> I am filling out N400. There is a question about whether I was a
> resident in the USA between the age 18 and 26 and was registered in
> Selective Service. The problem is that I never knew about it up until
> a couple of months ago. I got the status letter from SSS saying that I
> have never registered and it is to late to register now (I am 29)
>
> Question: do I have to attach a separate explanation letter with n400
> explaining why I did not register together with the reply from
> selective service?
>
> Thanks
>
> Dgrand
From the Adjudicator's Field Manual:
A) General. Failure to register for the selective service is a very
important indication that the applicant lacks the attachment required
for naturalization. This is particularly the case if the applicant
failed to register during the five-year period during which the
applicant must establish attachment and favorable disposition (see
section 316(a)(3) of the Act). If the applicant knowingly and
willfully failed to register, but the failure to register occurred
outside the attachment and favorable disposition period, the failure
to register is not an absolute bar to naturalization. However, you may
consider the failure to register in determining whether the applicant
has demonstrated the required attachment and favorable disposition.
When making these determinations it is important to consider the
applicant’s age. See General Counsel Opinion 98-6 dated April 27,
1998. See also the memorandum Corrections to a Guide to Naturalization
and the Effect of Failure to Register for the Selective Service on
Naturalization Eligibility dated February 16, 1999, located in
Appendix 74-7.
If you have reason to believe the applicant may have failed to comply
with Selective Service laws there are several steps you should take:
• Ask the applicant at what age he immigrated to the U.S. or
adjusted status.
• Check the file to see if there is evidence that at the time
he obtained LPR status he signed a statement during the immigrant
visa interview or adjustment interview acknowledging that he was
advised to register.
• Ask the applicant about the circumstances surrounding the
reasons for his failure to register to determine if he knowingly and
willfully failed to register.
• Ask the applicant to provide the status information letter from
Selective Service described in the memo from William Yates, Corrections
to a Guide to Naturalization and the Effect of Failure to Register for
the Selective Service on Naturalization Eligibility, dated February 16,
1999, in Appendix 74-7.
(B) Applicant Under Age 26. Male applicants who are younger than 26 at
the time of filing for naturalization must provide evidence of
having registered prior to the adjudication of the application. If
the applicant has not registered you should determine if the
applicant knowingly and willfully failed to register. If this is the
case, and the applicant refuses to register for the Selective
Service, he should be denied for lack of attachment and not being
well disposed to the good order and happiness of the United States.
[See section 316(a)(3) of the Act.] If the applicant has not
registered with Selective Service, but this failure to register was
not knowing or willful, you should continue the case until the
applicant demonstrates that he has registered with Selective
Service. [See General Counsel Opinion 98-6 and Chapter 72.4 of this
manual.] Advise the applicant to register with the Selective Service
and provide USCIS with a copy of the registration letter or status
information letter discussed in the memorandum Corrections to a
Guide to Naturalization and the Effect of Failure to Register for
the Selective Service on Naturalization Eligibility, dated February
16, 1999, located in Appendix 74-7.
(C) Applicant Between the Ages of 26 and 31. In cases where the
applicant has filed for naturalization between the ages of 26-31, he
no longer has a duty to register with Selective Service [50 USC
453(a)]. However, you can still deny the application if the
applicant knowingly and willfully failed to register with Selective
Service when he was younger than 26 [50 USC 462(g)]. Note that the
burden of proof falls on the applicant to establish that the failure
to register was not knowing and willful. See General Counsel Opinion
98-6 and Chapter 72.4 of this manual. The applicant should provide
USCIS the status information letter discussed in the memorandum
located in Appendix 74-7.
These applicants must establish that they did not knowingly and
willfully fail to register, and should be advised to:
• Contact the Selective Srevice and complete the Selective
Service's Questionaire Form (Males born after March 29, 1957);
• Receive a 'status information letter' from the Selective
Service;
• Send the status information letter to the USCIS as discussed in
Appendix 74-7.
(D) Applicant Older than 31. If the applicant files after his 31st
birthday, more than five years will have elapsed since his failure
to register. Therefore, the failure to register will have occurred
outside the period during which the applicant must show that he is
of good moral character. This means that even if the applicant
willfully and knowingly failed to register with the Selective
Service, this fact would not, in and of itself, be a bar to
eligibility so long as the applicant has currently satisfied the
good moral character requirements of section 316(a)(3) of the Act.
However, if the failure to register was willful and knowing, you can
consider this fact with other evidence concerning the applicant’s
compliance with section 316(a)(3). The applicant should provide the
status information letter discussed in the memorandum located in
Appendix 74-7.
These applicants must establish that they did not knowingly and
willfully fail to register, and should be advised to:
• Call the Selective Service's toll-free number (1-888-688-6888)
and complete the Selective Service System's Questionnaire Form (Males
born before March 29, 1957 should call 703-605-4047);
• Receive a 'status information letter' from Selective Service;
• Send the status information letter to the USCIS, as discussed in
Appendix 74-7.
(E) Additional References. For further information regarding Selective
Service registration, see Interpretations 315.3 Post World War I
Conscription Statutes.
You may also try the Selective Service System web site at: www.sss.gov.
This web site contains information regarding who must register, how to
verify a selective service registration, and how to register for
selective service on-line.
See General Counsel Opinion 98-16, Eligibility for Naturalization Under
INA 329, 8 U.S.C. 1440, When Honorable Discharge is Followed by
Dishonorable Discharge. A discharge or desertion from the military
forces may, on occasion, reflect a lack of good moral character. Failure
to register in accordance with the Selective Service laws carry with
them criminal penalties and, under certain circumstances, may affect an
applicant's ability to establish good moral character.
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