FAFSA and a recent permanent resident I came to the US on 4th of August, 2013 from India on F1 visa as a Master's student. I was 1 day shy of being 24 and eligible for a late registration for Selective Service. But I had no idea that was even a thing back then.

Things happened and I was out of status for a while and my education was incomplete. On February 16th, 2017, I got my green card through marriage. I was 27 years and 6 months then, and not eligible for late registration for Selective Service.

Now, I have gotten admitted back to the college I was originally attending and applied for FAFSA. Today, I am 29 years old today and am ineligible for Selective Service.

My situation:


I have been approved for FAFSA by the federal government.
My college has a pending requirement with regards to my FAFSA: Verify Selective Service registration.


My question:

When I originally came to the US, I was eligible (and required, if I were to seek federal financial assistance) to register for Selective Service. I did not. Now my college requires proof that I've registered for selective service. So I tried registering, but the Selective Service registration website does not let me go past the first screen because my age indicates that I am ineligible for Selective Service.


Could I somehow apply for Selective Service?
Could I email my university and explain to them that I did not know of Selective Service to know I would need it in the future?
Should I just give up trying for FAFSA?


Thank you.
For the following, I will assume that you were on a F1 visa from arriving in the US until after your 26th birthday. In that case, you should have been exempt from selective service. If you had any kind of change in immigration status from a non-immigrant visa (such as having the F1 visa expire) during this time, well, that could complicate things and you really should talk to your university about it.

The Selective Service System's page for Men - 26 and older suggests that you can get a status information letter to prove that you're exempt. You could ask your university's financial aid office if it's required in your case or not.

Reading more on the Status Information Letter page, I found the following (which suggests it isn't required):


  Financial aid officers:
  If the man falls within one of the following categories, a status information letter from Selective Service is NOT required if he can provide a copy of supporting documentation proving his case to your satisfaction. &lt;...>
  
  Non-U.S. male on a valid non-immigrant visa
  
  For example, if the man entered the United States as an F-1 student visa and remained in that status until his 26th birthday, he would need to provide documentation indicating that he was admitted on an F-1 visa and attended school full-time as required.