Selective service "status information letter" questions

[vaindioux]

I am not sure if I have to fill out The "Request for status information letter". I was on a temporary resident permission prior to be 26 YO and was awaiting my green card which came 5 months after I turned 26.
I remember looking at that selective service when it came and I was older than 26 so I didn't register.
I might have to send a status information letter with my application N-400.
There are questions on the request that I have no idea where to get:

1)Date you entered the US for the first time?
2)USCIS status at time of entry (I was a tourist for 90 days then, what is it called? (I don't think they want me to write "Tourist" on the request form.)
3)List all immigrant statuses held since entering the country and give dates
My status in my language where "Tourist" then "Temporary resident status" then "Resident".
Where in the world do I get the dates of these events? It's been close to 30 years ago.

Thxs a lot

[N400questions]

As far as I am aware... if you are currently age 31 or more (which you clearly are) then the whole Selective Service issue becomes unimportant because it is prior to your 5 year qualifying period.
People who forgot to register or didn't even realize they were supposed to register are often told to wait until age 31 before filing the N400.

If you REALLY want to get answers to the 3 questions you listed.... here are my best guesses...

You can file a freedom of information request with Border Patrol asking for a record of all your entries and exits into and out of the USA.
I did that just out of interest and I have not got my results back yet.
Initially they will estimate that the request will take 1 month.. but that is meaningless... I have already been waiting 2 months.

Your old expired passports should show some if not all of the entry and exits into and out of the USA.
This assumes you still have those old passports and also assumes that your passport was stamped each time you entered and exited.
Back in the day.. your passport probably WAS stamped... these days... not so much!

Your old passports should also show the dates that B1/B2 visitor/business visas were issued and any other visas such as L1 or H1.
Again.. if you don't have those passports.. that's not much help.

Once your initial 90 day visitor status ended then I believe you either became an illegal immigrant by over-staying your visa or you became something else depending on what you applied for and obtained to allow you to stay past 90 days. Only YOU can know what you did or did not apply for and therefore what your status was.

Assuming you have none of these passports and cannot remember any of the details and don't want to wait for the FOIA request then I assume you should be able to call a help line in Border Patrol or Immigration Services to try to get answers. I assume you could also call the Consulate/Embassy of your native country to see if they can help expedite getting answers. Also, if you can remember which USA Consulate or Embassy issued your visas etc.... you could try calling that specific office.

That's all I can think of.

[vaindioux]

OK well that's helping that's for sure but it seems it is going to take very long and make a lot of phone calls were you are on hold forever.
Can you explain further what this means :

"Your old passports should also show the dates that B1/B2 visitor/business visas were issued and any other visas such as L1 or H1"
What are L1 and H1 visas? Is that what I am looking for "My temporary permission to stay and work until my green card was issued"?

I have to dig my old passport but I am sure I have them.

I might just send my application like that and run the chance that they tell me that they need the "Status information letter". In which case I then would have to research everything.

What a headache that naturalization process.

Thanks so much

[N400questions]

So once again... if you are over 31 I don't think this matters too much.

What I meant when I talked about your old passports is this... Way back 30 years ago (or more) when you first entered the USA as a tourist.... You probably needed a Visa to enter the country. It all depends what was your initial native country. If you come from a country that needed a Visa to enter the USA then you should have got a stamp put into your passport. The two types of temporary visas are B1 and B2. One lets you enter the country as a tourist and the other lets you enter the country to do short term work on a business trip. These are often issued together as a "B1/B2" Visa. If you did get such a visa, it would help you to narrow down that first trip into USA. Also... when you entered the USA on your first trip you probably got a stamp put in your old passport showing the Date you entered and the Port of Entry (ie which airport or sea port or city you entered at).
When I mentioned H1 and L1 visas... these may not apply to you.... an L1 visa allows you to work in the USA if your company has offices in both your native country and the USA.. it is an intra-company transfer visa. The H1 visa is different... it is used when a USA company wants to employ a foreigner and is willing to support their application for temporary work permits (typically for 2 or 3 years and typically extendable up to some maximum number of years).

But once again..... if you are over 31 I don't think you need to care about all this. I think that your approach makes sense..... worry about it only if they ask for it at the interview. I don't think they will. In fact the whole business about Selective Service makes very little sense and many politicians are talking about just getting rid of it. If you look at how many people actually bother to register and how many people actually keep their address current with the Selective Service department it means that their databases are woefully empty and/or inaccurate. However, until it gets abolished... the rules are what they are.

Yes the whole process is a headache! Part of the problem is that the forms don't make it clear which things are important and which are not important.
They should ask... are you over 31? If so skip the next section and move on to section xyz.
It's the same thing with the Nazi party and World War 2. They should ask..... were you alive in the 1940s (or whenever)? If not... skip this next section and go to section abc.

People in government and many lawyers have been talking about improving the form and improving the whole process for many years. However, just talking about it doesn't get the job done does it? In the meantime... we go with the flow because we have no other option.

Good luck.

[newacct]

I don't think you need a status information letter if you are over 31.

[vaindioux]

Ok so thanks for making me feel better about that selective service. I am going to complete my N-400 and send it, and after that I will still contact border patrol and immigration to get the info I need for the status information letter. Apparently there are 90% chances I won't need it, but if I do I will have it on hand.

