Non-U.S. citizens have all the same reasons U.S. citizens have to resist being drafted into the U.S. military, and perhaps additional reasons to oppose U.S. military conscription. But draft resistance can have additional adverse consequences for immigrants who eventually want to become U.S. citizens.
Many immigrants, especially draft-age and younger men, come to the U.S. to avoid being drafted into the military or national service in other countries. That was true in the 19th century, it was true in the 20th century, and it is still true in the 21st century. All that changes from year to year are which other countries’ systems of conscription these refugees and immigrants are fleeing.
Most, but far from all, male U.S. “residents” between ages 18 and 26, including undocumented people, are supposed to register with the Selective Service System (SSS), regardless of citizenship. This includes all male U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents (“green-card” holders), but it also includes many non-U.S. citizens, dual citizens, and undocumented U.S. residents.
If you register with the Selective Service System, you can be drafted, if there is a draft, even if you are not a U.S. citizen.
The major exceptions to the registration requirement are certain non-U.S. citizens who are in the U.S. as tourists or temporary visitors or on “nonimmigrant” visas including student visas and H visas for “temporary workers. The SSS automatically registers or sends threatening letters to all male draft-age applicants for driver’s licenses from some states, but the SSS has no way to know which driver’s license applicants are actually required to register. Whether a draft-age individual is required to register depends on immigration and visa status as well as sex as assigned at birth, neither of which can be determined from driver’s license records. As a result, hundreds of thousands of draft-age male foreign students and foreign workers with H visa types, who are considered “temporary” non-immigrant U.S. residents even if they remain in the U.S. for years and have U.S. driver’s licenses, are automatically registered each year, even though they aren’t required to register or subject to the draft as it is currently envisioned. In general, tourists, temporary visitors, and holders of any of these types of “nonimmigrant” visas are not required or register and can ignore SSS registration confirmation notices or threatening letters.
You can register without penalty at any time until your 26th birthday. Many immigrants register just before they apply for naturalization.
You might be able to become a U.S. citizen even if you didn’t register before your 26th birthday, but you can’t count on it.
There is no law making failure or refusal to register for the U.S. draft per se grounds for denial of naturalization. But not having registered with Selective Service System can be, and sometimes is, considered evidence of a lack of “good moral character”, which can be taken into consideration in decisions on naturalization.
The Selective Service System (not a reliable or trustworthy source, and not the decision-making agency with respect to naturalization) says that:
Most men over age 31 have been allowed to be naturalized even if they didn’t register, but this is a matter of administrative practice and interpretation. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) could change how it interprets the law, at any time, without warning.
Some men ages 26-31 have been approved for naturalization as U.S. citizens after submitting statements with their applications for naturalization, “I did not register for the Selective Service because I was not aware of this requirement. If I had known about this requirement, I would have registered.” But there is no guarantee that such a statement will be accepted as sufficient, and the practices of USCIS officers reviewing applications for naturalization vary.
If you lived in the U.S. at any time between your 18th and 26 birthdays, and you aren’t sure whether you registered (or were automatically registered by getting a drivers license in some states, or in some other way), you should discuss this with an immigration attorney or advisor and/or a draft counselor before you apply for naturalization as a U.S. citizen.
You may be subject to the draft in any country in which you reside or of which you are a citizen. Dual or multiple citizens, or people living outside the country of their citizenship (including U.S. citizens and dual or multiple citizens residing abroad as well as foreign residents in the U.S.), may be subject to the draft in more than one country. A 1930 treaty to which the U.S. is a party limits the liability of dual citizens to being drafted in more than one country, in certain cases, but many countries aren’t parties to this treaty. See this information about the draft in some other countries.
More information:
This page published or republished here 27 December 2020; most recently modified 25 April 2024. This site is maintained by Edward Hasbrouck. Corrections, contributions (articles, graphics, photos, videos, links, etc.), and feedback are welcomed.