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The News site for Linguists |
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18-12-2006
New visas for translators in US immigration policy
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Washington, USA (AILF): Recognizing that immigrants could provide special assistance to the armed forces as translators, Congress in 2006 also passed a law providing for up to 50 immigrant visas per year for translators serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Given the great need for Arabic, Pashto, Dari, and other translators, it is not clear why Congress chose this low number. The Pentagon did, however, provide additional avenues for qualified translators to serve in the military. The Army in particular devised a special “9L” translator aide program for enlisted soldiers and sought recruits through Arabic language advertising during World Cup soccer matches. Recruits like Kuwaiti-born Corporal Yousef A. Badou, a Marine who has served three tours of duty in Iraq and who speaks Arabic fluently, are said to be “force multipliers” for the armed forces in that they strengthen the military far more than their numbers alone would suggest.
For more information, please visit:
www.ailf.org/ipc/infocus/infocus_11206_ft.shtml
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