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) with a score of at least 50, and must have been living in the United States for over two years, with proof of a passport. This means that international students, exchange program attendees, F, J, M visa holders, as well as holders of H (occupation) visas, E (investors) visas, R (religious) visas, along with many other kinds of non-immigrant visa holders, are eligible to apply. Applicants cannot have a criminal record or record of undocumented residency in the United States.
Certain restrictions apply in regard to age and education: language experts must be between 17 and 41 years old, while medical service applicants must be between 21 and 41 years old, and possess either a nursing license (RN) or a doctor’s license (MD).
Foreign nationals entering into the U.S. Army are able to apply directly for U.S. citizenship without a green card application, and in the quickest case, can receive citizenship within six months. But if the recruit cannot complete their assigned length of service, or is dishonorably discharged from service, citizenship can be revoked. Recruits sign on for four years active duty as translators/interpreters; for medical service you sign on for either three year of active duty or six years for the Selected Reserves.
