Where do you keep your Greencard?

Triple Citizen said:
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.
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You cannot lose your immigration status for lack of carrying a greencard....:eek: Let us not over-react...

I don't carry the darn card anywhere, except in my filling cabinet in my passport at home...:rolleyes: .....

I remember that I was stopped for checking a stop sign about a year and 1/2 ago, and the cop told me that he was going to ticket me. I said go ahead and I pulled my drivers license and car registration, he proceeded to run my name and car in their system, came back later, no ticket and nothing.

Next thing I know, he goes... Sir.. I apologize and you can be on your way...here is your driver license and you have a nice evening....:p What happened, he realized that my driver license issuance came through the DOS, so for some reason, he realized the infraction was stupid and minor...:p
 
javalevi said:
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.
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Maybe you should take your own advice? :cool:
 
Al Southner said:
You cannot lose your immigration status for lack of carrying a greencard....:eek: Let us not over-react...

I don't carry the darn card anywhere, except in my filling cabinet in my passport at home...:rolleyes: .....

I remember that I was stopped for checking a stop sign about a year and 1/2 ago, and the cop told me that he was going to ticket me. I said go ahead and I pulled my drivers license and car registration, he proceeded to run my name and car in their system, came back later, no ticket and nothing.

Next thing I know, he goes... Sir.. I apologize and you can be on your way...here is your driver license and you have a nice evening....:p What happened, he realized that my driver license issuance came through the DOS, so for some reason, he realized the infraction was stupid and minor...:p
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What exactly do you mean by that?
 
noincident said:
...always carrying it on you seems burdensome:(
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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. The Permanent Resident Card currently is issued with a 10-year validity. You status as a Permanent Resident does not expire with the 10-year validity. Only the card expires. The card is only valid up to the expiration date and must be renewed before it expires.

Source: USCIS Website: Now that you are a Permanent Resident

Only one school of thought matters, the USCIS.
 
I guess same thing would be for the "Speed Limit"... only the DMV school of thought matters... but people still drive 10-20 miles over it. :rolleyes:
 
PraetorianXI said:
Maybe you should take your own advice? :cool:
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long story short i was doing 75 on a 50 and cop gave me a 90 without clocking me, I pay the price and dont bit** about it. that was one ticket i did not deserve getting :). I am just saying that SI cops dont give a break thats all. In general a lot of cops are nice as long as you dont act like a total ass. anyway sorry for the total offtopic.

I haven't replaced my SS card yet, never carrying anything valuable in the wallet again :mad:
 
it must be in your possession at all times

you have to carry it at all times. Of course, if you're caught without it, nothing will happen to you. Nothing but being detained for a few minutes, or hours. But this might well be already a hassle!!.... what if you're in a hurry to work, to the hospital, to pick up your kid at school, or whatever!!

come on!! the card is small enough to be conveniently carried on anyone's wallet, along with the driver's license and credit cards... it's not a big deal.

in case you loose it, you won't loose your legal status. Just file for a replacement. The same thing you'll have to do in case you also loose your D/L and everything you're carrying on...
 
asPapi said:
And what happens when you are caught driving 10-20 miles over the speed limit?
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What happens when you don't get caught? :p

More people get away with driving 90 on a 70 mph interstate, than the number of those that get caught...

What about those that drive 5 above the speed limit? they get away with it...
 
PraetorianXI said:
I mean, "checking a stop sign".

And yes, Al did have diplomatic immunity.
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Prae,

Checking a stop sign means that you don't come to a full stop. In almost all states, except Alaska where you run all stop sign due to lack of other drivers...:D your car is required to come to a full stop....
 
PraetorianXI said:
What happens when you don't get caught? :p

More people get away with driving 90 on a 70 mph interstate, than the number of those that get caught...

