VOA新闻杂志2023--Military Offers a Faster Way to Become US Citizen

Military Offers a Faster Way to Become US Citizen

When Esmita Spudes Bidari was a young girl in Nepal, she dreamed of being in the military.

Now her dream has come true. But instead of serving in Nepal's military, she recently joined the U.S. Army Reserves.

Bidari, who heads to basic training in August, is just the latest in a growing number of legal migrants entering the U.S. military.

In the U.S., military service is not required. And it has been difficult for the military to get enough people to volunteer. As a result, the Army and Air Force have reached out to immigrants, offering a pathway to citizenship¹ for those who join.

The military is using social media and trying to connect to more people, particularly in inner cities. One important way they do this is by using recruiters with similar backgrounds to the immigrants.

"It is one thing to hear about the military from locals here, but it is something else when it's from your fellow brother, from the country you're from," said Bidari. She was contacted by Army Staff Sergeant³ Kalden Lama, who is also from Nepal.

Both the Army and the Air Force say they will not meet their recruiting⁴ goals this year, and the Navy also expects to fall short.

Defense⁵ leaders say young people are more interested in high-paying and less risky⁶ jobs. And only about 20 percent of the people who could join the military meet the physical and mental requirements.

Finding immigrants

The military says it faces two big challenges. One is finding ways to reach some immigrant populations. The other is helping⁷ them with the complex process to join the service.

The Air Force effort began this year. The first group of 14 finished basic training and became new U.S. citizens in April. They included immigrants from Cameroon, Jamaica, Kenya, the Philippines, Russia and South Africa.

As of mid-May, there were about 100 in basic training who had begun the citizenship process and about 40 who had finished it.

Air Force Major General Ed Thomas is head of the service's recruiting command. He said the Air Force does extra work to make sure the immigrants are not a security risk. He added that in many cases, immigrants are not put into jobs that require top-secret work.

Under the new Air Force program, immigrants can become citizens as soon as they finish their seven weeks of basic training.

In the Army, close to 2,900 immigrants joined during the first half of this budget year, compared with about 2,200 during the same period last year. The largest numbers are from Jamaica, with 384, followed by Mexico, the Philippines and Haiti. Others are from Nepal, Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Colombia and the Dominican Republic.

"Welcome future soldier"

Bidari, from Nepal, arrived in the U.S. in 2016 to attend college. She said becoming a U.S. citizen will make it easier for her to travel and bring her parents to the U.S. to visit. She said she joined the military for six years and hopes that her future citizenship will help her become an officer.

"As a little girl, looking at the soldiers, I always had admiration⁸ for them," said Bidari, talking about British troops in Nepal. She also talked about how she felt the moment she joined the U.S. military:

"I don't think I have words to really explain how I was feeling. When they said, ‘Welcome future soldier,' I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, this is happening.'"

Words in This Story

basic training –(noun phrase) a time when new soldiers receive instruction and intensive training

recruiter² -n. a person who tries to find and get people to join an organization

background -n. the origin of one's family, one's experiences, and the places in which a person has lived

fellow -adj. a person who is close to you and belongs to the same group as you

challenge -n. something that is difficult to do

1 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

2 recruiter   

n.招募者

参考例句：

• The tele recruiter is prompted by a variety of questions, depending on your answers. 针对你不同的回答，这位考官还会提出些不同的问题。
• A recruiter can give you insider pointers and advice. 一个招聘人可以为你提供内行人的观点与建议。

3 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

4 recruiting   

招聘( recruit的现在分词 )； 吸收某人为新成员； 动员…（提供帮助）； 雇用

参考例句：

• We are recruiting a sales manager with responsibility for the European market. 我们正在招聘负责欧洲市场的销售经理。
• "Hoist the recruiting flag and hungry men will come. “插起招军旗，就有吃粮人。”

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

6 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。