The American Army Wants to Attract More Immigrants

The American Army Wants to Attract More Immigrants

The Pentagon intends in this way to alleviate the lack of highly qualified recruits. In exchange, immigrants will have privileged access to American nationality for the first time since the Vietnam War.

Even if the economic crisis and the increase in the number of unemployed favors recruitment to the American army, the Pentagon does not want to stop there. The United States, which foresees sending about 20,000 to 30,000 supplementary troops to Afghanistan, has the intention to recruit new highly qualified people among immigrants with provisional visas, affirms the New York Times.

Foreigners with permanent resident status, or the holders of green cards (work permits without time restrictions), already had this opportunity, but it is the first time since the Vietnam war that the GIs have opened this category to foreign citizens.

To be recruited candidates have to fulfill three criteria: have temporary visas, prove that they are staying on American soil for two years, and pass an English test.

Worried Veterans

In putting into effect such a means of recruitment, the Pentagon targets primarily highly qualified candidates for the jobs of doctors, specialized nurses, and language specialists, writes the New York Times.

“The American army is itself present in many different countries and it is vital to have a good understanding of their cultures,” explains general Benjamin Freakley, the head of recruitment for the Army, to the newspaper.

To attract this new talents, the army promises easier access to American nationality. From their first day, they will in fact be able to make an application for naturalization and hope to see a “green card” within six months, compared with the average of 10 years.

According to the New York Times, the announcement of this program has already caused concern among certain groups of veterans who fear that terrorists will take advantage by integrating themselves into the American army.

New York will be the first city to host this new scheme. Objective: to find around 550 candidates who speak at least one of the 35 languages sought by the army (which include Kurdish, Nepalese and Tamil).

In the first year, the forces will be able to handle up to 1000 of these recruits, mostly in the Army, according to the New York Times. If the results are successful, the program will be extended to all of the forces and will represent about 14000 hirings per year, or one rookie for every six.