Chinese women join US Army to obtain green cards

Chinese women have found a quick way to obtain American citizenship – just join the United States Army.

One example given by World Journal was a young woman surnamed Meng who enlisted in the US Army after spending three years in the United States at an accounting graduate school. Meng was unable to find employment after graduation and noticed that her immigrant friends with green cards all had to endure a lengthy naturalisation process lasting at least seven years. 

After discovering that the military could offer faster naturalisation and scholarships, Meng decided to enlist first and notify her parents later. Her parents reportedly were worried that their daughter would be sent immediately to a combat zone, but have since calmed down after repeated explanations from Meng.

Another woman named Wei Wei who was preparing to undergo her final military fitness examinations said that her parents planned to retire in the United States, and she had decided to come first and hopefully obtain a green card through an army career. Wei said that applying for a work visa in the States often took a long time and held no guarantee for employees who were unexpectedly laid off – in contrast, the army was “the best insurance” in her eyes, since army participants who engaged in vocational training could obtain a vocational certificate, giving them the chance to potentially work or set up their own business in the future.

Other women interviewed by World Journal said that aside from naturalisation, their decision to join the military was based on a desire to become more confident, hard-working and to reduce the financial burden on their parents.