Do you carry your GC with you all the time?

H

herenthere

Registered Users (C)
Recently I had a big scare where I thought I had lost my green card because I lost my wallet. Luckily, this was one of the few times where I did not carry my card with me because I left it at work. The inconvenience of losing my wallet would have been magnified several times if I had lost my GC, as I only recently got it.

My question is - how many of you carry your GC with you at all times? I know the law states that you have to carry your GC in person, but how strictly is this enforced and have you heard of anyone getting in to trouble for not carrying the card? My preference would be to just put it in a safe deposit box somewhere, but I don't want to break any rules either that might jeapordize future apps.
 
I don't

I got my green card 3 years back and I never carry it with me (except, of course, travelling abraod).
I may not be doing the right thing, but if I lose it- I will be in bigger trouble.
Nobody has ever asked me to show my green card.
Shekhar
 
I've carried my GC with me every day for over three years now. Before that, I had been carrying a wallet for over 20 years and had never lost it.
 
shekhar63 said:
I got my green card 3 years back and I never carry it with me (except, of course, travelling abraod).
I may not be doing the right thing....
Click to expand...

You got that right. USCIS clearly says this :

"The card must be in your possession at all times. This requirement means that you are not only required to have a currently valid Form I-551 at all times, but also that you must carry your currently valid Form I-551 on your person at all times"
 
I dont Carry it

Hi

I also recently got GC . I never carry it with me.

I keep Xerox copies of GC in my Car and office. My car is not always with me, but at that time I will be most probably in my office. SO I think I can produce copy if some one stop me on road or so.


Is there any legal case in which some one has been troubled due to not carrying GC with him/her?

What is the AILA or Lawyers opinion on this important matter?

Deep insight on the issue or any link to similar questions will help
 
Don't carry it... Don't intend to...

I have never carried my GC except when travelling abroad. I also don't intend to carry it on my person unless I hear of a specific case of person getting in trouble because of not having GC on person.:)
 
Didn't carry all the time, only on important walk or when I'm going to be outside for more 5 hrs. Just always have the xerox copy, just in case.
 
I don't think anyone would actually get into trouble for not having their GC with them at all times. The reason USCIS asks that u have it on u at all times is for easier identification incase something should happen. I think having a copy of it should be fine but make sure that u have the plastic GC accessible to you incase u need to show it for some reason.
I can't imagine living in some countries in europe were immigrants literally have to carry their passports on them at all time as they are always harrassed by immigrations. Thank God for America.
 
herenthere said:
Recently I had a big scare where I thought I had lost my green card because I lost my wallet. Luckily, this was one of the few times where I did not carry my card with me because I left it at work. The inconvenience of losing my wallet would have been magnified several times if I had lost my GC, as I only recently got it.

My question is - how many of you carry your GC with you at all times? I know the law states that you have to carry your GC in person, but how strictly is this enforced and have you heard of anyone getting in to trouble for not carrying the card? My preference would be to just put it in a safe deposit box somewhere, but I don't want to break any rules either that might jeapordize future apps.
Click to expand...

Loosing your GC is not the same as loosing your status. People pay too much importence to the card because of the time, effort, and money it took to get the card. Relax!!!! if you loose the card, you are still a Permanent Resident. Yes it is an inconvinence to replace it, but nowhere near the original process. You have to file a police report, and pay a few hundred dollars to get a duplicate one. It may jeopardize a trip oversees if you have one coming up soon.

Every one needs to think and handle their situation differently, if you work at a manufacturing plant that hires lot of illegal workers (like my current client in Dallas), chances are sooner or later there will be an ICE raid and you don't want to be caught without a Green Card with you.
 
I was asked for my green card at the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles...I recently started carrying it all the time...I was happy, I had it with me. I was applying for an endorsement in my driver license and I guess they had to check my immigration status...
 
what about identity scams

I know that the rule is we are required to carry it at all times. I know that it's just a card, if one loses it he is still in PR status. But I'm concerned about fraude. If I lose my wallet I can stop credit cards immediately. If I lose my GC... I don't like this. One our friend had some kind of identity theft case, she restored her GC, but now every time she arrives at the border they take her to a room and ask questions to make sure she is who she is.
A copy in the wallet should be OK in my town, I believe.
 
dante73 said:
I was asked for my green card at the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles...I recently started carrying it all the time...I was happy, I had it with me. I was applying for an endorsement in my driver license and I guess they had to check my immigration status...
Click to expand...
Well, you certainly should expect to have to carry it when going to do any personal business with the government. Most people would naturally carry their GC when going to apply for something at the DMV, even if they don't carry it with them on a daily basis.
 
