OPM Issues Favorable Ruling in Selective Service Failure to Register Case Involving Natural Born U.S. Citizen

On April 7, 2011, the Office of Personnel Management (“OPM”) issued a favorable decision in another Selective Service “failure to register” case we handled. Unlike many of our other previous Selective Service cases involving individuals born in other nations, our client was a natural born citizen of the United States.

Our client in this case had been employed by the U.S. Mint for many years when he was notified there was a problem with his Selective Service registration status which jeopardized his continued eligibility for federal employment. There was no evidence that our client had registered (however, he had attempted to enlist in the military when he was 18 — a fact we were able to point to as evidence that his failure to register was not knowing or willful). Despite being born in the United States, our client never learned of the Selective Service registration requirement while he was eligible to register. In a nutshell, by detailing our client's less than ideal upbringing and lack of a stable family environment, we were able to convince OPM that his failure to register was not knowing or willful. As a result, our client was able to continue his career with the U.S. Mint.