Congressional Nomination Source

Hello all! I am an applicant for the class of 2021 to USNA. I was looking for some advice on nominations. I live in Northern VA, and my congressonal district is VA-10. I just found out that since my dad (retired Navy) still has his home of record in Illinois, I can apply for a nomination there, in IL-02. I know my chances in Illinois are much better than Virginia, but I was seleced for an internship in DC for my VA Congresswoman and might potentially get the opportunity to speak with her or her committee about getting a nomination this summer. Which source should I choose to apply for a nomination? Should I wait until late August to see if I can actually improve my chances at a VA nomination? Thanks!

Whether you know the MOC or worked with the MOC should not have a bearing as to whether you will get a nomination. My understanding is that special board decides who gets nomination.

If given the choice between Eastern Illinois and Northern Virginia, I would choose Illinois hands down because Northern Virginia is much more competitive for the USNA.

Stop in and visit the MOC Office from IL-02 when you are interning. You work in the same building.

How long has it been since your dad retired? Does he live or WORK AS A CIVILIAN in VA today? It may be different from state to state, but he may have only 30 days to become a VA resident from his retirement date. I'd look into it carefully before you think IL is really an option, or, ask him to postpone his retirement for a year!

The admissions counselor gave a brief for the USNA Alumni Association Greater Washington Chapter at the Army Navy Country Club this week. She said "Northern Virginia is the most competitive area in the whole country"!

ktnatalk said:

How long has it been since your dad retired? Does he live or WORK AS A CIVILIAN in VA today? It may be different from state to state, but he may have only 30 days to become a VA resident from his retirement date. I'd look into it carefully before you think IL is really an option, or, ask him to postpone his retirement for a year!

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ktnatalk,

My dad has been retired for 7 years, and works for the government in DC now. He is registered to vote in IL, and all of his papers from the DoD still get mailed to my grandma's house (where is home of record is). Also, I'm pretty sure IL is an option, as I emailed USNA Admissions, and I was told that I may choose either district. I'm leaning towards IL, but still would like some input. Thanks!

I am not a CPA or a tax lawyer, and I don't know how to comment on his income tax situation. I don't know why he wouldn't be required to pay income tax in DC or VA (assuming that is where you live).

My understanding is that when he retired IL is no longer an option to keep because he is not on active duty any more.

@gokings814 or anyone else?

Having been through the grueling admissions process here in Northern Virginia with DS, and having heard from those who know how "wicked hard" it is to get an appointment from here, I would say that you would be better off applying from any other state and almost any other congressional district in the country. Personally, I would take any district in Illinois in a heartbeat. Good luck!

Interesting about the tax thing. There must be a piece we don't know, and it's not my business to inquire. There may be an exception related to dad's govt job.

My HOR was GA, the state from which I entered active duty. My state of residence, a different thing than HOR and quite often not the same, where I paid taxes and voted, I changed to FL, once I had a tour of duty there. Typical of military, if you have a chance to establish state of residency where there is no state income tax or military serving out of state are not taxed. DH's HOR was PA, and he also retained PA for state of residence, since he did not have to pay state income tax when serving out of state. I voted absentee as a FL resident the remainder of my active duty career, and was a military non-resident everywhere else I was stationed. My HOR was GA my entire career.

My military non-resident state of MD became my new residency state for tax purposes, 180 days after I left active duty. Going forward, I owed tax on both civilian salary and military retired pay. MD does allow a certain amount of military retirement pay to be exempted. Some states, such as PA, HI and others (IL could be one), do not tax military retired pay at all. The good ol' days were gone! I turned in my FL voter card and got a MD one, ditto driver's license and auto registration.

I would venture to say all states have a period of time after which people who live there automatically become a state resident, subject to all state requirements.

It's up to the OP and his family to figure out their residency and which MOC they fall under.

Can't you apply to both?

no

dashg16,
I'm not sure which MOC district you can obtain your nomination(s) from (since you and your family live in VA-10)...but IF you are eligible to apply in IL-02, there's no question. IL-02! Southeastern Suburb of Chicago to Kankakee vs. Loudoun/Fairfax.

I agree with ktnatalk and padre...VA-10 is VERY competitive. Plus, VA-10 is ONE nomination district. No multiple nomination.

