Lima, Peru–About 2% of the U.S. military are not citizens of the United States. See Foreign Nationals in the U.S. Armed Forces: Immigration Issues (2025). Many of those foreign nationals adopt the U.S. as their country and use their military service to prove their value to the U.S. as they begin their immigration journey.
But just like other service members, foreign nationals who join the military are subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). And when life gets complicated for a service member, sometimes it is 10x as complicated for a non-citizen.
For example, in this case, a young Airman was facing the harsh reality of recruiters’ false promises clashing with his own personal struggles while trying to serve as a foreign national in the U.S. military. He made a hasty decision that would haunt him for years. But he kept trying to better himself, going to college, getting a master’s degree, and starting a family.
No matter how well he did, he knew he had to right the wrong the 19-year old version of him had committed when he informed his leadership he was heading back to his home country before his enlistment was over. So he reached out to Veritas Military Law to help.
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It took some time to get through the tangled web of international complications, but Mr. Tolin was able to successfully assist in the self-surrender of his client to military authorities, overturn a commander’s decision to put the client into pre-trial confinement, and secure an administrative separation prior to any charges being filed or the case being brought to trial by court-martial.
This was one of those cases where the civilian defense counsel worked hand-in-hand with an incredible Individual Military Defense Counsel (IMDC), who also had an Area Defense Counsel (ADC) detailed to assist, to ensure the client had in-person representation to get the ball over the goal line in the client’s best interests.