Military question

[NavarreMan 10]

My stepson Victor has been thinking about joining the US military. He is concerned that if he does this and travels back to Russia some time in the future, he will be arrested. Does anyone know if there is any truth to this or is this some variation on a old wives tale?

[YuAndDan 153]

Sounds like a wives tale to me.

The military is a great step toward citizenship, once a citizen, there is no no fear when traveling, will have the full protection granted to US citizens.

Read more about military citizenship here: http://www.uscis.gov/files/article/MilitaryBrochurev7.pdf

[datsgtochoa83 0]

Sounds like a wives tale to me.

The military is a great step toward citizenship, once a citizen, there is no no fear when traveling, will have the full protection granted to US citizens.

Read more about military citizenship here: http://www.uscis.gov/files/article/MilitaryBrochurev7.pdf

I am in the military and got my citizenship through the military. Once he joins the Military, he can apply for his citizenship right away. The JAG, also known as military lawyers, will help him fill out the forms as well as sending it off. Once he joins the military, he is now the property of the United States Government.

[eekee 182]

Any Russian man between 18 and i believe 30 who hasn't done his military service without a valid reason (university study, medical exemption) can be rounded up and sent immediately to boot camp. I don't know what they would do in the case of a US soldier who hadn't done his Russian service, though.

[NavarreMan 10]

Any Russian man between 18 and i believe 30 who hasn't done his military service without a valid reason (university study, medical exemption) can be rounded up and sent immediately to boot camp. I don't know what they would do in the case of a US soldier who hadn't done his Russian service, though.

Do you think a query to the Russian Consulate would offer any answers to this question?

[Otto 83]

Any Russian man between 18 and i believe 30 who hasn't done his military service without a valid reason (university study, medical exemption) can be rounded up and sent immediately to boot camp. I don't know what they would do in the case of a US soldier who hadn't done his Russian service, though.

Do you think a query to the Russian Consulate would offer any answers to this question?

I'm amazed at the travel restrictions to/from the Russian Federation listed on the DOS Travel Site.

In one section:

American Citizens Also Holding Russian Passports:

Dual U.S./Russian nationals who enter Russia on Russian passports face several possible difficulties. Russian authorities will not permit departure from Russia if the person’s Russian passport has expired or has been lost, whether or not the traveler also has a valid U.S. passport. In these cases the traveler will be required to obtain a new Russian passport, a process that can take several months. In order to apply for a Russian visa in a U.S. passport, however, Russian consular officials normally require a person to renounce his or her Russian citizenship.

Russian external passports extended by Russian Consulates or Embassies overseas are not considered valid for departure from Russia no matter how long the extension. Bearers of such passports will have to apply for a new passport inside the country. Males of conscript age (18 - 27 years old) who are deemed to be Russian citizens may experience problems if they have not satisfied their military service requirement.

[NavarreMan 10]

Holy smokes!

Thanks for the info...

[Otto 83]

Holy smokes! There are a couple of ways to read/interpret that (and the other information on the DOS site) so it may not apply to your son... Didn't want to panic you..

[NavarreMan 10]

It sounds like unless he does not renounce his Russian citizenship, if he travels back to Russia before he reaches the high end age for the compulsary service, then he may not be leaving Russia. I will contact the Russian Consulate for clarification. No panic, just gettin' the facts.

[eekee 182]

He would enter/leave Russia on his foreign passport, not his internal documents. So I think he could enter and leave just fine--it would just be a question of being stopped by police. I have friends who have seen the police stand in the metro and stop every man who looks between 18 and 27 and check to see if he did his service--and those who didn't went straight onto a special bus. And I don't think that the Russian army would look too kindly upon a Russian citizen joining the US army instead of the Russian one, but the US army might offer him some protection. You could also ask the US army about this kind of thing, although of course they wouldn't know how it works on the Russian side.

Edited October 13, 2008 by eekee

[akdiver 3]

My stepson Victor has been thinking about joining the US military. He is concerned that if he does this and travels back to Russia some time in the future, he will be arrested. Does anyone know if there is any truth to this or is this some variation on a old wives tale?

a]. Why?

b]. How would Russia know if he joined the U.S. military?