Thxs to both posters but especially N400questions who took the time to really answer my questions in great details.

Go USA!

[N400questions]

Glad to help. I think the chance of you not needing to worry is closer to 99% :-)

Just for completeness.. if you are interested in all the various Visas that are available (or used to be available) this article does a good job of explaining each of them in easy-to-understand language. It may jog your memory which type of visa you had in the early part of your time in the USA.

https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-differences-between-the-H-1A-H-1B-L-1A-and-L-1B-visas-in-the-US

Sometimes this website censors links to prevent lawyers spamming everyone trying to sell their services.
If that link ends up being censored and turns into a bunch of asterisks...just google for "What are the differences between the H-1A, H-1B, L-1A and L-1B visas in the US?"

[vaindioux]

I will check it out

Thxs again

[Mike E]

If your green card came 5 months after you turned age 26, then that suggests to me you got your I-551 stamp at your interview when you were younger than age 26.

So you failed to register. But as been discussed for anyone age 31 or older, it is rarely a problem.

This is the voice of experience.

First check online to see if you are registered for selective service. If you are, print that out, and submit with your N-400. You are golden.

If not, then request a status letter from selective service. In a week or so you will get an official letter telling you that are not registered. In my case they also claimed to have sent me a notice after I became an LPR that I needed to register. This is a lie.

Submit the letter and also a personal letter indicating that you acknowledge the mistake and was not aware LPRs needed to register.

It will be discussed in your interview and it won’t make any difference.

And btw the online n-400 documents a flow chart that makes it clear that if you didn’t register and don’t have a status letter, you cannot naturalize.

[newacct]

If your green card came 5 months after you turned age 26, then that suggests to me you got your I-551 stamp at your interview when you were younger than age 26.

So you failed to register. But as been discussed for anyone age 31 or older, it is rarely a problem.

But if they got permanent residency while under 26, then they were likely automatically registered by USCIS, which you give permission for them to do for on your AOS application. And if USCIS fails to register you, it does not count as your willing failure to register. See here, "Failure on the part of USCIS or SSS to complete the process on behalf of the applicant, however, will not constitute a willful failure to register on the part of the applicant."

But the green card doesn't take 5 months to come after AOS approval; I think the OP just means they were able to stay in the US due to a pending I-485 before that. So I presume that he got permanent residency after turning 26.

[vaindioux]

So you failed to register. But as been discussed for anyone age 31 or older, it is rarely a problem.


And btw the online n-400 documents a flow chart that makes it clear that if you didn’t register and don’t have a status letter, you cannot naturalize.

Mike

I am sorry but I am not following what you wrote above:

You say after 31 it is rarely a problem if you did not register then you say if you didn't register and don't have a status letter then you can't naturalize.

If you could clarify as I am confused.

Thxs

[N400questions]

I believe Mike E is referring to the flowchart very near the bottom of this pdf document

"A Guide to Naturalization"
https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/...icle/M-476.pdf

Specifically.. item 10

I have attached an image of that specific item.

I believe your situation is item 10d or 10e.
Read them carefully and see which you were.

In other words....
If you are 10d then...if you get the "Status Information Letter" from the Selective Service, you should be OK because 10d will then be "TRUE"

On the other hand, because you are over 31... then your failure to register was more than 5 years ago which I believe makes the whole thing moot because it was outside the 5 year build-up to the N400 application. That's why I don't think it's essential to get that "Status Information Letter" . I wish I could point to a DEFINITIVE reference to confirm this... but I can't.... nevertheless I believe it's true.

EDIT: I found it. Here is that definitive reference:: https://www.sss.gov/LinkClick.aspx?f...%3d&portalid=0

If you are 10e then you certainly don't need to get the "Status Information Letter"

Earlier, newacct was suggesting that you are probably 10e and he/she was saying that even if you are 10d and if it's the USCIS who made the error this also lets you off the hook as described here: https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/...hapter-7#S-B-2 Look at the part that says "Failure on the part of USCIS or SSS to complete the process on behalf of the applicant, however, will not constitute a willful failure to register on the part of the applicant.""

[vaindioux]

Well thanks again everyone. I keep the plan as it is. I will see what they say at the interview. But once I send N-400 I will work to get that status information letter just in case.

Thanks

Pat

[Mike E]

Mike

I am sorry but I am not following what you wrote above:

You say after 31 it is rarely a problem if you did not register then you say if you didn't register and don't have a status letter then you can't naturalize.

If you could clarify as I am confused.

Thxs

If you were required to register for selective service and didn’t, then you need to ask selective service to send you a status letter. It isn’t hard to do. Any advice to the contrary is wrong.

[N400questions]

Mike E If you read the very first post... the whole reason for this thread is because the OP doesn't know how to get answers to the questions that are required as a part of getting the "Status Letter". So from his perspective it is VERY hard to do. That's the essence of his dilemma. It may have been easy for YOU to do because you knew the answers to those questions in YOUR case. However, In the OP case... he doesn't know the answers and doesn't know how to get those answers. Hence all the debate about whether it is or is not essential to do so.

I am referring here to your most recent post where you said..
"If you were required to register for selective service and didn’t, then you need to ask selective service to send you a status letter. It isn’t hard to do. Any advice to the contrary is wrong."