Immigration TALK: Male Immigrants Require Registration in Selective Service

May 22, 2011 News

By Attorney Gail S. Seeram, [email protected]

Many first-time immigrants to the United States are unaware of the requirement that all males between the ages of 18 and 26 living in the U.S. must register for the Selective Service. The Selective Service is a system in the United States that maintains information on males that are potentially subject to military duty.
As of 2008, the names and addresses of over 14 million men were on file.
In my practice, I see many new male immigrants come to the U.S. and fail to register for Selective Service because no one told them or them didn’t go to school in the U.S. so were not aware of the law. Unfortunately, ignorance of the law is no excuse for not following the law. Failure to register for Selective Service between ages 18 and 26 usually leads to ineligibility for U.S. citizenship and federal student loans.
Registration for Selective Service is important because many federal programmes and benefits, such as student loans, job training, federal employment and naturalization, require proof of selective service registration before benefits can be received. Men who are not registered with Selective Service cannot obtain Federal student loans or grants. This includes Pell Grants, College Work Study, Guaranteed Student/Plus Loans, and National Direct Student Loans.
More importantly, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) makes registration with Selective Service a condition for U.S. citizenship. When applying for U.S. citizenship, all males are required to show proof of registration in selective service if they were in the U.S. between their 18th and 26th birthday. Failure to register would result in denial of your U.S. citizenship application because failure to register amounts to lacking good moral character.
However, if you failed to register for Selective Service between ages 18 and 26, you would be eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship after your 31st birthday according to a memo from USCIS.
Note, the requirement states “all males” which includes U.S. citizens, permanent residents and undocumented immigrants living in the United States.
The requirement for selective service registration does not apply to those visiting the U.S. temporarily on tourist visas or other non-immigrant visas
It’s important to know that even though a man is registered, a man will not automatically be inducted into the military. In a crisis requiring a draft, men would be called in sequence determined by random lottery number and year of birth. Then, they would be examined for mental, physical, and moral fitness by the military before being inducted into the Armed Forces, or deferred or exempted from military service.
How do I register or get proof of my registration?
Visit www.sss.gov or call 1-888-655-1825.

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Immigration TALK: Male Immigrants Require Registration in Selective Service

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