joining the military

[chris_darling 0]

Can I join the military with a 2 year conditional green card based on marriage?? I keep getting different answers anytime I ask but can someone with a wide knowledge about this please enlighten me. thank you in advance

[JohnR! 5,495]

You can join as an enlisted only. You must be a citizen in order to become an officer. Check with the branch you're interested in and thanks for your desire to serve. Good luck!

ETA: Check out this link: www.todaysmilitary.com

Edited September 3, 2014 by JohnR!

[chris_darling 0]

thank you for your response JohnR, can u please explain to me what you mean by just enlisted only? does it mean I can go through the boot camp training and then after I become a citizen that's when I can become an officer??

[JohnR! 5,495]

Correct. You can go through bootcamp and go into service but not hold any higher commissions. Also as an enlisted you must only have completed high school whereas officers are required to have a bachelor's degree. You can only become an officer once you're a US citizen provided you satisfy all other requirements, of course.

thank you for your response JohnR, can u please explain to me what you mean by just enlisted only? does it mean I can go through the boot camp training and then after I become a citizen that's when I can become an officer??

[chris_darling 0]

Oh Okay, Thank you for the clarifications. I would contact a recruiter then to find out more, thank you once again

[chris_darling 0]

Hmmmm now I am more confused, I just contacted an army recruiter and got this response:

Thank you for your interest in the United States Army. To seek U.S. Army service, you must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. National or a Legal Permanent Resident of the United States with an I-551 or G-845. You may apply for that here: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis It needs to be the permanent (10 year) card. The conditional one is not sufficient.   Army regulations prohibit us from assisting or sponsoring you into the U.S. Once you have an I-551 or a G-845 verifying your approval for permanent residency, you can process for enlistment. I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors. 

[JohnR! 5,495]

Translation: Call us back when you have your greencard on hand.

The Army can't sponsor you for your residence. Once you're stateside, married and complete your AOS process you'll receive your greencard (aka I-551) and then you'll be eligible to enlist. You shouldn't have to wait for your 10-year to do so.

Hmmmm now I am more confused, I just contacted an army recruiter and got this response:

Thank you for your interest in the United States Army. To seek U.S. Army service, you must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. National or a Legal Permanent Resident of the United States with an I-551 or G-845. You may apply for that here: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis It needs to be the permanent (10 year) card. The conditional one is not sufficient.   Army regulations prohibit us from assisting or sponsoring you into the U.S. Once you have an I-551 or a G-845 verifying your approval for permanent residency, you can process for enlistment. I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors. 

Edited September 3, 2014 by JohnR!

[chris_darling 0]

Oh Okay thank you for that clarification as well but I wonder why they said the 2 year conditional wouldn't be enough though..............

[clairegie 265]

Oh Okay thank you for that clarification as well but I wonder why they said the 2 year conditional wouldn't be enough though..............

Your status is conditional because you must prove first that you did not get married to evade the immigration laws of the United States.

[chris_darling 0]

Yeah I know that! my thoughts was on why they said my conditional residency wouldn't be enough to join the military but JohnR helped me clarify that out. thank you all the same!!

Your status is conditional because you must prove first that you did not get married to evade the immigration laws of the United States.

[Pecker 17]

Can I join the military with a 2 year conditional green card based on marriage?? I keep getting different answers anytime I ask but can someone with a wide knowledge about this please enlighten me. thank you in advance

The reason the conditional green card does not apply is that when you enlist you gotta signed up for at least 8 years. This may vary like 4 years of active duty and 4 years of reserve, or whatever you agree with your recruiter, but in the end it is 8 years.

Since the conditional green card is only valid for 2 years you can't possibly sign up for the 8 years. Yes you are going to get the permanent green card eventually, but they don't wanna take the risk. You could not like the service and as a way to get out of it choose not to get the permeant green card forcing them to relive you of your service.

Also, there's a pro and a con on enlisting once you have your permanent green card.

The pro is that once you're enlisted you can obtain your citizenship almost immediately.

The con is that most of the military jobs require security clearances, and those can only be given to USC. So you're left out with only a handful of jobs you can perform, Im talking about undesirable blue collar jobs like janitorial service, HVAC tech and so on. Yes, you can try to change jobs once you're become a citizen since they facilitate that for you, but then you already signed up for that job and I doubt they will want to spend more money re-training you.

Source; I spent a lot of time researching that subject, because it's what I'm gonna do. Only when I get my citizenship tho. I'm going for the good jobs.

Edited September 4, 2014 by Gregory.Peck

[Adrian-Gloria 43]

Hey, don't lose hope, I'm sure I read some chapters in the recruiting manuals of the Army, Marines and Navy and I'm almost 100% sure I read conditional permanent residents are elegible for enlisting, let me look through my notes and i'll post the links here when I find the information, the only branch that requires a 10 year card is the Airforce. I've even spoken with recruiters about this, so, i'll update when I find the info.

Adrian

[NikLR 13,227]

RE Enlistment Length: You do not have to sign up for 8 years. Most sign up for 3, 4, or 6 intially.

[Adrian-Gloria 43]

4 years but then there's another 4 inactive.

[Adrian-Gloria 43]

This is what I found in the Marine Corps Recruiting Manual, Chapter 3-28:

Conditional Permanent Residence status (2 year) based on

applicants marriage or marriage of parent are considered Lawful Permanent

Residents and eligible for enlistment with stamped I-94 or I-551.

http://www.marines.mil/Portals/59/Publications/MCO%20P1100.72C%20W%20ERRATUM.pdf