10 U.S.C. § 504 (ARMED FORCES)
§ 504. Persons not qualified
(a) Insanity, Desertion, Felons, Etc.—
No person who is insane, intoxicated, or a deserter from an armed force, or who has been convicted of a felony, may be enlisted in any armed force. However, the Secretary concerned may authorize exceptions, in meritorious cases, for the enlistment of deserters and persons convicted of felonies.
(b) Citizenship or Residency.—
(1) A person may be enlisted in any armed force only if the person is one of the following:
(A) A national of the United States, as defined in section 101(a)(22) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(22)).
(B) An alien who is lawfully admitted for permanent residence, as defined in section 101(a)(20) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(20)).
(C) A person described in section 341 of one of the following compacts:
(i) The Compact of Free Association between the Federated States of Micronesia and the United States (section 201(a) of Public Law 108–188 (117 Stat. 2784; 48 U.S.C. 1921 note)).
(ii) The Compact of Free Association between the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the United States (section 201(b) of Public Law 108–188 (117 Stat. 2823; 48 U.S.C. 1921 note)).
(iii) The Compact of Free Association between Palau and the United States (section 201 of Public Law 99–658 (100 Stat. 3678; 48 U.S.C. 1931 note)).
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), and subject to paragraph (3), the Secretary concerned may authorize the enlistment of a person not described in paragraph (1) if the Secretary determines that such person possesses a critical skill or expertise—
(A) that is vital to the national interest; and
(B) that the person will use in the primary daily duties of that person as a member of the armed forces.
(3)
(A) No person who enlists under paragraph (2) may report to initial training until after the Secretary concerned has completed all required background investigations and security and suitability screening as determined by the Secretary of Defense regarding that person.
(B) A Secretary concerned may not authorize more than 1,000 enlistments under paragraph (2) per military department in a calendar year until after—
(i) the Secretary of Defense submits to Congress written notice of the intent of that Secretary concerned to authorize more than 1,000 such enlistments in a calendar year; and
(ii) a period of 30 days has elapsed after the date on which Congress receives the notice.
(c) Alternative Service in Areas of National Interest.—
(1) The Secretary of Defense shall carry out a program to provide to an individual described in paragraph (2) information about opportunities to work in areas of national interest to the United States.
(2) An individual described in this paragraph is an individual who seeks to originally enlist in an armed force but is denied enlistment.
(3) In carrying out the program required by paragraph (1), the Secretary shall—
(A) identify job opportunities in the defense industrial base, cybersecurity or intelligence support, research and development in defense technologies, national emergency and disaster preparedness, or any other non-military field the Secretary considers in the national interests of the United States;
(B) provide available information about training or certification programs to obtain the skills necessary for such a job; and
(C) seek to enter into agreements with entities in the fields described in subparagraph (A).
(4) The Secretary of Defense shall annually submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report on the program required by this subsection. Such report shall include, with respect to the year preceding the date of the report, the following elements:
(A) The number of individuals described in paragraph (2) provided information described in paragraph (3)(A).
(B) The number of individuals described in paragraph (2) provided information described in paragraph (3)(B).
(C) The number of agreements described in paragraph (3)(C) into which the Secretary entered.
(Added Pub. L. 90–235, § 2(a)(1)(B), Jan. 2, 1968, 81 Stat. 754; amended Pub. L. 109–163, div. A, title V, § 542(a), Jan. 6, 2006, 119 Stat. 3253; Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title V, § 521(a), Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 1755; Pub. L. 119–60, div. A, title V, § 532(a), Dec. 18, 2025, 139 Stat. 869.)
heading: Editorial Notes
heading: Codification
text: Another section 504 was renumbered section 500d of this title.
heading: Amendments
text: 2025—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 119–60 added subsec. (c).
2018—Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 115–232, § 521(a)(1), inserted “and subject to paragraph (3),” after “Notwithstanding paragraph (1),” substituted “person possesses a critical skill or expertise—” for “enlistment is vital to the national interest.”, and added subpars. (A) and (B).
Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 115–232, § 521(a)(2), added par. (3).
2006—Pub. L. 109–163 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), inserted heading, and added subsec. (b).
heading: Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
heading: Provision of Information Regarding Federal Service to Certain Persons Ineligible To Enlist in Certain Armed Forces
text: Pub. L. 118–159, div. A, title V, § 536, Dec. 23, 2024, 138 Stat. 1888, provided that:
“(a) In General.—
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 23, 2024], the Secretary of Defense shall prescribe regulations directing the Secretary of a military department to provide, to a person described in subsection (b), information regarding opportunities for Federal, or other public, service for which the person may be qualified.
“(b) Certain Persons Not Qualified to Enlist.—
A person described in this subsection is a person ineligible to serve in a covered Armed Force.
“(c) Covered Armed Force Defined.—
In this section, the term ‘covered Armed Force’ means the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, or Space Force.”
heading: Prohibition on Waiver for Commissioning or Enlistment in the Armed Forces for any Individual Convicted of a Felony Sexual Offense
text: Pub. L. 112–239, div. A, title V, § 523, Jan. 2, 2013, 126 Stat. 1723, which provided that an individual may not be provided a waiver for commissioning or enlistment in the Armed Forces if convicted of rape or other sexual offenses, was repealed by Pub. L. 113–66, div. A, title XVII, § 1711(b), Dec. 26, 2013, 127 Stat. 963. See section 657 of this title.