Military Draft Registration Applies to USVI

A.J. Pike

USVI - The automatic Military Draft registration will be instituted in December 2026. Those young men, ages 18 to 25, who are eligible in the USVI will be automatically registered for the military draft pool in the event a draft is required. The last time a draft was in effect was February 1973, during the Vietnam War. 

Currently, in states that haven’t enacted automatic registration, men must register within 30 days of their 18th birthday. The agency accepts late registration up until a man’s 26th birthday. It is a felony to not register for selective service and can result in the loss of certain benefits, like some student loans and federal jobs. It’s also a violation of the Military Selective Service Act, which could lead to imprisonment up to five years and a fine of up to $250,000. 

Congress would have to approve a draft before one ever took place. And not all registered men would be enlisted to serve. There would be a lottery, in which birthdays and numbers are randomly chosen.

Under the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026, men residing in the U.S. Virgin Islands are required to register for the Selective Service (military draft). They are also included in the new federal legislation that automatically registers eligible men. 

The mandatory registration applies to green-card holders, refugees, asylum seekers and undocumented men. Women are exempt from the registration.

The Selective Service System (SSS) will pull data from existing federal records, such as social security, to automatically register eligible individuals, replacing the need for self-registration.

“Making registration automatic, not only saves taxpayer dollars by eliminating the need to advertise but finally ensures that young men are not unknowingly penalized,” said Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan.”This measure had bipartisan support.”