| For decades, high-skilled professionals from across | | | | By going to the pool of skilled immigrants, recruiters |
| the world, particularly India, have fought their way to | | | | actually expect to improve the quality of US military |
| US citizenship through legal immigration channels — | | | | personnel, since most foreign skilled guest workers |
| a process that can take up to a decade or more. | | | | typically have more education, foreign language skills |
| Now, Uncle Sam is making it easy. Fight your way | | | | and professional expertise than many Americans who |
| — literally — to American citizenship and take | | | | enlist. This is expected to help the military to fill |
| the Oath of Allegiance in as little as six months. | | | | shortages in medical care, language interpretation and |
| In a far reaching proposal, the US military will open its | | | | field intelligence analysis. |
| doors to skilled immigrant guest workers (such as | | | | The program is particularly germane to Indian guest |
| those who hold H-1B visas) who have lived in the US | | | | workers who constitute the largest segment of |
| for a minimum of two years. The move is aimed at | | | | skilled foreign workers in the US, and although |
| offsetting the poor recruitment intake from traditional | | | | Spanish-speaking Latinos constitute the largest group |
| sources at a time the US military is stretched thin by | | | | of immigrants, they are largely unskilled. |
| deployments in Iraq and the Af-Pak theater. | | | | The one-year pilot program in New York City that will |
| US Green card holders, also known as permanent | | | | recruit 550 personnel (rest 450 will come from across |
| residents, have long been eligible to enlist in the | | | | the country) explicitly excludes Spanish speakers, |
| military. But this is the first time since the Vietnam | | | | while being open to immigrants who speak one or |
| War that the armed forces will be open to | | | | more of 35 languages, including Hindi/Urdu, Tamil, |
| temporary immigrants and offer them a path to US | | | | Arabic, Chinese, Nepalese, Pashto etc. US officials |
| citizenship, a move that in some ways amounts to | | | | have said in the past that they sorely lacked field |
| outsourcing its wars. | | | | intelligence operatives with requisite language skills to |
| The program comes at a time when skilled | | | | be deployed in the Af-Pak theater. |
| immigrants in the US are facing a slowing job market, | | | | The army’s program will also include about 300 |
| offering them an avenue to turn potential pink slips | | | | medical professionals to be recruited nationwide. If |
| into not just Green cards, but citizenship — if they | | | | the pilot program, which is restricted to the army and |
| are so obsessed about their American Dream. | | | | some other agencies, succeeds, it will expand for all |
| A pilot program that will take in 1000 immigrant | | | | branches of the military. |
| recruits nationwide will begin in New York City in the | | | | Anoter way to obtain a green card is to participate in |
| first year, according the New York Times, which first | | | | the yearly US Green Card Lottery that each year |
| reported the development on Sunday. | | | | grants 50,000 green card's to the lucky winners. |
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