1. Selective Services
My brother was born in 1961 and he never registered for selective services. He didn’t know he was required to because he quit high school in the ninth grade. What are the consequences he may face today and how does he take care of this? He is afraid the government will put him in jail.
Mr. Lee answers:
Generally I believe that there are no outstanding consequences for people who never registered for selective service, especially if done unwittingly. We have many applicants for naturalization who never registered – some who did not know of the need to register and others who did but failed to do so. The period of good moral character is five years, and the time to register expires at the age of 26. Therefore any person who is 31 will generally be naturalized as having had good moral character for five years if he or she has not had an incident involving bad moral character within the five years.
2. What’s the Definition of Good Moral Character on Citizenship Application?
My husband is a good citizen who had to falsely claim US citizenship on employment applications to put money on the table for him and his three younger brothers when they overstayed their visas. They all entered here legally. Will he be disqualified from ever becoming a US citizen?
Mr. Lee answers:
Good moral character, unfortunately, has little to do with your husband’s situation. Misrepresenting oneself as a US citizen on the I-9 employment verification eligibility form has consequences if U.S.C.I.S. finds out about the misrepresentation. If done before September 30, 1996, a willful misrepresentation can be waived upon the showing of extreme hardship to a US citizen or permanent resident spouse or parent. On or after September 30, 1996, a willful misrepresentation is generally not waivable and is a ground for removal.
3. How can I calculate a household size when I used to be a K-1 visa holder?
I am the immigrant, married to a U.S. citizen. We live together, the both of us. In form I-864, it says not to count anyone twice. So the first person is, of course, the main immigrant which is me. After that, the sponsor (my husband). But there’s this ‘If you’re currently married, count 1 for your spouse’. He is married to me, but he shouldn’t count me twice right? In this case, since there’s nobody else in the house, no children, no dependent people, and we are not filling form I-864A, it would be a total of 2, right? In brief… – Immigrant: 1 – Sponsor: 1 Total household size: 2.
Mr. Lee Answers:
Your calculation of two is the proper number in calculating the affidavit of support for you. You cannot be counted twice, and so your husband should ignore the line “if you are currently married, count 1 for your spouse.” Otherwise the number in your total household is incorrect.
