Selective Service Question is driving me nuts

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radmax

Registered Users (C)
I hope someone can help about Selective Service Question ;

I have interview scheduled in about a month to become a citizen. Here is my issue.

Originally I was working in US under TN1 (1 year) temporary work visa. After renewing the visa 3 times I got married to American citizen and applied for adjustment of status ( forgot the form). I got that and then after that I applied for removal of conditions on my status. That cleared just after I turned 27 years old and then I applied for citizenship after the appropriate time elapsed.
My question is, on the N400 form the question about selective service asks if I was a male between 18-26 who lived in US in any status except lawful non-immigrant - I marked "NO"

I did this thinking that conditions of status was removed after I turned 27 already and I don't fall into the category where I had to register.
Am I right to think that way, do I fall under the "lawful non-immigrant" until the conditions on my status were removed after marriage ?
If I am wrong and was supposed to mark "YES", what can be done now since the interview is scheduled ?
The thing is, no friends, attorneys, etc ever told me that I had to register for anything thus I didn't know.

This question is driving me nuts, who knows, please help.
 
If you were under 26 at the time of receiving your approved I-485 / conditional GC, you should have registered for selective services at that time.

Since apparently you failed to register, you now need to get a status information letter from the selective services agency prior to attending your natz interview. Once you have the letter, you can correct the application as the IO walks through it with you during the interview.

Unfortunately you can expect this topic to be a sticky point for your application if it occurred within the last 5 years, as that corresponds to the "good moral character" window. Good news however, is the issue eventually becomes much less problematic once you reach age 31.
 
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Either way you will need letter from them.Incase you apply for Federal job.Frist thing they ask you did you ever register with SS.If you say no for any reason .They ask you to get letter from them.Its simple process.Dont sweat it.All they need to see when you came to this country on what visa and when you turned 26 what was your current status than.
 
radmax said:
I hope someone can help about Selective Service Question ;

I have interview scheduled in about a month to become a citizen. Here is my issue.

Originally I was working in US under TN1 (1 year) temporary work visa. After renewing the visa 3 times I got married to American citizen and applied for adjustment of status ( forgot the form). I got that and then after that I applied for removal of conditions on my status. That cleared just after I turned 27 years old and then I applied for citizenship after the appropriate time elapsed.
My question is, on the N400 form the question about selective service asks if I was a male between 18-26 who lived in US in any status except lawful non-immigrant - I marked "NO"

I did this thinking that conditions of status was removed after I turned 27 already and I don't fall into the category where I had to register.
Am I right to think that way, do I fall under the "lawful non-immigrant" until the conditions on my status were removed after marriage ?
If I am wrong and was supposed to mark "YES", what can be done now since the interview is scheduled ?
The thing is, no friends, attorneys, etc ever told me that I had to register for anything thus I didn't know.

This question is driving me nuts, who knows, please help.
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dckaraja is right. You will need the status letter. Go to the following web site and apply:

http://www.sss.gov/instructions.html

Once you send the form in and all the necessary documents it takes then between 2-4 weeks to send it to you. Their form states 5-6 weeks so apply right away.
 
radmax said:
I hope someone can help about Selective Service Question ;

I have interview scheduled in about a month to become a citizen. Here is my issue.

Originally I was working in US under TN1 (1 year) temporary work visa. After renewing the visa 3 times I got married to American citizen and applied for adjustment of status ( forgot the form). I got that and then after that I applied for removal of conditions on my status. That cleared just after I turned 27 years old and then I applied for citizenship after the appropriate time elapsed.
My question is, on the N400 form the question about selective service asks if I was a male between 18-26 who lived in US in any status except lawful non-immigrant - I marked "NO"

I did this thinking that conditions of status was removed after I turned 27 already and I don't fall into the category where I had to register.
Am I right to think that way, do I fall under the "lawful non-immigrant" until the conditions on my status were removed after marriage ?
If I am wrong and was supposed to mark "YES", what can be done now since the interview is scheduled ?
The thing is, no friends, attorneys, etc ever told me that I had to register for anything thus I didn't know.