Edited October 13, 2008 by akdiver

[Neonred 3,562]

He would enter/leave Russia on his foreign passport, not his internal documents. So I think he could enter and leave just fine--it would just be a question of being stopped by police. I have friends who have seen the police stand in the metro and stop every man who looks between 18 and 27 and check to see if he did his service--and those who didn't went straight onto a special bus. And I don't think that the Russian army would look too kindly upon a Russian citizen joining the US army instead of the Russian one, but the US army might offer him some protection. You could also ask the US army about this kind of thing, although of course they wouldn't know how it works on the Russian side.

If he gets stopped in the metro and shows a US passport, what reason would the police have to suspect he is actually Russian? He will be a USC.

[eekee 182]

He would enter/leave Russia on his foreign passport, not his internal documents. So I think he could enter and leave just fine--it would just be a question of being stopped by police. I have friends who have seen the police stand in the metro and stop every man who looks between 18 and 27 and check to see if he did his service--and those who didn't went straight onto a special bus. And I don't think that the Russian army would look too kindly upon a Russian citizen joining the US army instead of the Russian one, but the US army might offer him some protection. You could also ask the US army about this kind of thing, although of course they wouldn't know how it works on the Russian side.

If he gets stopped in the metro and shows a US passport, what reason would the police have to suspect he is actually Russian? He will be a USC.

I thought that Navarreman's stepson WASN'T a US citizen and that was part of the reason he wanted to join the military in the first place? I haven't looked at his timeline, but that was what I gathered from the context.

A russian citizen can't enter the RF with a visa and an american passport and thus can't show the police the necessary documents to show that he is in Russia legally anyway. While he could get away with saying he was waiting for his registration, he would be in big trouble if they found no visa in his passport.

[NavarreMan 10]

He would enter/leave Russia on his foreign passport, not his internal documents. So I think he could enter and leave just fine--it would just be a question of being stopped by police. I have friends who have seen the police stand in the metro and stop every man who looks between 18 and 27 and check to see if he did his service--and those who didn't went straight onto a special bus. And I don't think that the Russian army would look too kindly upon a Russian citizen joining the US army instead of the Russian one, but the US army might offer him some protection. You could also ask the US army about this kind of thing, although of course they wouldn't know how it works on the Russian side.

If he gets stopped in the metro and shows a US passport, what reason would the police have to suspect he is actually Russian? He will be a USC.

I thought that Navarreman's stepson WASN'T a US citizen and that was part of the reason he wanted to join the military in the first place? I haven't looked at his timeline, but that was what I gathered from the context.

A russian citizen can't enter the RF with a visa and an american passport and thus can't show the police the necessary documents to show that he is in Russia legally anyway. While he could get away with saying he was waiting for his registration, he would be in big trouble if they found no visa in his passport.

Victor is a Russian citizen with a Russian passport. He will have this passport until he becomes an American citizen. If he travels back to Russia, lets say next year to see his grandparents, I am told that he will not be permitted to leave the country when they process him for exit, this being due to his being of age for Russian military service. It has nothing to do with his possible enlistment in the US military.

US military aside, can he travel between Russia and the US without the fear of being detained and sent to the Russian military?

[A_I_S 0]

It's risky, and depends on what time a year he goes. If it's around the draft time he could very easily be scooped up and the draft office would simply not accept his papers that prove that he's studying in the US. Or showing those would simply invoke the "Oh, so you're living in the US. Well, for a small sum of $5000 we would let you go".

For undrafted males between 18 and 28 traveling is risky. The police will stop him and ask for documents, you can count on that. If they don't stop him in the subway or on the street for a random papers check he could be stopped for jaywalking which requires to produce passport as well. At that point it's up to the cop.

You gotta understand that Russian military will take everyone, they have a quota to fill. They used to send my grandparents notices of draft until I was 28, and I had to send them proof every year that I was in the States working.

And after that...I need to renew my Russian passport now...that requires military records. You know what the draft office said? "He has to come in and fulfill his duty to the country"...they want me (turning 30 this year) to go and serve, just so that I can get my Russian passport updated. How they want to manage that is beyond me, but now you try to figure out your chances.

As far as military goes...while he is in Russia with a Russian passport, he is bound by Russian laws. So being in US military would not help in any shape. If he wants to go professional (go to officer school) military him just being Russian and having relatives in Russia will probably eventually prevent him from getting security clearance required for the job.

If, on the other hand, all he wants to do is grunt work so that Army pays for college, best of luck to him, his nationality won't matter a single bit.