I never carried it on daily basis. I had a photocopy of it and cut in the same shape and had in my wallet. Only when travelling abroad I had to take the real one. Otherwise it was sleeping in a firechest. In US as long as you have Driving license you are good to go.

When there are 20 million illegals easily walking in the streets of USA we the law abiding ones should not have issues.
 
desihai said:
I never carried it on daily basis. I had a photocopy of it and cut in the same shape and had in my wallet. Only when travelling abroad I had to take the real one. Otherwise it was sleeping in a firechest. In US as long as you have Driving license you are good to go.

When there are 20 million illegals easily walking in the streets of USA we the law abiding ones should not have issues.
Click to expand...

When the law says you have to carry it with you and you don't carry it with you, then how can you be a law abiding one?

I believe you cannot apply the photo-copy-is-okay argument to a green card, like you do for approval notices or certificates. Green card is obviously different with the magnetic stripe and stuff.

If we can say photo-copy is sufficient, then we can logically extend the argument to drivers license and start carrying a xerox copy of our drivers license with us instead of the original.

We have to accept what the law says and have to learn to live with it even though it may not be to our liking.
 
I never carry my GC with me. I have a photocopied version of the original card, and keep a cut-out of that photocopy in my wallet.

The only time I carry my original GC is when I am traveling (out of town/country).

The law says that "the card must be in your POSSESSION at all times." POSSESSION does NOT mean carrying it with you at all times. Possession implies you cannot mail it out of country, etc. According to dictionaries, "possession" refers to having ownership or control. Possession does NOT mean having to carry something with you all the time.
 
This is the exact wording of the law:
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.
Click to expand...

This is what USCIS says about it:
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/us...nnel=4f719c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD
Permanent Resident Card
The Permanent Resident Card, Form I-551, is issued to all Permanent Residents as evidence of alien registration and their permanent status in the US. The card must be in your possession at all times. This requirement means that you are not only required to have a currently valid Form I-551 at all times, but also that you must carry your currently valid Form I-551 on your person at all times.
Click to expand...

Taken literally, you would need to have it in your hand or pocket even when jogging or playing sports, so technically those foreign-born permanent resident players in the NBA and NHL are violating the law because they don't have space to store the card on their person when playing.

However, if every law is to be taken literally, everybody who isn't in a coma is violating the law. For example, in New York it is illegal to talk in an elevator, and in Tucson (Arizona) it is illegal for women to wear pants.

Carrying a copy of the card won't conform to the letter of the law, but at least it has information on it that can be verified if you are taken to a police station or immigration detention center, which may spare you from being detained for days or weeks if you are arrested for another offense or taken into custody by ICE for being suspected of being an illegal alien.

It's also interesting that the monetary penalty of $100 for not having the card on you is less than the cost of replacing the card (of course, the jail time of up to 30 days is a much bigger penalty, but has anybody ever gone to jail for this for longer than a night?).
 
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dictionary explanation

pos·ses·sion (pə-zĕsh'ən) pronunciation
n.

1.
1. The act or fact of possessing.
2. The state of being possessed.
2. Something owned or possessed.
3. possessions Wealth or property.
4. Law. Actual holding or occupancy with or without rightful ownership.
5. A territory subject to foreign control.
6. Self-control.
7. The state of being dominated by or as if by evil spirits or by an obsession.
8. Sports.
1. Physical control of the ball or puck by a player or team.
2. The condition of being on offense: The home team was in possession during most of the fourth quarter.

possessional pos·ses'sion·al adj.


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if you take it literally, I still don't think you need have it in your pocket or hand.
it just means you need rightfully own it.

I possess my house, but I have never hold it in my hand, right?
 
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