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A law signed by President Donald Trump on December 18, 2025 mandates the automatic registration in the Selective Service for nearly all men aged 18 to 25 who reside in the United States, including Cuban immigrants regardless of their immigration status.
However, the regulation outlines specific categories of individuals who are exempt from this obligation.
The measure, included in the Section 535 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026, will come into effect in December 2026.
From then on, the federal government will use its own databases to automatically register eligible individuals within 30 days of turning 18 or entering the country.
The first exception is the broadest: women are not included in any mandatory registration provision, regardless of their nationality or immigration status.
The second exception applies to men with valid non-immigrant visas —tourists (B-1/B-2), students (F, M, J), temporary workers (H), among others— as long as they maintain that valid status until they turn 26 years old.
The official site of the Select Service states it as follows: "The few individuals who are exempt from this requirement are those with valid non-immigrant visas, as long as they remain on a valid visa until they turn 26 years old."
This exception has a very limited scope for the Cuban community. Starting from January 1, 2026, Trump's Proclamation 10998 partially suspended the issuance of non-immigrant visas for Cuban citizens, drastically reducing the number of Cubans who could take advantage of it. If the visa expires more than 30 days before the holder turns 26, the exemption disappears and registration becomes mandatory.
The third exception applies to active duty military personnel between the ages of 18 and 26, as well as to cadets from military academies such as West Point or Annapolis. Members of the National Guard and Reserves who are not in full-time active duty must register.
The fourth exception applies to men who have been hospitalized, institutionalized, or incarcerated continuously from the 30 days prior to turning 18 years old until the age of 26, without any interruption of 30 days or more. If, during that period, they were released for more than 30 days, they lose the exemption.
The vast majority of Cubans in the U.S. are required to register —undocumented, with humanitarian parole, with asylum, permanent residents, or in the process of naturalization—. Dual nationals must also register within 30 days of turning 18, even if they reside outside the country.
Failure to comply can lead to serious legal consequences, including up to five years in prison, fines of up to $250,000.
It is important to clarify that registering does not mean automatic enlistment. Military service in the U.S. has been voluntary since 1973; the Selective Service simply maintains a database that would be activated if Congress and the president authorized a draft.
In a crisis that requires recruitment, men would be called in a specific sequence based on a random lottery number and year of birth.
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