Immigrants in Trump’s America – Should I Carry My Immigration Papers With Me?
In the era of increased immigration enforcement under President Trump, our foreign national clients and readers are increasingly asking about the requirements on carrying specific immigration documents with them while they are in the U.S. – whether around town or for domestic U.S. travel. We find that this topic is not very well covered and many foreign nationals are not aware of the applicable requirements to carry specific immigration-related documents with them at all times inside the United States. This article seeks to explain the law and provide answers to this and related questions.
The Law: Registration and Carrying of Registration Documents
Section 262 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) dictates that almost all foreign nationals in the U.S. must be “registered” with the proper government agency. For example, registration happens when someone is admitted into the U.S. at the border or if someone’s status in the U.S. is extended or changed. The registration is a mechanical process, set in the law and in existence for many years, and has been well established and are fairly transparent – many foreign nationals do not even realize (nor do they often need to) that their status in the U.S. has been “registered” with the government. After the registration takes place, Section 264(d) requires the U.S. government to provide a “registration certificate” to the foreign national.
This is where the requirement to carry registration evidence comes in. Section 264(e) of INA requires every individual over the age of 18 to carry their “registration” documents with them at all times. Specifically, section 264(e) reads:
e) Every alien, eighteen years of age and over, shall at all times carry with him and have in his personal possession any certificate of alien registration or alien registration receipt card issued to him pursuant to subsection (d)
Many of our clients and readers are surprised to learn about this requirement – and the reason is simply that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has generally not enforced the “at all times” language. Often the requirement has been satisfied by an expectation (and ability) that the foreign national would be able to produce the registration document within certain period of time — perhaps by getting them from home or from a safe deposit box. However in view of the increased enforcement under the new administration, we recommend that our foreign national clients and friends carry their immigration permits and approvals at all times.
What Exactly Should I Carry: What is the Registration Certificate?
As explained above, the law requires every foreign national to carry their “registration certificate” so the natural question is – what is this document? The list is described in the federal regulations under 8 CFR. § 264.1(b). Notable registration documents are the Form I-94 card, I-551 (green card), I-766 (EAD card).
For many people in the U.S., their registration certificate would be the Form I-94 card which is issued either at the port of entry (see below) or upon approval of someone’s extension or change of status (usually attached to the bottom of the Form I-797 approval notice). To obtain their Form I-94 card (the “registration certificate”), a foreign national must take an extra step by going to the CBP I-94 website, completing the requested information and printing their electronic Form I-94 on paper. In addition to the Form I-94 card (the registration certificate), we recommend foreign nationals carry with them a photo ID and, if applicable, their visa document (such as Form I-20, Form DS-2019, or I-797 approval notice).
Enforcement and Applicability of the Requirement to Carry Registration Documents
As mentioned above, this requirement is very old and has been on the books for many years. And yet, many people do not know about it and have never encountered a situation where they had to present their immigration registration document to an officer. Until now! The last couple of weeks under the new administration have reminded immigrants that their status might be questioned. Again, we strongly recommend that green card holders should carry their original green cards and legal immigrants should carry at all times their Employment Authorization Document, I-94 card, passport with entry stamp, or other proof of lawful presence in the US.
Although domestic transportation lines and law enforcement officers do not often ask for these documents, in many cases they have the right to do so. And if asked, a foreign national is supposed to have those documents with them. We recommend foreign nationals to consider the possibility of requests for their registration documents at transportation terminals or elsewhere even if they will never leave the territory of the United States. Again, for foreign nationals the most common item of identification is the passport and the most common forms of evidence of lawful status in the U.S. are the I-94 card accompanied by the appropriate visa document (I-20, DS-2019, I-797, etc.).
Conclusion
We hope that this article alert would be helpful to many of our clients and readers to understand the requirements to carry immigration documents even while they are within the U.S. and even when they do not travel out of town. In view of the new enforcement landscape, we would wish to hear stories or reports on officials requesting registration documents from our clients and readers. We also invite you to contact us if our office can be of any assistance in your immigration matters or you have any questions or comments about this article.
About the Author: Alexandra Michailov, Esq.
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The Capitol Immigration Law Group has been serving the business community for over 15 years and is one of the most widely respected immigration law firms focused solely on U.S. employment-based immigration. Disclaimer: we make all efforts to provide timely and accurate information; however, the information in this article may become outdated or may not be applicable to a specific set of facts. It is not to be construed as legal advice.