How Long Does Selective Service Registration Last

What is the Selective Service Organization (SSS)? This agency is responsible for collecting the personal data of all men in the United States between the ages of 18 and 25 (born subsequently 1960) for utilise in the event of a national emergency requiring the utilize of a military machine draft.

The personal data collected includes current addresses, full names, citizenship status, and other information.

Who Is Required To Register For Selective Service

This is required of all males in the United States regardless of citizenship. The official website of the U.s. Selective Service says "very few" exceptions for this registration are possible. Who is required to register?

All males between ages xviii and 25 within 30 days of arriving in the Usa
U.South. built-in citizens
Naturalized citizens
Parolees
Undocumented immigrants
Legal permanent residents
Aviary seekers
Refugees
"All males with visas of whatever kind" which expired more than 30 days agone

A small number of people exempt from the SSS requirement "are those on electric current non-immigrant visas" according to the Selective Service.

Which Males Are Exempt From Registering?

Non-U.South. male person who arrived in the U.S. for the commencement time after his 26th altogether: Documentation for this requires a valid date of entry stamp in a passport, or an I-94 with date of entry stamp on it, or a letter from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) indicating the date the human entered the U.s.a.. In cases where a male enters the U.S. illegally, "he must provide proof that he was not living in the U.S. from age xviii through 25." Green cards practise not count equally documentation for these purposes.
Non-U.S. male person on a valid not-immigrant visa: If a male person enters the U.Due south. on an F-1 pupil visa and stayed by his 26th birthday, documentation would be required showing "that he was admitted on an F-i visa and attended school full-time as required."
Males born before 1960: Typical documentation requirements employ including providing a state-issued ID carte du jour, passport, nascence certificate, etc.
Veterans: DD-214 or current total-time active duty orders, military machine ID cards or other paperwork may be required as proof.

Why Are Women Exempt From Registering With The Selective Service?

According to the SSS, current federal police does not make a provision for women to be added to the Selective Service System. There is a single, ane-sentence blurb on the official site stating such with no further elaboration.

A Brief History Of SSS

Military machine drafts are zippo new. Forced conscription and land-required service take been effectually every bit long equally there have been militaries to initiate them. Co-ordinate to some sources the modern version began in the French Revolution.

At that time in the tardily 1700s, in that location was "nearly-universal" conscription in France. Many European nations took note, requiring their citizens to serve anywhere from one to eight years depending on the armed services, whether it was a time of state of war, etc.

There was definitely conscription happening in America at the time of the Civil War, and the exercise was used once again in World War One. The difference existence that in both cases the armed services draft ended as soon equally the wars themselves did.

Not so with modernistic American draft policy, though it was halted briefly in the 1970s to accommodate an overhaul of the registration system. According to SSS itself, the kickoff "peacetime draft" occurred in 1940, earlier the United States entered World War 2.

In the aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor by Japanese Royal forces, recovery efforts were enhanced by the added manpower.

The draft at this time expired briefly at war'due south cease, simply to be reinstated two years later. From 1948 to 1973, the draft was used to maintain troop force regardless of peacetime or war. Korea, Vietnam, and other operations benefited from the draft but its days of beingness a tool used past the government to maintain troop numbers were coming to an finish.

"Consecration authorisation expired in 1973" the SSS official site says, but the Selective Service System remained as standby performance in case of a national emergency.

In 1979, the system was renovated and registration was over again mandatory come 1980, when U.Southward. males were required to sign up within 30 days of their 18th birthday.

What Registering With The Selective Service Means

Registration with SSS means you lot have identified yourself to the Federal government equally a male citizen who has signed up for the draft. At that place has non been an active draft since 1973 and a draft cannot be reinstated without the blessing of Congress and the President. The registration is basically a database kept should it exist needed in times of a national emergency.

What Registering Does Non Hateful

Registration with the Selective Service does non mean you take enlisted in the armed services. It does non identify a war machine service commitment on y'all, and registration does not make you function of the all-volunteer United States military.

Furthermore, the Selective Service official site reminds citizens "The fact that a man is required to register does not mean that he will exist drafted… a typhoon would well-nigh probable occur simply in the effect of war or national emergency."

Failure To Register Is A Offense

The Selective Service official site says those convicted of failure to annals with SSS can result in v twelvemonth imprisonment, a fine upward to $250,000, or both. SSS also advises that failure to annals makes y'all ineligible for "certain benefits."

What To Do If Yous Did Not Register Earlier Age 26

If y'all are at or over 26 years of age and take non registered with the selective service, you may be declared ineligible for federal and state programs.

This includes citizenship programs. You will need to contact the Selective Service to request a status information letter. According to the SSS, this is part of the process that tin assistance yous determine what your status with SSS is.

In essence, the Selective Service is looking for any indication that your failure to annals was Non a knowing and willful failure or refusal to practise and so. Telephone call Selective Service to become more than information on this process or to learn how to start it. Call them at one-847-688-6888. Your phone call will exist answered by an automatic voice processing system.

Joe Wallace is a 13-yr veteran of the United States Air Force and a quondam reporter for Air Force Television News