How does an illegal immigrant join the US military?

Generally, if a person is not a U.S. citizen, he needs to be a green card holder, i.e., a lawful permanent resident, to join the military. As discussed below ... My clients sometimes tell me that they've heard of undocumented immigrants who were allowed to enlist in a branch of the armed services. read more

For an immigrant who joined the US. military, once they are in active duty status in the military, the process of going from a non-citizen to U.S. citizen can be expedited. Military services and the US Citizenship and Immigration Services have worked together to streamline the citizenship application process for service members. read more

Today, the US Marine Corps prohibits unauthorized immigrants from enlisting, as do the other US Armed Forces. Like the other services, the Marine Corps checks the papers of everyone who enlists, and anyone who is an immigrant is checked against DHS databases. read more

For the first time, the program — known as Military Accessions in the National Interest, or MAVNI — will be open to immigrants without a proper visa if they came to the U.S. with their parents before age 16. More specifically, they must be approved under a 2012 Obama administration policy known as Deferred Action for Child Arrivals, or DACA. read more