Q: Does failure to be recruited for Egyptian mandatory military affect getting US citizenship? Read the info section please
In Egypt, we have mandatory military services for males aged 18-30. An Egyptian male can legally defer his military service for the purpose of studying abroad until he is 29, then he has to return to Egypt to be enrolled in the military or get a medical exemption. There is a situation when the person reaches 29 in the US and then stay in the US -legally- until he is 30. Then he goes to the Egyptian Embassy where the Ministry of Defense has sent a judicial / military committee to hold a military trial for not completing the service. Then the person is "dishonorably discharged" and he pays a fine. After that his military situation is settled and he is treated like he had done his services with one exception, he loses his political rights (cannot vote or be elected). But his criminal history will still be clear, it's not considered a felony or misdemeanor in Egypt though. And this is not AWOL. Under what circumstances is this a lack of good moral character when he asks for naturalization
A: No, this should have no adverse effect on your ability to become a US citizen.
A:
An application for citizenship has to show GMC for the five years preceding an application for citizen. Bearing that in mind, you can avoid the issue by waiting until you are 34—five years beyond the age when you were require to register.
Really, though, there isn’t anything in our minds that could trigger a finding failure to show GMC based on this. The fact is you fulfilled the obligation based on one of the options of doing so. None of the questions for this type of information, and there are no questions about failure to serve in another country’s military. Since it’s not a crime under Egyptian law, you should have nothing to worry about.
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