Failed to signup for selective service

[lackingSSL]

I've filled out my N400 half a dozen times but never proceed with because I did not signup for selective service. I got a H1B Visa in February 1987. I got married to an American Citizen in February 1988 (Still married for 22 years). I applied for permanent residency in June 1988. Was granted permanent residency in February 1989. Went to sign up for selective service but discovered that since my 26th Birthday had passed in September 1988 I could not. I contacted the selective service and got a letter saying I failed to sign up for SSL so I cannot I apply for citizenship. After 20 years of paying taxes and having an American child it seems crazy that I can't apply for citizenship. I have not even got a parking ticket in 20 years.

If I do fill out my N400 what do I put down for selective service and my selective service letter. Should I contact a lawyer.

[namecheckvictim]

I am sure you are over the age of 31, after 31 not registering with selective service is NOT a issue to obtain US citizenship.

[jayoa]

See the following thread; http://forums.immigration.com/showth...ective+service

[lackingSSL]

Thank you. So since I'm now 48 its no longer an issue when applying. That great news.

[TheRealCanadian]

I got a H1B Visa in February 1987. I got married to an American Citizen in February 1988 (Still married for 22 years). I applied for permanent residency in June 1988. Was granted permanent residency in February 1989. Went to sign up for selective service but discovered that since my 26th Birthday had passed in September 1988 I could not.

Since you were in a valid non-immigrant status until your 26th birthday, you were not required to enroll for Selective Service.

I contacted the selective service and got a letter saying I failed to sign up for SSL so I cannot I apply for citizenship.

Selective Service doesn't control naturalization eligibility. Ignore their letter.

If I do fill out my N400 what do I put down for selective service and my selective service letter. Should I contact a lawyer.

Put down that you didn't register, because you didn't have to. I never registered for SS either.

[Huracan]

You seem to be all clear and I don't see how this will come up as an issue during interview. I guess the selective service letter is a standard one and they didn't care to evaluate the facts.

[jayoa]

Most people/immigrants really are not aware of the need for Selective Service registration, I know I wasn't, I remember going to the DMV for the first time several years ago and I was told about it by a DMV employee to complete the SS form along with one for my State ID, so I did. Otherwise, I would have known nothing about it until much later when it might have been too late. So it is really not the fault of a lot of people who do not register, good thing there is a way out of such unawareness.

[Jackolantern]

This question comes up almost every week.

We should create a Selective Service sticky thread so people who were in nonimmigrant status during age 18-26, or never in the US at that age, or are over 31 now, can easily find out that they don't need to worry about Selective Service registration as far as naturalization is concerned. And to let others who obtained their green card in that age range know that they probably were registered automatically as part of the green card process (although they'll still need to contact SS to verify the registration, if they're under 31).

[eventually]

I was still on F1/Practical training when I turned 26. I think I did not have to register since F1/PT is a lawful non-immigrant status.

But tell me this. Do I need to still get "Status of Information" letter by calling SSS.gov? Thanks,

[Jackolantern]

http://shusterman.com/naturalization...veservice.html

Applicants Over 31 Years of Age

Failure to register for Selective Service will generally not prevent a man who was over 31 years of age on the day he filed his naturalization application from demonstrating that he is eligible for naturalization. Even if the applicant was required to register and the applicant's failure to register was knowing and willful, the failure occurred outside of the statutory period during which the applicant is required to establish his attachment to the good order and happiness of the United States. The INS may, of course, consider a person's conduct before the beginning of this period. INA § 101(f) (last sentence) and § 316(e). If the INS denies naturalization to a man who is at least 31, based on his failure to register with Selective Service, the decision must state explicitly the basis for finding that the failure to register warrants denial of naturalization. As a practical matter, a male applicant over 31 years of age who failed to register with Selective Service should, ordinarily, be found eligible for naturalization unless INS has other evidence, in addition to the past failure to register, that demonstrates that the applicant is not well disposed to the good order and happiness of the United States.

