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FreedomOpsMilitary Family Separation Registry

Military Family Separation Registry

They cannot get here. You are not the only one.

Service members across every branch are separated from a spouse, a child, or a parent who cannot obtain a visa. Individually, each of those is a hardship a command can only sympathise with. Counted together, they are a readiness problem with a number attached — and a number is what a family-advocacy office, a service family program, or a congressional staffer can act on.

Add your situation in about four minutes. It takes no account, no name, and no case file.

See what has been reported so far

What this asks for, and what it refuses to

The families in this registry include foreign nationals whose status is unresolved. A list that identified them would be a hazard to the people it was built to help. So the design gives up the ability to identify anyone, on purpose:

What is collected

  • Branch, component, pay band, and a broad duty region
  • Which family member is separated, and their country of citizenship
  • Which pathway you are on and where it is stuck
  • How long you have been apart
  • What it has cost your family, and what you have already tried

What is never asked

  • Your name, or your family member’s
  • Your unit, installation, or duty address
  • Case numbers, receipt numbers, or A-numbers
  • DoD ID, SSN, or date of birth
  • Their address or contact details
Your .mil address is used once, to send a six-digit code. It is reduced to a one-way hash and never stored next to your answers — the hash exists only so one member cannot file twenty responses. If you would rather not use military email, you can register anyway; those responses are counted and reported separately, never quietly mixed in.

What has been reported so far

Loading the current counts…

Before you register

  • This is not a government system. It is not run by, endorsed by, or affiliated with the Department of Defense, any service, USCIS, or the Department of State. Filing here does not change your case and does not notify anyone in your chain of command.
  • This is not legal advice. Nothing here interprets your case. Your installation legal assistance office does that for free — see the resources below.
  • Participation is voluntary and off-duty. Nothing here asks you to speak for your service, and nothing published from it will attribute a view to a unit, a rank, or the uniform.

Where to get actual help

This registry does not advise on your case and cannot move it. These offices can, and none of them charge you:

  • Installation legal assistance (JAG). Free legal advice for service members and dependants, including immigration questions and referrals. Start here — it is the most under-used resource on any installation.
  • Military OneSource. 24/7, confidential, all branches, including Guard and Reserve. 800-342-9647
  • USCIS military help line. A dedicated line for service members, veterans, and their families, separate from the general queue — it can check case status, file a change of duty station, and submit an expedite request. 877-247-4645 (877-CIS-4MIL), TTY 800-877-8339. Unlike the others on this list it is not 24/7: 8 a.m.–4 p.m. Central, Monday to Friday, excluding federal holidays. By email, militaryinfo@uscis.dhs.gov.
  • Your Military & Family Support Center. Called Army Community Service, Fleet & Family Support, or the Airman & Family Readiness Center depending on where you are. They hold the family-readiness mandate this registry reports into.
  • Military Family Life Counselor (MFLC). Non-medical counselling with no record kept and no report to your command.
  • American Red Cross Hero Care. Emergency messages and verification for family emergencies. 877-272-7337
  • Your member of Congress. Constituent services can open a congressional inquiry on a stalled immigration case. This is routine casework for them, and it is frequently the thing that moves a file.
  • If you are struggling. The Veterans Crisis Line is not veterans-only — it serves active duty, National Guard, and Reserve too, and you do not need to be enrolled in VA benefits. Dial 988, then press 1, or text 838255. Free, confidential, day or night.

Options specific to military families

There are forms of relief that exist only because you serve, and they are routinely missed. Every one below is discretionary and decided case by case — none is a guarantee, and none of this is advice about your situation. Take the names to legal assistance and ask whether any of them fit.

  • Naturalizing may be the biggest lever you hold. If you are a green card holder, your spouse is waiting in the capped F2A category. If you naturalize, they become an immediate relative instead, where there is no annual cap at all. Service opens an expedited path to citizenship, and service members are exempt from the filing fee.
  • Parole in place. For a spouse who is already in the U.S. and entered without being admitted. Granted case by case in one-year increments, and it covers the spouse, widow(er), parent, son, or daughter of an active-duty member, a member of the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve, or someone who previously served and was not dishonorably discharged.
  • Deferred action. The route for a spouse who was admitted lawfully but stayed past their authorised period — that group is not eligible for parole in place. Granted for up to two years, with the same family categories, and it can carry work authorisation where economic necessity is shown. It confers no lawful status and can be terminated at any time.
  • IMMVI parole. The Immigrant Military Members and Veterans Initiative takes parole requests from current and former service members and qualifying family who are outside the United States and want to enter. Requests are handled by officers trained for it and processed on an expedited basis. If your spouse is stuck abroad, this is the one most likely to be overlooked.
  • Fee exemptions. Current and former service members are exempt from the filing fee on a number of forms. Ask before you pay anything.
Nothing on this page is legal advice, and the registry is not affiliated with the Department of Defense, any branch, USCIS, or the Department of State. Immigration rules change often and apply differently to every case — confirm anything here with legal assistance before you act on it.