Do I REALLY have to carry my GC around?

J

jb90304

Registered Users (C)
I remember when I got the GC in mail, I read somewhere in one of the packet (or just one of the paper in it, not sure EXACTLY where it was written) but it said that "It is the law" to carry my GC at all times.
So after reading this, I did carry it everywhere but I start to wonder, is this really necessary? I mean if a police pulls me over during a traffic stop or if I get questioned by whomever with authority for any reasons, I would think that all they want to see is a proper gov't ID (like DL). Wouldn't that alone prove my legal status here IF they were to question it (I don't see why they would do that either)? Sure, it doesn't hurt to carry it around but I just don't want to lose it. I don't generally lose things but things happen.
For those who are LPR, do you carry your GC at all times?
 
INA 264 requires you to carry your GC all the time. But in reality I think even among those who know this,
the majority do not carry it on daily basis after balancing risk and benefits. So decide what to do yourself.

If you do not carry it on daily basis, I suggest you always carry a copy. But make sure the copy do not resember teh orignal too much. Make it only black and white and write a legen "This is only a photocopy of teh original " on it to avoid
forgery charge.

When you go to another state, espcially Arizona, maybe it is a good diea to carry the real GC




INA 264 (8 USC 1304)

(e) Personal possession of registration or receipt card; penalties 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) of this section. Any alien who fails to comply with the provisions of this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall upon conviction for each offense be fined not to exceed $100 or be imprisoned not more than thirty days, or both.
 
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You are not going to lose anything by carrying your green card/ copy of it with you. So it is better to have it with you all time even though other ID's may prove as sufficient proof of your identity. As suggested by the previous posts, GC is a must when you travel to another state or country.
 
TheRealCanadian said:
This is an overblown fear.
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It's a more realistic fear than getting into trouble for not carrying the card in places far from the border.

Most people have been robbed or personally know somebody who has been robbed. And there have been a number of people on this forum (for example: http://forums.immigration.com/threads/315184-Stolen-PR-Card) asking questions related to a stolen green card. But how many people know anybody who got in trouble for not carrying the green card on their person (other than a situation where showing the green card is a predictable and routine procedure, like crossing the border or starting employment)?
 
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Other than on overseas trips, I have never carried my GC with me when I was a LPR. Not only that, but I kept it in a safe, along with other important documents.
 
Vorpal said:
Other than on overseas trips, I have never carried my GC with me when I was a LPR. Not only that, but I kept it in a safe, along with other important documents.
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This is the daily reality and even DHS knows it. Always bring it when visiting any DHS location as that is the expected ID for an LPR when dealing with DHS (UNLESS, it has been lost or stolen).
 
The problem with laws that are mostly ignored by the officials is that they can purposefully be enforced against specific individuals for "specific" reasons. It is still a misdemeanor and a deportable offence not to carry immigration papers for foreigners. As a punctual person, I don't like such laws. In my opinion, the laws should either be enforced or they should not exist in the first place.
 
König said:
It is still a misdemeanor and a deportable offence not to carry immigration papers for foreigners.
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It is not a deportable offense, although it may result in being held in an immigration detention center. Below is the actual text of the law and penalty.

http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/uscode/8/12/II/VII/1304
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) of this section. Any alien who fails to comply with the provisions of this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall upon conviction for each offense be fined not to exceed $100 or be imprisoned not more than thirty days, or both.
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König said:
As a punctual person, I don't like such laws. In my opinion, the laws should either be enforced or they should not exist in the first place.
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If they enforce it consistently, it would result in harassment and detention of lots of citizens, since it is not possible to tell who is a green card holder just by looking, and citizens are not required to carry any immigration documents on a day-to-basis. The place would become a police state, with citizens having to carry their passport or birth certificate to avoid being mistaken for an LPR.
 
Jackolantern said:
The place would become a police state, with citizens having to carry their passport or birth certificate to avoid being mistaken for an LPR.
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If I recall correctly, wasn't that the intended purpose of REAL ID? Speaking of which, whatever happened to it?
 
Vorpal said:
If I recall correctly, wasn't that the intended purpose of REAL ID?
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Not really. REAL ID act was intended to standardise the requirements and issuance procedures for driving licences and state ID cards. Because there are no mandatory federal ID documents, the federal government had to rely on state-issued IDs, and some states had very loose requirements for applicants. REAL ID did not create a national ID card and did not create police state.
 
Yes, I never carried the actual GC with me out of fear of it being stolen or lost. I always carried a paper photocopy of it though.

Anyway, I never was in a situation where someone from law enforcement asked me for it (other than when coming into the US from abroad).
 
gcbayarea said:
Yes, I never carried the actual GC with me out of fear of it being stolen or lost. I always carried a paper photocopy of it though.

Anyway, I never was in a situation where someone from law enforcement asked me for it (other than when coming into the US from abroad).
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Carrying a photocopy of the Green card is advisable, if people fear of losing their card. And any time, any unforeseen situation may spring up, where in the Green Card will turn out to be handy. That is why it is best to have the Green Card at all times!
 
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