[Juancamaney]

Hi
I was hoping someone can help me
I am aplying for naturalization but i did not registered with SSS
I am currently 34 years old and my permanent resident card says
I have been a resident since february 2002. At that time i was 25 years and
11 months old. I did not know about SSS. according to the form I-485
theres a section where you give consent to be registered with the SSS.
I never got a confirmation on my registration or a reminder of it and the
SSS website dont have me on file. At least online it doesnt.
Do i still need to get a Status Information Letter from the SSS before i apply
For citizenship or its irrelevant at this point.
#2 I am currently separated from my wife but are not divorced yet,
Should i put on my application that i am married? .We havent even filed for
Divorced yet.
Or should i wait until i am divorced??

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance

[Juancamaney]

Any help or direction would be appreciated. Thank you

[Vorpal]

@Juancamaney:

Since you are older than 31, there is no need to prove your selective service status, as the failure to register occurred outside of the 5-year statutory period that is used to establish good moral character. For more information, take a look here: http://imminfo.com/Library/citizensh...istration.html

[Jackolantern]

The interview letter often includes a request for evidence of Selective Service registration.

That is standard text that goes on many letters even if the applicant wasn't required to register due to their age/gender/status, or if the applicant is over 31 (which makes the registration or lack thereof become practically irrelevant).

So don't pay too much attention to that part of the letter. Look at your status between 18-26 and your current age and figure out whether or not you need to provide evidence of Selective Service registration, independently of what that letter says.

[Jackolantern]

You might have been automatically registered and don't know it, if you went through the green card process anytime between age 18-26.

If you want to check if you were registered, go to https://www.sss.gov/RegVer/wfVerification.aspx

If their web site doesn't find your record, call them. The web site isn't connected to all records, and the people on the phone can do additional searching to determine if you were registered.

[gcapplication06]

Hi,

First of all thanks everyone for clarifying this. I understand this SS registration a lot better now. But still want to clarify my situation little bit more.

I had only 2 weeks to register for SS and I couldnt during that time. When I called them i was 26years and couple of days old . Now I am 32 years old. I am answering "Yes" to part one of Question 33 on N400 and then explain that as I had only 2 weeks time and I missed it. Should that be enough??

[shefe]

i am about mail my application in about 14 hours from now and selective service question is confusing here or maybe it is just me. Do i choose no or yes

Question 33 is confusing to me
Are you a male who lived in the united states at any time between your 18th and 26th birthday in any status except as a lawful non-immigrant?

My problem is between 18 to 26, i still had a valid visa on my passport but i registered for selective service at the age of 20 so do i say "YES" and provide them with the date registered and selective number even though i had a valid non-immigrant visa status at that time

[rhamm]

Help.

Hey all. I need some advice / assistance.


BACKGROUND

Entered US in 1997 on a TN visa (renewed it once). Transitioned to an H1-B visa. Applied for and transitioned to LPR, where I have remained for the past 9 years. Current age is 36.

LPR received in November 2001 at age 27. At that time I obtained letter saying I should apply for selective service, which I did, but was unable to due to age.


PROBLEM

I no longer have the Notice of Action for the H1-B document.

QUESTION
How can I prove to Selective Service that I was on a non-immigrant visa during the period that I would have been required to register had I not been on a non-immigrant visa?


Selective service suggests I file a FOIA request with USCIS to try to obtain my status records.

BIGGER PROBLEM
Our interview is scheduled for June 30.

Any thoughts?

-russ

[Spaniard1980]

Hi Folks,

is it 31 or 32 that should be safe? I've read in certain forums and attorneys pages that 32 safe, but several other forums stated 31 is fine. My particular case is as follows...

came over to the US on 1997(I was 17 years old) with a visitors visa which allowed me to be here legally for 6 months, I overstayed my status and was here illegaly for several years, then married a US citizen(still married for that matters, true happyness) back in 2004...and did not get a greencard until 02/2008 (I was 27) . I did not registered with the SSS due to ignorance, I know it's not an excuse to plead ignorance to the law, I just trully never knew about it until now...now it's too late to register, I'm going to be 31 years old on June 18th this year...will I be ok to apply for citizenship by when I turn 31 or should I be super safe and wait unil I'm 32?

Different website states different opinions, not quite sure how to go about it.

Sorry if this has been over asked before, I just waned to get a better understanding in my particualr case.

Thanks you all

Esteban.

[grape ape]

seems like the computers, servers or whatever over at the selective service could use a little updating.

[rjackal]

seems like the computers, servers or whatever over at the selective service could use a little updating.

