Welcome, Future Citizens

The US Military, and especially the US Army, is offering an expedited path to citizenship for immigrants in a relatively new program described here.

Here is a synopsis:

In exchange for military service, the foreign recruits - who offer skills it would take years to teach - get an expedited path to citizenship.

Since the pilot program began in New York, expanding to Los Angeles in May, the foreign recruits have included 34 health care professionals and 385 people who speak languages such as Arabic, Polish and Swahili.

More than 69 percent of them have at least a bachelor's degree, compared with just under 10 percent for the Army as a whole.

"These are really accomplished individuals," said Naomi Verdugo, the Army's assistant deputy for recruiting.

More than 200 slots remain for recruits with language skills in the program, as well as more than 260 for health care professionals.

Regards  —  Cliff