How Long Do You Need To Keep Your Selective Service Card After 26

Registering for the Selective Service

Themes/Topics: Constabulary & Policy

Geography: National

Audience: Undocumented Youth

What is the Selective Service and do I need to register?

The Selective Service System (SSS) allows the federal regime to keep a list of all men or people assigned male person at nascence (AMAB) who would be bachelor to serve as soldiers in the U.S. Armed services in the event that a mandatory typhoon became necessary. According to federal police force, all men permanently living in the U.S., regardless of immigration status, between the ages of 18 and 26, must register for the Selective Service and should register within 30 days of their 18th birthday. A Social Security Number is non required to annals.

Preview of Selective Service registration form

It is important to register for the Selective Service fifty-fifty if you lot are undocumented because information technology could impact your future application for citizenship. To learn more virtually how and why failure to annals could negatively impact your citizenship application, see this ILRC practise advisory.

Are in that location whatever risks in registering for Selective Service?

Registering for the SS does provide the federal government with your name and address, so the authorities tin can contact you in the event of a mandatory draft. However, in that location has not been any blazon of mandatory draft since the 1970s. This means that the SSS has never used those names to force people to fight with the U.S. Armed forces. Nevertheless, all men or AMAB people within that historic period range are all the same required to register.

In regards to sharing someone's immigration status, the SSS states:

They take not at present, nor in the past collected or shared whatever information which would indicate a man'southward immigration status, either documented or undocumented. The selective service system has no authorisation to collect such information, has no use for it, and it is irrelevant to the registration requirement. Consequently, there is no clearing information to share with anyone.

How do I annals?

As an undocumented male person or AMAB person, you must register for Selective Service past mail service. You should not try to register online at the sss.gov website. Follow these steps instead:

Print and fill up out this printable postcard and mail it to the SSS. This postcard is bachelor at your local U.S. Postal service Offices and at sss.gov. Exist sure to attach appropriate postage stamp. When you mail the postcard, get a "proof of mailing" from the Postal service Office. That way, even if your card gets lost or not properly added to the SSS, yous can testify in a futurity citizenship awarding that you complied with the registration requirement. This will serve as proof that yous sent in your Selective Service registration.

How long does the process take?

Selective Service registration processing takes i to two months. It's of import to brainstorm the process as before long as possible after turning xviii. Once y'all have been successfully registered, the authorities will post you lot a Selective Service Registration Card. If you do not receive a bill of fare inside that fourth dimension frame, contact the SSS. Be sure to keep a copy of this card because y'all might be required to show it afterward on.

Sample image showing registration acknowledgement of Selective Service registration. — Sample of Selective Service registration acknowledgement letter of the alphabet.

How do I provide proof that I registered for Selective Service?

You can verify that you successfully registered for the Selective Service by providing a copy of your Selective Service Registration Bill of fare.

If I register for Selective Service, does that hateful I'm eligible to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces?

The SSS does non determine whether a person is eligible to become a U.S. Armed Forces service member. See: united states.gov/bring together-war machine for details. By and large, only U.South. Citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents (people with dark-green cards) are allowed to serve in the U.S. war machine. There accept been limited exceptions to this rule, such as the MAVNI plan which is not currently active. So fifty-fifty if there were a future typhoon from the SSS, in that location would have to exist another change in law or policy to allow undocumented people to serve.

Registrants 26 and Older

The SSS cannot accept a registration from anyone who has already reached their 26th altogether. Therefore, if y'all are a male person or AMAB person who is 26 or older merely did not register for the Selective Service, you are considered a "non-registrant." For more than data, become to sss.gov, select "Registration," then select " Men 26 and Older."

Registrants Nether xviii

The SSS cannot have a registration from anyone who is under 18 years old. Therefore, students can wait until 30 days before their 18th birthday and post in the Selective Service Registration Card.

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