Selective Service registration - 26 years old

[TMDM 15]

Hello all,

I entered the US in December as a tourist. Ended up marrying my wife and filing for AOS in February. Our green card was approved on 10th July.

I've received the paperwork and it mentions selective service. I am now 26 years old as of the 18th June 2015. But upon arriving as a tourist and right up to before my greencard was approved I was 25. Was I required to register to Selective service? or is this only required when I'm officially permanent resident? EG. 10 July

I'm essentially looking to see if i should have registered before my greencard was even approved, or is it only aa requirement after wards.

Thanks so much

Edited August 2, 2015 by TMDM

[jacobson00 5]

if you are 26 now, REGISTER NOW!!!! otherwise it will come back to bit you if you are looking to get citizenship

[tsabbas 47]

Actually, you can't register with selective service once you have turned 26. There is good information at their website:

https://www.sss.gov/Home/Men-26-and-OLDER

[TMDM 15]

Thanks for your responses. What i'm attempting to find out is.. between arriving as a tourist (25 years old) and becoming a permanent resident (26 years old) should i have registered? Or is it only once you're officially a permanent resident that you are required to register if below the age of 26?

Thanks again!

[newacct 688]

You don't have to register when you are in nonimmigrant status, which ended when the I-94 expired (assuming that this was before you became a permanent resident). So did the I-94 expire before or after you turned 26?

Edited August 2, 2015 by newacct

[TMDM 15]

I entered as a tourist on December 10th. And this would have expired on March 9th (i was still 25) and i'd registered to adjust my status as of february 10th. It wasn't approved until July 10th though.

I wasn't aware that I needed to register for SSS until I was officially a permanent resident which didn't happen until after my 26th birthday. My lawyer failed to make me aware of this.

Though It does state on the i485 form they register it for you...

[newacct 688]

I think technically, you were probably required to register, because you were under 26 and not in nonimmigrant status.

But I think you arguably satisfied the requirement, by the fact that you filed the I-485 before you turned 25 should suffice, and the I-485 says:

Upon USCIS acceptance of my application, I authorize USCIS to transmit to the Selective Service System my name, current address, Social Security Number, date of birth, and the date I filed the application for the purpose of recording my Selective Service registration as of the filing date.

Since it says "recording my Selective Service registration as of the filing date", they are supposed to record your registration as of the February date you filed I-485.

Did you check the SSS site to see if you are already registered?

Even if, hypothetically, it shows you as not having registered, I think that, if it comes up (if you are denied some benefit for not having registered), you would have a strong case to argue that they should have registered you, and a reasonable person reading that statement on the I-485 would believe that they will be registered as long as they file before they were 26.

Edited August 2, 2015 by newacct

[Starkilla09 366]

You didn't have to register since you were on a valid non-Immigrant status when you entered prior to actual approval on your residency and had already turned 26 when you were required to upon being a permanent resident. You're fine don't worry about it. You would've had to if you were in an unlawful status with an expired I-94, under 26 at the moment without any pending adjustment of status. By applying for applying for adjustment of status, you were on a lawful presence even if your I-94 had expired and continued to be until you were approved for residency then.

[newacct 688]

You didn't have to register since you were on a valid non-Immigrant status when you entered prior to actual approval on your residency and had already turned 26 when you were required to upon being a permanent resident. You're fine don't worry about it. You would've had to if you were in an unlawful status with an expired I-94, under 26 at the moment without any pending adjustment of status. By applying for applying for adjustment of status, you were on a lawful presence even if your I-94 had expired and continued to be until you were approved for residency then.

Do you have any source for what you are claiming? That people with pending Adjustment of Status are not required to register?

And technically, he was in "unlawful status", according to the legal definition.

Edited August 2, 2015 by newacct

[Moustafa/Crystal 65]

Why not call/email selective service? 800-877-8339

OR visit their site... https://www.sss.gov/Registration/Immigrants-and-Dual-Nationals

NOTE: Non-immigrant men living in the United States on a valid visa are NOT required to register for as long as they remain on a valid visa up until their 26th birthday.

[TMDM 15]

Thanks all. I checked their website and it seems it isn't finding me. Though my case was only approved 1 month ago, perhaps it would take longer to update.

The worry I have is, I know i should have been registered automatically when I signed my i485 so I didn't contact them because I assumed this was done for me by uscis. Now i'm 26, if it wasn't done for me i'm questioning whether I needed to go ahead and do it myself. As my GC wasn't approved until I was 26.. the Selective service website doesn't say anything about people who are in the limbo stage of their adjustment of status without approval and just an EAD. I will give them a call on Monday and find out.

Thank you for all of your responses and any more input clarity would be great.

Thanks again

[Hypnos 6,576]

I suspect you were likely required to register, since your status as a tourist expired prior to your 26th birthday.

Call SSS tomorrow and ask them to confirm your registration. Many times people's registration does not appear on the online system but their phone agents confirm you are registered.

[TMDM 15]

Thanks again for the response guys. I have had different responses. My lawyer advised me to attempt to register anyway and then show the denial letter as proof that I did at least attempt to register. But i've spoken with SSS who confirmed i'm not in their system and i should have registered. But USCIS have confirmed I wasn't registered by them automatically as I didn't become a permanent resident until after my 26th Birthday. So not really sure who to believe!

[Buckyball 22]

The only fact that matters is the date when you became an permanent resident, which is shown on your green card.

As you mentioned, this date is after you got 26th, so there was no need to register.

[ExPatty 502]

Thanks again for the response guys. I have had different responses. My lawyer advised me to attempt to register anyway and then show the denial letter as proof that I did at least attempt to register. But i've spoken with SSS who confirmed i'm not in their system and i should have registered. But USCIS have confirmed I wasn't registered by them automatically as I didn't become a permanent resident until after my 26th Birthday. So not really sure who to believe!

Please remember though that if in any doubt whatsoever they are going to play CYA and tell you that you needed to register. I doubt the guy on the phone has any idea about the nuances of immigration law and statuses.

Here's the basic deal: Non-immigrant = don't have to register. Immigrant (i.e. green card) = have to register. I think your question, though, is during the time when you were adjusting status but had not yet become a green card recipient, did you have to register? I've read on this in the past and if I had to bet my life on it I would say no, because I don't think you're an official immigrant until the green card is approved, though possibly there are guidelines elsewhere that say what the adjusting status interim is defined as.

The good news is this: if you were supposed to register and you didn't, you have a very good defense about it since worst case you only just had to register and had a pretty short window to do it. I would also print this thread up, because it shows you put thought into the matter and have been pretty proactive. But this assumes you even had to register anyway. Also, if a person did have to register, and never did, it just basically makes getting citizenship harder until they are 31. That five year window between 26-31 can be dealt with if you have a convincing excuse about why you never registered, but after 31 I think it's moot; it's certainly no absolutely, indefinite bar against citizenship (though there are some other smaller benefits to registering if you were supposed to). So what I'm saying is even if you messed up, it's not a catastrophe.