Are Dual Citizens Subject to Military Call-up

In the Selective Service facts they state that citizens living in some countries may be exempt from induction but they do not state the countries, nor have they responded to my email and phone inquiries, so I would to know if a Canadian citizen living in Canada at the time of a draft would be exempt. My son is a citizen of the USA and Canada. I know he has to register for SS, but is he exempt from induction if or when the US has a draft. I could not find this info on the government website.

As a U.S. citizen, your son is fully subject to military call-up in the event conscription were reinstated in the U.S. Citizenship does not disqualify or exempt him.

You could look on the goverment or military web site that provides the following information on dual nationals:

"Some aliens and dual nationals would be exempt from induction into the military if there is a draft, depending on their country of origin and other factors. Some of these exemptions are shown below:

An alien who has lived in the U.S. for less than one year is exempt from induction. A dual national whose other country of nationality has an agreement with the U.S. which specifically provides for an exemption is exempt from induction. [Some countries have agreements with the U.S. which exempt an alien national who is a citizen of both that country and the U.S. from military service in the U.S. Armed Forces.] An alien who requests and is exempt under an agreement or bilateral treaty can never become a U.S. citizen, and may have trouble reentering the U.S. if he leaves.

An alien who served at least a year in the military of a country with which the U.S. is involved in mutual defense activities will be exempt from military service if he is a national of a country that grants reciprocal privileges to citizens of the U.S. During a draft, any claims for exemptions based on any of the above categories would be granted or denied by a man's Local Board. Military examiners make the final decision about who will be accepted into the military."

And you're right. They don't give us the list of the countries with which the U.S. has special agreements on this matter. Nor could I find it on the web.

Anyway, my advice to you is the following:

-- call the U.S. embassy in Ottawa; try the consular section first. If they can't help you, ask them who can. It's also possible the defense attache might be able to shed light. Finally, there's a Legal Attache (Legat) who possibly might know, or be able to find out.

-- continue to bug the Selective Service Admin. Govt. offices are typically slow to reply, but they are required to be responsive.

-- if all else fails, have the American citizen in your family email, write or call a U.S. Congressman's office of a state/district with connection to your family and ask that they track this down. Government bureaucrats must respond to Congressional queries within 3-5 working days.

These recommendations should get you on track.

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