I know eh? It took me back to 1995 when I was a freshman in college. Ah, the early days of the internet!

[astrochimp]

Read this persons post. He was 35 when filed for n 400 and failed to sign up and still the IO asked for the ss letter. What is that letter that you need to provide during the interview?

http://www.immihelp.com/forum/showth...ective-Service

[hma9193]

My Interview letter says that I need to bring proof of registration on the selective service. I requested the status letter but I havent received the selective service status letter yet. In my interview letter, it says that I need this letter so I requested it.
I entered USA as a F1 Visa when I was 22, and was then changed to H1B Visa until I was 31. I got my GC at 31 yo and thats when I enetred for teh first time into US with my greencard as a permanent resident (before that I would enter as a non immigrant under H1B) .... and then filed for citizeship now, at age 36.... per the selective service web site, i didnt need to register because I was a non immigrant from age 18-26. Anyone else has any input on this?
Shoudl I be scared on teh interview? I think I marked "no" on the N400 form because I entered US as a resident when I was 31. Any advice on how to handle it in teh interview if it comes up?

[pulaski]

hma9193: I am in similar situation. Here is what I took with me to the interview. A copy of online search returning no records for your SS registration. A statement written/typed by you stating why you did not register and get it notarized.

in my case, IO never asked for anything related to selective service., probably cos i am over 26 may be.

[capkodak]

Hi,

I came to US in 1999 on a tourist visa and then converted into F1. Then after 6 months got out of status because the I-20 was only issued for 6 months instead of a fulla cademic year. Then i applied for reinstatment and got reinstated in F1 status. Stayed on F1 till I got married in 2008 and got GC in 2009 at the age of 27. Now I am 31 and looking to do my N-400. I understand that i am 31 so i shouldn't worry about it. But since i was out of status for a little bit, that make me be in a status other than non-immigrant from 18-26. I never registered through SSS becuase i didn't know something like this existed untill i am reading application instruction for n-400

Question:

Should i check "Yes" on question 33 that i was in a status other than non-immigrant and write a letter explaining that i didn't know about it untill now.

Or should i check "No" on question 33 that i did not live in any other status other than non-immigrant. I am confused becuase i did get reinstated back into F1. With the reinstatement does that mean that i have always been in non-immigrant status or not.

Please advise. I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks,

[legolas007]

On form I-485 there is a paragraph that if your application is approved USCIS will forward your information to Selective Service System.

In my case they didn't forward anything even though they approved I-485. So now I have to send copies of GC, I485 and letter with my information explaining what went wrong. I'm sending this to Palatine, IL.

Good job USCIS

edit: oh btw... I was 25 yr old when my AOS took place.

[rohit15]

Hi Folks,

I received my Green Card through my Parents and the entered the country for the first time when I was 22. But I was unaware of requirement to enroll in Selective Service . I am 28 now and I am planning to apply for US Citizenship soon and I came across the mandated rule for registering in Selective Service.

I have requested a Status information Letter from Selective Service explaining them that I was unaware of the rule when I entered the Country for the first time and I came to know about it now .

Two days ago I received a Registration acknowledgement from Selective Service , So Can I go ahead and apply for my Citizenship now or will be still receiving any further no-objection document from Selective Service ?

I have also read few posts in the forum that If I wait until I am 31-32 I would have better chance in getting the Citizenship as I failed to register with Selective Service before I was 26 . Will this be true in my case too ?

Please advise.

Thanks,
Rohit

[robell]

so i applied for a US citizenship way back in 2008, i got denied for failing to register for selective service.. i recieved a letter that i have to apply after my 31st birthday. i just turned 31 last week.. so my question now is how, do i still need to write them a letter stating that i failed to register for the selective service? or just put no on the answer? im filing up a N400 right now and i dont know what to do with part.. can somebody please help me so i can pass this form already.. thank you guys

[octopus]

When I got green card, I was 24. I remember I received a letter from SSS (probably registration), but I no longer have that letter.

And since then I have changed my physical address in the U.S. maybe 100 times. I always notified USCIS but I never changed my address with the SSS.

Is that a problem? I will be applying for naturalization when I am 29 or 30 years-old. Will I be denied?

[komaro]

I don't think you will. As long as your are actually registered it's fine. Trust me, they will find you when they will need you!