Defense Department investigators have found 'potential security risks' in a program that recruits foreigners into the US military in exchange for citizenship, according to a new report.

A classified report from the Pentagon's inspector general found that the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MAVNI) program had potential monitoring and vetting problems, sources told Fox News.

MAVNI was launched in 2009 and has enrolled more than 10,000 foreign-born individuals without permanent residency status into the US military.

Notably, the 2012 Soldier of the Year, Sgt. Saral Shrestha, was a MAVNI recruit born in Nepal.

A classified report from the Pentagon's inspector general found that the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MAVNI) program had potential monitoring and vetting problems

In 2014, the Pentagon announced that the program would also be open to 'Dreamers' who met the requirements of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals initiative.

MAVNI was originally intended to recruit people with special skills - including medical specialists and language skills - into the military in exchange for expedited US citizenship.

But sources told Fox that there had been 'drift' in the program's criteria, with MAVNI increasingly being used to recruit cooks and drivers with no specialized skills.

Concerns also include holes in security vetting, and a finding that multiple recruits under the program are unaccounted for.

'The program has been replete with problems, to include foreign infiltration – so much so that the Department of Defense is seeking to suspend the program due to those concerns,' Republican US Representative Steve Russell of Oklahoma said in a committee hearing last week.

A Congressman has said the program's problems include 'foreign infiltration'. Pictured: US President Barack Obama listens as new citizens speak the Oath of Allegiance in 2014

The program is currently not accepting new applicants as it undergoes a security review.

In September, the Department of Defense revoked the eligibility of MAVNI recruits for security clearances until the completion of their first enlistment and a positive security review - even if they had already been naturalized as US citizens.

Several naturalized MAVNI soldiers filed a lawsuit in response, saying that the order discriminated against them unconstitutionally on the basis of their national origin, and could cripple their careers by denying them security clearances.

It is unknown whether any of the security and infiltration concerns related to threats from ISIS or Al-Qaeda.