noincident
Registered Users (C)
...always carrying it on you seems burdensome
Where do you keep your Greencard?
- Thread starter noincident
- Start date
austriacus
Registered Users (C)
There are different schools of thought on this ...
Some will say that the law says you need to carry it on you at all times and it should be followed.
What I've done is made a color photocopy, wrote COPY across it so it can't be construed as a forgery of the original, and I carry that in my wallet. It makes a lot more practical sense to me than risking to lose or damage a document that can be hard to replace. I also wouldn't be carrying my passport on my person at all times.
Does anyone know what the penalty is for not carrying the GC, if one exists?
Some will say that the law says you need to carry it on you at all times and it should be followed.
What I've done is made a color photocopy, wrote COPY across it so it can't be construed as a forgery of the original, and I carry that in my wallet. It makes a lot more practical sense to me than risking to lose or damage a document that can be hard to replace. I also wouldn't be carrying my passport on my person at all times.
Does anyone know what the penalty is for not carrying the GC, if one exists?
noincident
Registered Users (C)
That's exactly what I was planning on doing!
PraetorianXI
Banned
I have tattooed it on my forehead ...
I carry it with me all the time I do not know anything about penalties, but either way, the population of undocumented hispanics around the areas where I work is high, I would not want to be "caught" without it.
...I carry it with me all the time
I do not know anything about penalties, but either way, the population of undocumented hispanics around the areas where I work is high, I would not want to be "caught" without it.Al Southner
Registered Users (C)
The penalty for not carrying your gc is basically being harassed by the cops for a few minutes, being locked up in jail on suspicision of being an illegal....
If it is during the weekend, then u will have to wait till your spouse can bring your gc to jail...which is a get out of jail card.....
For real, the penalty is being beaten with a wooden stick for three days in an underground prison for immigrants who don't carry their gc...
Oh come on how many of us carry our H1s with us?? The difference between a H1 visa holder not carrying his/her H1 around and a GC holder not carrying his/her GC is the same.
I know some friends of mine who were pulled over by the cops in Texas for immigration status check, but they were let go once they showed their drivers license.
So the answer is that in 99.9999% of the cases you dont need the original card.
I know some friends of mine who were pulled over by the cops in Texas for immigration status check, but they were let go once they showed their drivers license.
So the answer is that in 99.9999% of the cases you dont need the original card.
PraetorianXI
Banned
austriacus
Registered Users (C)
I was supposed to carry proof of H-1B status? Which document? Probably not the approval notice (it should reside with the company where it can be randomly audited). Perhaps the I-94, but that should be stapled in the passport. So ... I guess I'd have to carry my passport. And for a student, they'd have to carry their I-20, I suppose?
As far as I'm concerned, for day to day activities it should suffice if I can prove my status using the documents I have at home. I also don't carry my tax returns with me at all times so I can prove I paid my taxes. I do carry proof of car insurance and DL of course (at least when I drive), maybe I need to think about the GC along those lines instead?
Which document? Probably not the approval notice (it should reside with the company where it can be randomly audited). Perhaps the I-94, but that should be stapled in the passport. So ... I guess I'd have to carry my passport. And for a student, they'd have to carry their I-20, I suppose?As far as I'm concerned, for day to day activities it should suffice if I can prove my status using the documents I have at home. I also don't carry my tax returns with me at all times so I can prove I paid my taxes. I do carry proof of car insurance and DL of course (at least when I drive), maybe I need to think about the GC along those lines instead?
PraetorianXI
Banned
TheRealCanadian
Volunteer Moderator
Yes, the I-94. All non-immigrants need to have it in their possession. There were cases a while back about ICE or INS raiding a workplace and busting a bunch of Indian H-1Bs who didn't have their I-94s on them. Now that raid was widely criticized since it was overkill, but the fact remains that what ICE did was legal.
The only people who do NOT need proof of their legal status in the US are US citizens.
There's nothing that says you cannot remove the staple. It's not a violation of the INA to attach them using a paper clip.
There's no statutory requirement that you possess at all times proof that you paid your taxes. However, when operating a motor vehicle there is a statutory requirement for proof of licensure and insurance, and for non-citizens there is a statutory requirement for proof of legal status. That's the difference.
