US Citizenship got denied due to failure to register with SS

A

ayzdevil

New Member
Hi,
I am a permament resident in the US since I was 11 yrs old. Now I am 29 yrs old and I applied for US citizenship and got denied due to my failure in registering with the Selective Services when I was 18 back in 1995.

The honest reason why I didnt register was because I was completely unaware of this requirement and I never got the registration card in the mail (but SS said they mailed me one) or whoever picked it from the mailbox misplaced it and never informed me. On top of this.. my parents, aunts and uncles being all immigrants are completely clueless about this rule so nobody really adviced me about this. I turned 18 in 1995, 2 years later (1997) I went to my native country to go to school and didnt start permamently living in the US again until 2002, I was already 23. If only I went to college here in the US, I would have found out about this rule since I most likely would have applied for a Federal Loan/Grant but I never applied for any Federal benefit/program.

I am planning on requesting an appeal/hearing. Is there still a chance to get approved for citizenship? What kind of reason will be valid? What else can I do?

ANY HELP WOULD BE VERY MUCH APPRECIATED.
THANK YOU
 
Ayzdevil, on the plus side you are still permanent resident - however you have an uphill battle infront of you. Note hopeless ... but you could use some luck if nothing else.

If ever somebody has been denied for not registering then his case could not have looked much worse than yours. You have been outside the country for several years - that supports your claim that you did not know anything about the requirement to register.

Nevertheless, you lived here for so long, even at the time when your peers had to register. Don't get me wrong, I believe you that you simply missed that - if you would have known, you would have registered. It's not a big deal. Take in consideration that even undocumented immigrants have to register by law when they fit the requirements (...)

Get a good immigration lawyer, you really need somebody with very good legal experience on this issue. Unfortunately this forum lost just recently some legal expertise - but even with that you have to get 1:1 support in your case.

You have to stick to the truth, of course, but a lawyer may very well help you to present your case most effectively.

I hope you will find somebody with a similar experience here, however waste no time and get some legal support lined up.

If you somehow could convince the board of appeal that you did not know about the requirement to sign up for Selective Services as a permanent resident, then they could let you off the hook.

I wish you good luck ! Alex
 
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Is a failure to register for SS considered a permanent bar? Or is it a "Moral Character" problem that would be irrelevant 5 years after the OP turned 26?
 
ayzdevil said:
Hi,
I am a permament resident in the US since I was 11 yrs old. Now I am 29 yrs old and I applied for US citizenship and got denied due to my failure in registering with the Selective Services when I was 18 back in 1995.

The honest reason why I didnt register was because I was completely unaware of this requirement and I never got the registration card in the mail (but SS said they mailed me one) or whoever picked it from the mailbox misplaced it and never informed me. On top of this.. my parents, aunts and uncles being all immigrants are completely clueless about this rule so nobody really adviced me about this. I turned 18 in 1995, 2 years later (1997) I went to my native country to go to school and didnt start permamently living in the US again until 2002, I was already 23. If only I went to college here in the US, I would have found out about this rule since I most likely would have applied for a Federal Loan/Grant but I never applied for any Federal benefit/program.

I am planning on requesting an appeal/hearing. Is there still a chance to get approved for citizenship? What kind of reason will be valid? What else can I do?

ANY HELP WOULD BE VERY MUCH APPRECIATED.
THANK YOU
Click to expand...
That sux !!! although i do not know the answer to your question, i have to rant.
maybe you should becom eillegal all together, and get amnesty sometime in the future, sometimes this country's law make no sense to me.
 
Some states (I know Virginia does) require that males who are requried to register for SS must be registered with them before they can get a DL. Plus registration with SS is also required for federal educational loans and grants. I would think that high schools in the US would also let their graduating males know about SS.

Though you may have not known the requirement, I find it hard to believe as millions of others (immigrants and natural born Americans alike) know about it and register.
 
If anything else fails, wait till you are 31 and apply again.

I find it weird though that you never got any reminders about this stuff. When I got my green card at 23 after 2.5 years of waiting and paperwork, I got a reminder to register with selective service a month and a half later. Funny how things work with the government - when you need something, they take all the time they can take. But if they need something from you....
 
ayz devil,
i have told it before,i made it on the last month...i myself living just like u for almost 10 yrs had no idea about sss.....
and i know a lot of others...so brother if u r filing a lawsuit or something ,plz let me know as i will be mor than happy to help u ....i can give u in writing about my case if it might help ...if u wanna make it a point in court that not a lot of ppl get to know about sss
 
appealing to INS

I dont have plans to file a lawsuit but I am just seeking advice or help on how to pass when I do the appeal since I am requesting for an appeal ...

thanks
 
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