This question is driving me nuts, who knows, please help.
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I agree with what boatbod wrote. The issue is not whether you need a letter from the Selective Service (based on what you wrote you do need one) but what the consequences may be for not having registered for Selective Service when you were required to do that.

After you got your conditional GC, your status changed for a non-immigrant to a conditional immigrant. Since this happened before your 26-th birthday, you were required to register with the Selective Service then.

The fact that you answered this question incorrectly in N-400 is not a big deal by itself. At the interview you can just explain that you made a mistake. You will need to have a status information letter from the Selective Service then.

At the interview the IO will decide how much weight to attach to the fact that you did not register when you were required to by law. The bad news is, as boatbod wrote, that this infraction will matter more for determining if you have "good moral character" if this happened within the statuatory period for the N-400 consideration (last 3 years if your N-400 is based on 3 years of marriage to a USC and last 5 years if your N-400 is based on being an LPR for at least 5 years).
I don't know how seriously the treat this issue, but I suspect that if you did not have any other problems with the law, then the Selective Service issue by itself will not sink your N-400 application.

The good news is that the more time passes, the less significant this issue becomes. So even, in the worst-case scenario, if your N-400 is denied now because of the SS issue, you can refile it a few years later and be approved then.
 
Thanks for the suggestions, I think I'll do that.

OK, looks like I need to get a letter from Selective Service.
My interview is on beginning of March, should I go through the trouble of re-scheduling it or just try to get stuff out ASAP?
Also on SSS site in Section 2 I am supposed to explain why I didn't register.
If I simply didn't know and no-one ever told me, what is a good reason to write down?
My friends who became citizens told me that they got their selective service registration papers in the mail once they were eligible but I never got anything.

I also have another question on Moral Character Section in N-400.
There is a part about being arrested and I marked it "NO".
However, several months before obtaining the TN-1 visa, I was arrested for reckless driving (going 100 in 75 zone). I was a Canadian citizen at the time and was on the way to visiting my sister in the US. Should I mention this during interview, because maybe if I don't mention it they may find out ? Or should I not worry about it since I had no US status at the time ?

Regarding the arrest, I posted bail for several hundred dollars and then wrote a letter to the judge who then took the posted bail money as the fine. Should this be mentioned during interview ?
 
radmax said:
Thanks for the suggestions, I think I'll do that.

OK, looks like I need to get a letter from Selective Service.
My interview is on beginning of March, should I go through the trouble of re-scheduling it or just try to get stuff out ASAP?
Also on SSS site in Section 2 I am supposed to explain why I didn't register.
If I simply didn't know and no-one ever told me, what is a good reason to write down?
Click to expand...

If you send a request for a Selective Service letter now, there is a good chance you will get it before the interview. The reason you give is the truth, so you should go with that.



radmax said:
I also have another question on Moral Character Section in N-400.
There is a part about being arrested and I marked it "NO".
However, several months before obtaining the TN-1 visa, I was arrested for reckless driving (going 100 in 75 zone). I was a Canadian citizen at the time and was on the way to visiting my sister in the US. Should I mention this during interview, because maybe if I don't mention it they may find out ? Or should I not worry about it since I had no US status at the time ?

Regarding the arrest, I posted bail for several hundred dollars and then wrote a letter to the judge who then took the posted bail money as the fine. Should this be mentioned during interview ?
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This is a potentially more serious matter. You should have answered "yes" to the question about arrests. They specifically ask about arrests anywhere, for any reason, at any time. You should also get the supporting documentation regarding how your case has been disposed off. If you don't have it, call the court clerk of the municipal court responsible for the city/town/village etc where you got arrested and ask them to mail you these documents. You really should have enclosed all of this stuff to you N-400, and you most definitely need to bring it to the interview.