Best wishes!

OP,

To your original question if you should wait till late August to see if you can improve your chance for a VA nom due to your internship:

When you submit your application online you will have to put down the State and District. You could choose to submit that in August, although we would normally recommend earlier if you are ready because USNA admissions is using a "rolling" process.

Your internship with the congresswoman's office will likely benefit you in terms of showing your knowledge of our government during your interview, and possibly content of your essay as well. I hope you get to learn as much as you can.

I agree with CAPT MJ that it is up to you and your family to determine your residency and which MOC you apply to. However, somewhere along the way, or even during your panel interviews, the conversation may lead to your father. What happen then if a panel member from IL raises the question about your residency? What kind of character they may think of you and could it backfire? You will have not much control at that point.

You are eligible for a Presidential nom. Quite often they use Prez noms on students from VA if they meet their criteria, as they know there are many highly qualified candidates in the state. Your most important task to increase your chance of an appointment is to focus on your GPA, class rank, and SAT/ACT scores plus good showing in other areas.

Best of luck!

In the past when this has been asked the answer has always been that you can only apply for a NOM based on the state where your parents officially reside and that is what they show on their federal tax return. People may own homes in multiple states (or have relatives in multiple states) but it isn't a matter of picking the one where you think your chance of getting a NOM is better.

Can someone clarify if the OP's situation is somehow different from that?

time2 said:

In the past when this has been asked the answer has always been that you can only apply for a NOM based on the state where your parents officially reside and that is what they show on their federal tax return. People may own homes in multiple states (or have relatives in multiple states) but it isn't a matter of picking the one where you think your chance of getting a NOM is better.

Can someone clarify if the OP's situation is somehow different from that?

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Only OP and his father know their situation. If his father were on active duty and claims a Home of Record other than where they reside then OP is allowed to choose from either.

What CAPT MJ and I were pointing out is that under normal condition his father would have been registered as a VA resident, unless there are some special provisions allow otherwise. It is not our business to inquire if/what the provisions might be.

I did introduce the potential of violation to "honor" and "integrity", and it could back fire during interview with MOC from IL. But again, OP is not required to tell us on the forum.

^^ I agree. My point relates to others new to this forum who might read this thread and get the mistaken impression that candidates in general get to pick where they apply for their NOM.....they do not. I also don't care to get into the specifics of the OP, but his perhaps unique circumstances are not the general situation most candidates face.

I would check with the USNA noms person. The key is whether your father is a legal resident of IL. As a general rule, when one retires from the military, he/she becomes a resident of the state in which he/she resides. However, if your father still owns/rents property in IL and especially if he pays state taxes in IL, he may well be able to claim IL as his state of residence.

If your father is a legal resident of IL, you could choose that state to apply for a nom. This is true of any candidate who has parents who are legal residents of different states. That said, you don't want to go through the entire process and then find out your only option (VA) is the one to which you didn't apply.

Even if you can apply from IL, that's no guarantee of anything. I had a candidate in your position a number of years ago. Mother a VA resident and dad a resident of a different state. 2 noms based on dad's state of residence. No appointment. Reapplied. Two noms. Still no appointment.

At the end of the day, your credentials are what count. While it may be easier to get a nom from an area other than NoVA, it isn't necessarily easier to get an appointment.

All,

I really appreciate everyone's input. I am going to call the USNA Admissions Office and try to see what my options truly are. NOVA is truly my only option, hopefully my internship will allow me to gain a slight advantage, because even though everyone says that connections don't help, I'm sure it wouldn't hurt. I didn't even think about a possible honor or character violation, which would be really unfortunate, especially if it was unintended. Again, I really appreciate all of the points made in this forum and thank you

@dashg16,

And we appreciate how receptive you are with our concerns!

The connection would not hurt, unless you will be making some serious mistakes during your internship. I do think the real benefit is to be able to show your knowledge and experience earned from the internship itself. That should be what you can impress your (VA) MOC panel with.

Be careful how you ask admissions. You could get the same answer if you start with "I live in VA and my father is a resident of IL..."

Also, focus on school work and the whole person concept. Make admissions WANT you and spend that Prez nom on you, before the MOC noms are even submitted!

You know where to go if you have more questions!

Again, best of luck!