Ley Montgomery GI

The Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) gives you monthly cash payments for up to 36 months while you are enrolled at an approved college, university, or trade school and are in good standing academically. There are two Montgomery GI Bill programs with different eligibility requirements.

Note: To get Montgomery GI Bill benefits, you must have received an honorable discharge. If you want these benefits but did not receive an honorable discharge, you can apply for a character of discharge review.

Montgomery GI Bill Active Duty (MGIB-AD) Eligibility

There are four eligibility categories for MGIB-AD, and the requirements for each vary based on when you served on active duty, for how long, and if your military pay was cut to pay into MGIB. All four categories require you to have a high school diploma, GED, or 12 hours of college credit. A quick overview of some differences:

• Category I: You entered active duty for the first time after June 30, 1985 and paid $100 a month into MGIB for the first 12 months of service.
• Category II: You entered active duty before January 1, 1977 and served at least one day between October 19,1984 and June 30, 1985, and you still had at least one day remaining of Vietnam Era GI Bill benefits on December 31, 1989.
• Category III: You don’t qualify under categories I or II and your military pay was cut by $1,200 (to pay into MGIB) before you left military service.
• Category IV: Your military pay was cut by $100 a month for 12 months to pay into MGIB or you made a $1,200 lump sum payment.

For all four categories, you typically need to use your benefits within ten years of your last day on active duty, but this can change depending on your situation. Learn more about the full eligibility requirements for MGIB-AD.

Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserve (MGIB-SR) Eligibility

You can get benefits through MGIB-SR if you:

• Agreed to serve six years in the Selected Reserve, or
• Are an officer in the Selected Reserve who agreed to serve six years in addition to your initial service obligation.

Your service obligation must have started after June 30, 1985 or, for some types of training, after September 30, 1990. You can only use these benefits while you're serving in the Selected Reserve, and also must meet other program requirements. Learn more about MGIB-SR.

What You Get

You are paid directly each month. How much you get depends on your length of service, the type of education or training program you choose, and other factors. The VA posts the current payment rates for MGIB-AD and MGIB-SR.

For either program, you might get more if you participated in the $600 Buy-Up program. For MGIB-AD, if you get Tuition Assistance from the Department of Defense, you might also get additional payments from the VA’s Tuition Assistance Top-Up program, to make up the difference between what the DoD pays and actual costs.

How to Apply

To apply for MGIB-AD or MGIB-SR, you can:

• Apply online
• Go to the oficina regional de Phoenix del VA and have a VA employee help you
• Work with your school’s certifying official (usually the school’s registrar or financial aid office), or
• Call 1-888-442-4551 (1-888-GI-BILL-1) and ask to have an application mailed to you. Fill it out and mail it to the VA Regional Processing Office nearest to the school you want to attend.

You can get help picking the right program for you by working with a trained professional at a veterans service organization (VSO). Search for an accredited representative.

It typically takes the VA about 30 days to make a decision on an education benefits application. If your application is approved, you’ll get a decision letter in the mail; if your application is approved, bring the letter to the VA certifying official at your school.