It is not a good idea to lie and try to conceal this arrest. The consequences if you get caught in this lie, now or later, could be quite substantial.

I have to say that between your reckless driving arrest and the Selective Service issue you may have some problems with establishing "good moral character" this time around....
 
This is a potentially more serious matter. You should have answered "yes" to the question about arrests. They specifically ask about arrests anywhere, for any reason, at any time. You should also get the supporting documentation regarding how your case has been disposed off. If you don't have it, call the court clerk of the municipal court responsible for the city/town/village etc where you got arrested and ask them to mail you these documents. You really should have enclosed all of this stuff to you N-400, and you most definitely need to bring it to the interview.
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Good point baikal (and boatbod, too)! Let me add few things...

Radmax....how could you miss this???? The question was asked clear, in plain English with word "ever" bolded. In addition, instructions were very direct, too. You will need to explain yourself in a very clear, straightforward and thrutful way.

I have to admit that you are making me nervous about your application. I can only imagine what IO officer would feel....

Having an arrest for high speed driving is pretty unusual.....You will need some damn good story to explain yourself. I sincerely hope you were not resisting arrest, fighting with officer and doing some stupidity like that.

It is not a good idea to lie and try to conceal this arrest. The consequences if you get caught in this lie, now or later, could be quite substantial.
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Absoultelly!!!!

(1) If you are caught lying to IO under oath, you are comitting perjury for which you can be senteced to jail time + deported. In addition, those caught lying can be PERMANENTLY denied from any immigration benefit, including citzenship, green card, non-immigrant visa etc.

(2) During your inteview, you might be asked about your old cases (TN-1, green card). IO has rigth to re-review them and eventually spot any problems, ask for further clarifications, deny your current benefit, ask for court preecedings, etc. If by any chance, you had to disclose this arrest during your GC/TN-1 process and you did not...and got this benefit based on conceling material fact...you are in serious trouble!!!

(3) Just to give you an illustration how serious is this....If you comitt certain offense(s), you can still become citizen. But, if you lie, you can not EVER NEVER even if you lie about things that "seem" unimportant.

(4) Your citizenship can be revoked later if it is determined that you lied in your application or during your interview.

(5) By lying and conceling material facts, you are actually making your application process and experience more difficult, more costly and more time-consuming than it should be.

I have to say that between your reckless driving arrest and the Selective Service issue you may have some problems with establishing "good moral character" this time around....
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Yeah....I agree.

God knows what else you missed to report....

If I were you, I would get a lawyer immediatelly. I have no confidence that you will know how to handle this situation on your own. You created tons of problems already and have no feeling about potential damage that you are doing to yourself.

I'm sorry for a "harsher" language....but you need to wake up.

Good luck!

P.S.: I'm not a lawyer or an immigration expert. I'm just an ordinary guy and you are soley responsible for your acts.
 
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thanks for all your suggestions.
the thing is I didn't try to conceal it, I just thought that question was pertaining to the time while I had some sort of status in US since this is for US Citizenship.
Arrest was surprising to me as well since I know of people who did way more than 25 miles over and we're just given a warning, maybe officer had a bad day.
I didn't think it would matter since I was just visiting at the time. I guess its really up to officer to determine if I was trying to lie. As bad as it sounds, I never really thought of concealing anything.

What can a lawyer do at this point given this info.
I don't want to go just so that they can hear me out, schedule bunch of appointments, and finally after 1000's of $$ tell me that there is nothing they can do.
 
Once you fill out form and send it to SS.They will check their database to see if you were notified by them .If not they will send you letter stating you were eligible and required to register.but we dont have any records that we notified you.That kinda exempts you from lot of things.
 
Seems like poor excuses to me :(

I would definately hire a lawyer to help you get through this Interview process as they have expertise in defending people's actions.

Agree with the folks that have posted in this thread....and Good Luck...I think you're going to need it.
 
