Selective Service registration for immigrant men

Step 1 — Check whether the rule applies to you

Selective Service keeps a list of men that it would use only if Congress and the President instruct it, and registering does not mean joining the military (SSS — FAQ). The U.S. has not had a draft since 1973 (USA.gov).

For immigrants, the answer depends on your status, not only your age. Selective Service’s chart says (SSS — Chart):

• must register: permanent residents (green card holders); refugee, parolee and asylee immigrants; undocumented immigrants; dual national U.S. citizens;
• don’t register: lawful nonimmigrants on current nonimmigrant visas, and seasonal agricultural workers on H-2A visas.

Two notes from the same chart (SSS — Chart):

• Immigrants who didn’t enter the U.S. until after age 26, or who kept lawful nonimmigrant status on a valid visa until after 26, were never required to register.
• Special rules apply to nationals of American Samoa and to citizens of the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau. They are in the chart’s footnote.

If your status changes before you turn 26, for example when you get a green card, you are now in a group the chart lists as “must register” (SSS — Chart).

Only men must register (SSS). Selective Service’s FAQ says that if you were born male, you are likely required to register (SSS — FAQ).

Step 2 — Check whether you’re already registered

You may already be registered without filling in a Selective Service form:

• If you got your green card from inside the U.S. on Form I-485, USCIS says that when it approves the application, it sends your name, address, Social Security number, date of birth and filing date to Selective Service for registration (USCIS — I-485 instructions). USCIS’s Policy Manual adds that Selective Service then sends you an acknowledgment that counts as official proof (USCIS — Policy Manual).
• If you got a driver’s license or state ID. In its report on 2024, Selective Service said 46 states and territories had laws that let men register when they get a driver’s license, learner’s permit or state ID (SSS — Annual report 2024). Our driver’s license guide covers the visit itself. If that form also offers voter registration, read our guide to civic rules for noncitizens first.

Don’t assume; check. Online verification shows your registration number and date (SSS). You’ll need your last name, Social Security number and date of birth (SSS — Verify). If no record is found but you believe you registered, Selective Service asks you to contact it during business hours (SSS — Verify).

Step 3 — Register online or by mail

• Online: men 18 through 25 can register at sss.gov with a valid Social Security number (SSS — FAQ). If you have one, you are required to provide it (SSS — FAQ).
• A brand-new SSN may not work yet. Selective Service receives new numbers from the Social Security Administration throughout the year, so a recently issued number may not be in its database yet (SSS — FAQ). Our guide to the Social Security number explains how to get one.
• Names with punctuation: the name fields don’t accept periods, and punctuation such as a hyphen is replaced with a space (SSS — FAQ).
• No Social Security number: contact Selective Service during its business hours (SSS — Register).
• By mail: USA.gov links to a paper form that you fill out and mail to the address printed on it (USA.gov).

If more than 30 days have passed since your 18th birthday, Selective Service’s FAQ says to register online right away; it accepts late registrations until you turn 26 (SSS — FAQ).

Step 4 — Keep your proof and update your address

After you register, Selective Service mails you a registration card, a form to update your information and an acknowledgment letter. If they don’t arrive within 90 days, contact Selective Service (USA.gov — Verify). You can also print a copy of your registration card online as proof (SSS); if you registered with your Social Security number, this works even if you lose the original (SSS — FAQ). Keep a copy with your immigration papers; you may need it years later.

When you move: men 18 through 25 must tell Selective Service about a new address within 10 days, until January 1 of the year they turn 26 (SSS — Update your information). This is separate from the rule for telling USCIS; see our guide to changing your address with USCIS and USPS. To correct a misspelled name or a birth date, Selective Service asks you to call (SSS — Update your information).

Step 5 — Know why it matters for citizenship

USCIS lists registration, for men 18 through 25, among the responsibilities of a permanent resident (USCIS — Rights and responsibilities). Selective Service says registering keeps a man eligible for state-funded student aid and jobs in many states, most federal jobs, federal job training and “U.S. citizenship for immigrant men” (SSS — Benefits & Penalties). It also says the agency or organization you apply to decides on these benefits, not Selective Service (SSS — Who needs to register).

The citizenship application, Form N-400, asks about Selective Service (USCIS — N-400 instructions). According to USCIS’s instructions (USCIS — N-400 instructions):

• if you’re under 26 and not registered, you must register before you apply;
• if you refused, or knowingly and willfully did not register when required, you “may be unable to establish” good moral character, attachment to the Constitution and a willingness to bear arms for the United States.

Selective Service adds that failing to register when required is a felony, punishable by a fine of up to $250,000, up to 5 years in prison, or both (SSS — Benefits & Penalties).

Step 6 — If you’re 26 or older and never registered

“Once you turn 26, it’s too late to register” (SSS — FAQ). Selective Service warns that men who didn’t register may face “A delay of U.S. citizenship proceedings for immigrants” (SSS — Men 26 and older). USCIS’s Policy Manual says that failure to register “is not a permanent bar to naturalization” (USCIS — Policy Manual). It describes three age groups, counted from the application until the oath (USCIS — Policy Manual):

• under 26: “generally ineligible”;
• 26 to 31: “may be ineligible,” with a chance to show that you didn’t knowingly or willfully fail to register, or that you weren’t required to;
• over 31: eligible, because the failure to register would be outside the “statutory period.”

For some situations, such as applying as the spouse of a U.S. citizen, the N-400 instructions use different ages (USCIS — N-400 instructions).

About “status information letters.” Since June 30, 2026, Selective Service no longer issues these letters. It suggests including its requirements chart and documents that support your situation, for example that you entered the U.S. after age 26 (SSS — FAQ). USCIS’s N-400 page, last updated June 16, 2026, still lists such a letter for some applicants aged 26 to 31 (USCIS — N-400). Because the two pages don’t match, get advice before you apply: see our guide to free immigration legal help.

Step 7 — Watch for automatic registration in December 2026

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026, signed on December 18, 2025, changes the law (GovInfo). Every male U.S. citizen and every other man living in the U.S. between 18 and 26 “shall be automatically registered” by the Director of Selective Service (Public Law 119-60, section 535). The change takes effect one year after the law was signed, so in December 2026 (GovInfo).

What the law says (GovInfo):

• it doesn’t apply to people admitted as nonimmigrants for as long as they keep lawful nonimmigrant status;
• the rules that carry it out may require you to give Selective Service information such as your address, Social Security number, phone and email, and may require federal agencies to share information;
• they may also require Selective Service to send you a written notice that you were registered, explaining how to correct it if you’re not required to be registered.

The same section also changes other parts of the Selective Service law (GovInfo). If you never registered and you’re 26 or older, ask authorized legal help how the change affects you.

Until the change takes effect, the old process is the one you’ll find: in late October 2026, Selective Service’s website still asked men to register themselves and didn’t yet describe the new process (SSS). Check sss.gov before you act. We will update this guide after the change.