Return of U.S. Citizenship for MAVNI Applicants

The program known as the Military Accessions Vital to National Interest, “MAVNI” was supposed to offer an expedited path to naturalization in exchange for service in the U.S. armed forces to noncitizens of the United States who were in legal status in the United States who possessed certain “critical skills.” We discussed the MAVNI program here.

The program was intended to attract noncitizens with “critical skills that were considered vital to the national interests of the United States by allowing them to bypass the green card application process and qualify for citizenship based on their military service. Unfortunately, this program was suspended, and the government also created substantial roadblocks to MAVNI based citizenship applicants that appeared in the form of new extensive background checks and new periods of military service which were not previously required.

Pursuant to the settlement agreement in the case Calixto, et al., v. U.S. Dep’t of the Army, et al. The U.S. military agreed to provide the necessary military certification by issuing Form N-426, Request for Certification of Military or Naval Service to Calixto class members.

Class members are considered to be individuals who enlisted in the U.S. Military, including the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve delayed Training Program or Regular Army Delayed Entry Program as part of the MAVNI pilot program on or before September 30, 2017. Furthermore, the applicant must not have been discharged or uncharacterized discharge.

Noncitizen applicants that meet these criteria then become eligible to apply for naturalization pursuant to section 329 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, “INA.” Section 329 typically allows for noncitizens who served during periods of hostility to apply for citizenship without having to meet continuous residence and physical presence requirements. We have discussed general eligibility for naturalization here.

Pursuant to the Calixto agreement, class members become eligible to apply for naturalization under section 329 after receiving a certified Form N-426 even before attending initial entry training. As a result, class members may not have started or completed a qualifying period of service during hostilities but are still considered to meet the period of service requirements for naturalization eligibility upon issuance of the N-426. We discuss naturalization under section 329 here.

As stated, class members must request and receive a certified Form N-426 and provide the copy of the Calixto agreement along with the Form N-400 and certified Form N-426 as a substitute for identifying the type and duration of service in the N-426 and as evidence of honorable service or service under honorable conditions discharge.