What I've never quite understood is how ICE agents would differentiate between a room full of naturalized citizens who didn't need to carry proof of immigration status, and a room full LPRs who are supposed to? Quite likely they are going to lock everybody up with a "foreign accent" until they can verify SSNs or other identity documents.
TheRealCanadian
Volunteer Moderator
I think it would be wonderful if ICE tried something like that at my workplace. It's a shame I don't have a recognizable accent or US citizenship, otherwise most of my mortgage would be paid off once the civil rights lawsuit was settled.
ICE has done this in the past, and has lost often enough in court not to do it too much.
Al Southner
Registered Users (C)
The above statement is incorrect, because people in diplomatic corps do not have to carry their diplomatic passport to proof who they are, and the same goes for people who hold G4 visas. For example, all immigrants are required to notify USCIS when they move from their current address....
However, people like us whose jobs afforded us certain diplomatic privileges are exempt from fulfiling this ass requirement.... Notify DHS when we move... for what? My foot you ask me.... During the crackdown on people coming into the US in 2003, the State Dept issued a memo advising us to ignore the hassles at the airport by carrying our UNLP with our passport which we are suppose to in anyway while traveling... Guess what... none of our people where harassed by CBP... Who cares where you live, unless you owe the US govt something, there is no need for them to know where you live...
No one is required to carry proof of the immigration status in the US, because local police cannot enforce federal immigration laws, so what the hell do they need...No one is required to carry proof of the immigration status in the US, because local police cannot enforce federal immigration laws, so what the hell do they need...
Actually here in GA,one county is actutually enforcing immigration laws.If you get arrested for anything,including traffic violations,they are holding you in their jail until they verify your status.Needless to say the jails in that county are overcrowded and the lawsuits have started pouring in.When I read the article in the newspaper,they said immigration told them to release a good bit of them who were undocumented,lol
Al Southner
Registered Users (C)
Actually here in GA,one county is actutually enforcing immigration laws.If you get arrested for anything,including traffic violations,they are holding you in their jail until they verify your status.Needless to say the jails in that county are overcrowded and the lawsuits have started pouring in.When I read the article in the newspaper,they said immigration told them to release a good bit of them who were undocumented,lol
Someone need to file a motion in GA District Court, ask the judicial system to review the enforcement of federal immigration law by a county.
For most level-headed judges, such enforcement will be declared unconstitutional... I wonder what the hell State Attorney is doing, or maybe he an illegal immigrant too and doesn't want to be found by challenging the county...The US Supreme Court can rule on this issue in a heart beat...
austriacus
Registered Users (C)
Thanks TheRealCanadian for your answers. Didn't know about the requirement to carry I-94 (guess it's too late now!), I did know the statutory requirement difference between proving you paid taxes and proving your immigration status at all times, however I thought it made for an illustrative example anyway how impractical it is to be able to prove something at all times.
I also don't understand why everyone but citizens (and diplomats) have to be able to prove their status. The US seems to be pretty lax in general when it comes to proving US citizenship, which leads to such things as people claiming they are citizens and getting away with it, voter fraud, etc.
I also don't understand why everyone but citizens (and diplomats) have to be able to prove their status. The US seems to be pretty lax in general when it comes to proving US citizenship, which leads to such things as people claiming they are citizens and getting away with it, voter fraud, etc.
Triple Citizen
Registered Users (C)
I carried both my GC's in my wallet for 35 months before I naturalised. Some people do not carry it out of fear of losing it. For me, losing the card did not translate to losing my status.
i have been pulled over zillion times for traffic violations, speeding mostly, one time even with an expired license (few years ago), no one gave me any problems other than giving me a bunch of tickets [i paid some and got some cancelled by hiring an attorney] I never carried anything but a license in my pocket. in 7 years i lost my wallet once and I had my SSN with me (i dont know why iwas carrying it with me)
PS: Dont ever violate any traffic laws in staten island, cops there dont give anyone a break, atleast from my experience.
PS: Dont ever violate any traffic laws in staten island, cops there dont give anyone a break, atleast from my experience.