Radmax,

I have to say your case just went from "have a small problem with selective service" to "ding, ding, call a lawyer asap". As superstring said, you cannot afford to conceal this stuff because not only can it get you in hot water during the natz process, but it could potentially come to bite you somewhere down the road if USCIS ever decided revoke your citizenship on the basis that it was obtained fraudulently.

Apply for the selective service letter now - it should only take a couple of weeks to arrive - and please, please find yourself a good immigration attorney.
 
Yes, your problem is that your "omissions" will signal all sorts of red flags in the IO's mind. Your IO may just grill you and grill you in your interview (I don't know this for a fact, but having seen, for example, how border guards act when they smell a lie, I'm guessing that that's what would result).

Whatever you do, don't lie! That's an excellent way to be an ex-resident of the US (or even get some government hospitality).
 
Thanks everyone for your input.
Actually, upon getting home and checking the copy of the N-400 I found that I entered YES for question 16 (about being ever arrested), so "whooosh" somewhat of a huge relief.

It is the part about being in jail that was marked "no".
I am not sure why i put no, maybe because I was bailed out on the spot by someone who went to police station with me.
A few weeks ago I got a letter for missing evidence but it didn't say what was missing. I'll just bring all the court papers from the arrest to the interview.
I guess this makes it better since I actually didn't deny it in the application, even though I didn't mention of it with the other traffic tickets.
 
Yes, it'll definitely give a better impression if you're not changing answers to those particular Q's. Do have the court disposition available - I'm sure the IO will want to see it.
 
I already requested the court documents for the arrest.
Well, now I am on filling out the Selective Service Request letter and have some questions.

I renewed the original TN visa 3 times before getting married and being granted conditional permanent resident status. I am supposed to put all the statuses held from the time of entry. The TN visas are ok ie the dates overlap and I held legal status all the time

The question is: according to date on original temporary greencard, it says resident since Aug13/02 (when my 3rd TN expired on Aug.5/02) however I got I-512 Approved Documents on Feb/02 giving me until Feb/03 permission to re-enter US. Also my interview to get conditional permanent status was on June/02. The gap between Aug3/02 and Aug.13/02 - does the I-512 cover that or fact that my interview was before TN expired ?
 
Your application for adjustment of status was already filed, so I believe you should be ok with what you have. All the same, its probably worthwhile noting when you filed your I-485.
 
Wow I'm so happy that I found this thread. In any case, I too am having problems fully understanding the Selective Service question:

"Are you a male who lived in the United States at any time between your 18th and 26th birthdays in any status except as a lawful nonimmigrant?"

I have been a permanent resident since the age of 5 in 1988 and I registered for Selective Services in 2002, yet I'm unsure of how to answer it. It's basically asking if you were in the US illegally between the ages of 18 and 26 right? So I should enter the date I registered for Selective Services as well as my Selective Service number and answer "NO" to the question, right? Thanks very very much for your help in advance.

-DMan
 
dman80 said:
Wow I'm so happy that I found this thread. In any case, I too am having problems fully understanding the Selective Service question:

"Are you a male who lived in the United States at any time between your 18th and 26th birthdays in any status except as a lawful nonimmigrant?"

I have been a permanent resident since the age of 5 in 1988 and I registered for Selective Services in 2002, yet I'm unsure of how to answer it. It's basically asking if you were in the US illegally between the ages of 18 and 26 right? So I should enter the date I registered for Selective Services as well as my Selective Service number and answer "NO" to the question, right? Thanks very very much for your help in advance.

-DMan
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No, what its saying is if at any time between the ages of 18-26, you were in the US as a lawful non-immigrant (i.e. anything but an LPR or an illegal) then you are not required to have registered with SS. Flipping the logic around, all illegals and lawful immigrants (residents) are required to register.

Since you were here as an LPR, you should answer "YES" and list your SS number.
 
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