What about those that drive 5 above the speed limit? they get away with it...
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Any cop who stops you for going 5 miles over is desperate and you can go to court to dispute the petty crime...:rolleyes: The judge might even have a good laugh before rebuking the officer for wasting the court's time....:D

You only get busted for going in most cases 10 miles above the speed limit. On interstate, state trooper set their radars 20 miles above the speed limit, and they are able to pluck all drivers going 20 miles over the speed limit....:(

The radar system will not pick-up anyone going below 20 miles, because they are below the trooper's target....:eek: However,e, don't speed :eek:
 
Al Southner said:
Prae,

Checking a stop sign means that you don't come to a full stop. In almost all states, except Alaska where you run all stop sign due to lack of other drivers...:D your car is required to come to a full stop....
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I get it now... I had heard other terms for it, like the "roll stop" or "california stop"...

Before I came to this country, I had never noticed the stop signs in my own country... believe it or not, people do not stop at stop signs, they just slow down or keep going if nobody is "At sight".
 
Here's how I look at the "carry GC at all times" issue ... sure, it's small enough to put in my wallet and won't make it much thicker than the handful of credit and debit cards I already carry. But I'm more concerned about it getting lost or stolen than most of my other documents. I know everything else in my wallet is fairly easily replaceable, without much cost and time; however I've heard I-90 can sometimes take a long time to process, and the $370 fee is quite high for replacing a card that costs a few bucks to make. I'm not concerned about "losing my status" but "not being able to prove my status" at times when I really need the card, such as travel, job changes, etc. if I subject it to daily use when 99.99% of the time I won't be needing it. I'm also wondering what USCIS would interprect as "mutilated" ... if I have a small damage on the optical data area and it can't be optically read anymore, would it be mutilated? It's like carrying a $370 CD around in my wallet. :D
 
austriacus said:
I'm also wondering what USCIS would interprect as "mutilated" ... if I have a small damage on the optical data area and it can't be optically read anymore, would it be mutilated? It's like carrying a $370 CD around in my wallet. :D
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That is why they give you and nice little envelope for... to not "mutilate" it :)
 
I assume you have never lived in any of the six GCC countries.
There if a non-citizen is caught not carrying his residence permit, he is sent straight to jail for the night. The next day he is allowed to call only his Embassy and a consul has to vouch for that person's citizenship. The consul then contacts family/friends of the arrested foreigner and someone needs to bring in the residence permit to the police station.
If by any chance, more than three days pass (or a weekend rolls by) during the drama, the arrested foreigner, if male, has his head shaved for free :)

austriacus said:
Here's how I look at the "carry GC at all times" issue ... sure, it's small enough to put in my wallet and won't make it much thicker than the handful of credit and debit cards I already carry.
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Triple Citizen said:
I assume you have never lived in any of the six GCC countries.
There if a non-citizen is caught not carrying his residence permit, he is sent straight to jail for the night. The next day he is allowed to call only his Embassy and a consul has to vouch for that person's citizenship. The consul then contacts family/friends of the arrested foreigner and someone needs to bring in the residence permit to the police station.
If by any chance, more than three days pass (or a weekend rolls by) during the drama, the arrested foreigner, if male, has his head shaved for free :)
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You assumed correctly, although my officemate has (grew up in one of them as a non-citizen) and he did mention that non-citizens were sometimes treated rather harshly.

I see your point, but at the same time, I think you'll agree with me that practical reality in the US is that most state/local authorities that one might encounter on a daily basis care relatively little about one's immigration status, while at the same time the federal government is making replacement of a GC quite costly and difficult, which is driving me towards the decision to not carry it. If it were as easily replaceable as, say, my DL (cost around $10 and get a temporary license immediate and a new card within weeks), or even my passport ($100, takes about a week to get within Austria, emergency passport service available if I'm abroad), then I'd carry the GC at all times.
 
I've carried my green card in my wallet always but keep forgetting that its sitting there sometimes. No one has actually stopped me and asked for it though.

Also, I've sent mine a couple of times to other consulates in the US and stuff. For example, when I was applying for a UK and Schengen visa, I had to send the original GC along with the visa application via courier. Always stapled a ziploc bag in those cases to my passport and dropped the GC into it.

They've always sent me back any proof (including GC) intact to me. However, theres always the lurking fear that one time it might just disappear...:eek:
 
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