Green Card Holders Beware: Uncle Sam Wants You (to Carry Your Documents)!“To travel is to be alive—but to travel without your green card, you’ll wish you were invisible.”
Breaking News for Lawful Permanent Residents
The most recent headlines and official tweets serve as stern reminders for U.S. green card holders: always have your proof of status on you or risk a run-in with the law (and possibly a fee that will hurt more than that DMV renewal).
Table of Contents
The Great American Green Card Warning and required registration documentation
“Always carry your alien registration documentation,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has warned via its digital megaphone. Spiraling through X (previously known as the “bird app” for those of us who are reluctant to update our phones), it was stated that failing to have them when stopped by federal law enforcement can result in a misdemeanor and fines.
From where did this originate? The ancient manuscripts of the Immigration and Nationality Act, not the newest bureaucratic whimsy. Although it’s not exactly beach reading, Section 264(e) is a powerful law that requires all noncitizens who are eighteen years of age or older to carry their official “papers” or face the possibility of being charged with a federal misdemeanor.
Numbers Don’t Lie (and Neither Do Headlines on The Great American Green Card Warning)
Approximately 12.8 million persons identified as lawful permanent residents in the United States as of January 1, 2024; imagine an Illinois-sized populace clutching little plastic rectangles.
The danger is not limited to those “without papers”; documented immigrants, such as those with green cards and even those with visas, have also reported getting caught up in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids.
According to the legislation, failing to carry carries a misdemeanor penalty. According to the bureaucracy, if you don’t comply, you risk being removed or losing your status.
New Fees, New Headaches on The Great American Green Card Warning
As if navigating U.S. immigration weren’t already as simple as explaining tax brackets to a baby, a change has arrived: if you’re in immigration court, USCIS now costs $1,050 for several applications that were previously free, such as Form I-131 (travel documents) and Form I-765 (work permits).
“Significant financial burden” was the stated explanation. Put that one under “year-end understatements.”
Factoid: The cost of being an immigrant keeps going up, but there are enough jokes about it to fill a citizenship exam.
What Can—Should—Will—You Do?
Keep your alien registration receipt card or green card with you at all times.
Your youthful aspirations of being a mime unexpectedly come true, therefore don’t be scared to keep quiet.
There is no expiration date on the right to demand legal representation if questioned.
If police enforcement asks you about your status, don’t respond without a lawyer present.
“Every alien, eighteen years of age and over, shall at all times carry… any certificate of alien registration or alien registration receipt card issued to him. Failing to do so can lead to a misdemeanor and fines if you are stopped by federal law enforcement…”
But let’s liven things up
“A card in hand is worth two in the desk drawer,
For ICE at dawn may knock at your door.
Carry it with pride, flaunt it if you must,
For in Uncle Sam’s laws, in documents you trust.”
Laughter, Law, and Liberty: The Big Picture
Being your own personal filing cabinet is now part of the norms that immigrants must follow since freedom in this country comes with plastic credentials. You don’t have to lose your sense of humor despite the seriousness of the news.
Conclusion on The Great American Green Card Warning
To all green card holders: you wouldn’t leave home without your registration card, therefore treat it the same way you would your phone when traveling. Make your peculiar superpower paperwork paranoia.
Remember
“In America, land of red tape and stars,
To journey well, don’t forget your card.”
Carry on—and carry it with you.
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