Atheist Immigrant, Unwilling to take up arms

[rboet]

Sorry if this is in the wrong section. First time on this forum and this is obviously a question that is giving me a lot of grief.

I'm an atheist, as per the title, and my personal belief structure dictates that I should not take up arms or enact any form of physical violence upon anyone. I am more than willing to perform any auxiliary duties the armed forces might require of me.

What I'm confused about is what sort of documentation I can provide to evidence that this is my belief. Would notarized testimonials from friends and family suffice?

 

[natur08]

I was exactly in the same situation that you are in, and I successfully naturalized with a modified oath. There are a number of postings in this forum by me detailing the process. You can provide a letter from an organization who understands the proper legal argument, such as "The Center on Conscience & War" which helped me a lot. You need to check "No" on questions 36/37/38, but you must answer "Yes" on question 39.

Be prepared for an uninformed interviewer at the USCIS and some pushback.

 

[WBH]

You need to check "No" on questions 36/37/38, but you must answer "Yes" on question 39.

I think he must answer Yes to Question 38 too, that is he should be willing to perform noncombatant services
in the armed forces.

 

[natur08]

I think he must answer Yes to Question 38 too, that is he should be willing to perform noncombatant services
in the armed forces.

Only if he is willing to do that. The questions 37 and 38 are analogous to the different types of armed forces CO (Conscientious Objector) status.

 

[WBH]

In modern warfare, I doubt one can clearly make clear distinctiion between
"bear arms" and "perform nonconbatant services" any more. If you are
a medic and drive an ambulance vehicle to the front, does it mean you
can not transport ammunition to the front at the same time?

No one can draw a line which he himselv will not cross

 

[natur08]

In modern warfare, I doubt one can clearly make clear distinctiion between
"bear arms" and "perform nonconbatant services" any more. If you are
a medic and drive an ambulance vehicle to the front, does it mean you
can not transport ammunition to the front at the same time?

No one can draw a line which he himselv will not cross

While this may be true as a philosophical point, it is irrelevant for the application, since the military distinguishes between "full" CO (1-O) and non-combatant status (1-A-O). A "full" CO would refuse non-combatant service as well, since he/she would be indirectly supporting the military effort. The questions in the application are directed at the distinction between these two categories.