Must carry at all times?

D

Dedo

Registered Users (C)
I read on my Green card that the PR must carry this card with them at all times. Really? Do they expect you to carry this thing around all the time?

So I have some questions:

How many of you carry your PR card at all times?

What would happen if you were stopped (for whatever reason) and couldn't present the card? Could they arrest you?

I know that this sounds extreme, but given all the crazy profiling stories you hear out there, not having your card on you could be grounds for a fine or arrest if someone really wanted to mess with you. Thoughts?
 
I don't think the law still needs to be in place. The SSN-DL-USCIS records
are in sync and by looking into one's DL the USCIS guys should be able to
figure out the immigration status.
 
Frankly, if you look american (white or black), and have no discernable accent, you will never be asked for any immigration papers by poilice, loan officer, etc.

I've never carried any proof of status.
 
Dedo said:
Nice thread, but I wonder if anyone has ever gotten in trouble for it. I have lived here a long time and never carried, my F-1, H-1, OPT, etc, so why now this?
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Not myself so far but, I do not think there is no single one out of those millions with GCs face no problem not being follow the rules (like myself) in carrying the GC all time when outside. For sure there are (how I made this assumption, I do not know)
 
We used to keep a copy of the card in the wallet and left the actual card at home, obviously it is much safer this way. But then this was a while back. Our primary concern was that if the wallet got lost or stolen, the card would be harder to replace.
 
Being on the B/H/L/J/F/E/K or any other visa , you are also required to carry your passport and I-94 all the time. How many people did it ?
 
sfmars said:
Being on the B/H/L/J/F/E/K or any other visa , you are also required to carry your passport and I-94 all the time. How many people did it ?
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Many people not following immigration rules do not mean that much. Those forums are important for us to know the regulations then we are free to do what we think is good for us. If you are not carrying your GC (the actual card not photocopy) all the times outside home means you are violating the immigration rules and you are the only one who will suffer the consequences for that and by that time you can not say, Oh many others out there not carrying their cards too. The simple answer you hear will be, this is not your business
 
The risks and inconvience following the loss of card far out-weighs the risk of not carrying one.
 
aabbcc11 said:
We used to keep a copy of the card in the wallet and left the actual card at home, obviously it is much safer this way. But then this was a while back. Our primary concern was that if the wallet got lost or stolen, the card would be harder to replace.
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Many people do the same for the same reason. I feel that my wallet is not safe enough for GC given the time and effort needed to restore it. However, from personal experience, if you ARE stopped by ICE or border patrol, your copy is as good as not having card at all. Then who do you carry the copy for? It seems to depend on the way you look and your town and location vs the border, but in my opinion one should always have the original when traveling interstate.
 
armie said:
The risks and inconvience following the loss of card far out-weighs the risk of not carrying one.
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Exactly. $100 fine for not carrying it, vs. hundreds of dollars for the replacement plus several months wait to get it. And if you carry it all the time and then lose it, you'll probably lose both your DL and the GC. Then you can't replace the DL because you don't have the GC.
 
This what I found in :http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/us...nnel=2f719c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1____


Section 264 of the Immigration and Nationality Act provides that, "Every alien in the United States … shall be issued a certificate of alien registration or an alien registration receipt card in such form and manner and at such time as shall be prescribed under regulations...." It also states, "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.... Any alien who fails to comply with [these] provisions shall be guilty of a misdemeanor" and may be subject to fine and/or imprisonment upon each conviction. The specific requirements and procedures for applying to replace a permanent resident card are included in the Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] at 8 CFR § 264.5.
 
It would be interesting to see how this forum reacts if (I hope not) someone is denied naturalisation after being fined $100 for this offence.

Jackolantern said:
Exactly. $100 fine for not carrying it, vs. hundreds of dollars for the replacement plus several months wait to get it.
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Triple Citizen said:
It would be interesting to see how this forum reacts if (I hope not) someone is denied naturalisation after being fined $100 for this offence.
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Hmm... I would probably wait until 5 years after that incident to apply.

Another ironic thing is that carrying it all the time could make it more likely for you to get fined and/or detained for not carrying it. Because if you carry it all the time, it's more likely to get lost or stolen. Once lost or stolen, you don't have it available to carry with you. Then if you get stopped by ICE or COPS who ask for it, you can't show it to them because you don't have it, and you can't even say you have it in your house a few miles down the road. So you'll get shipped to a detention center with no easy way to get out.
 
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My wife and I were on vacation in England at one time and her wallet got stolen in a nightclub. Gone was her green card too. Since then we have learned that it is best that actual documents stay in a safe place. Never carried anything in the US (just the driver's license) and even when I am on vacation in a foreign country, my passport is in the hotel. I think even if they arrest you in a foreign country, there will be a way for you to go to the hotel and prove your immigration status.
 
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