Washington, D.C. President Donald Trump had issued an executive order which directed the Department of Homeland Security to ensure that aliens (foreign citizens) comply with their duty to register with the government under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), and ensure that failure to comply is treated as a civil and criminal enforcement priority.
Once an undocumented foreign citizens are registered and appeared for fingerprinting (unless waived), DHS will issue evidence of registration, which foreign citizens over the age of 18 must carry and keep in their possession at all times.
It is the legal obligation of all unregistered (typically undocumented) foreign citizens (or previously registered children who turn 14 years old) in the United States to comply with these requirements. Failure to comply will result in criminal and civil penalties, up to and including misdemeanor prosecution and the payment of fines.
Most foreign citizens in the United States are already registered, as required by law. However, a number of foreign citizens present in the United States have had no direct way in which to register and meet their obligation under the law. In order that unregistered aliens may comply with their duty under the law, USCIS has established a new form and process by which they may register. Registration is not an immigration status, and registration documentation does not establish employment authorization or any other right or benefit under the immigration laws or any other U.S. law.
American Indians born in Canada who entered the United States, and members of the Texas Band of Kickapoo Indians who entered the United States under the Texas Band of Kickapoo Act, are not required to register.
Who has already registered and therefore do not have to register?
Anyone who has been issued one of the following documents designated as evidence of registration under 8 CFR 264.1(b) has registered and do not have to register:
- I-94, Arrival-Departure Record.
- I-95, Crewmen's Landing Permit—Crewmen arriving by vessel or aircraft.
- I-184, Alien Crewman Landing Permit and Identification Card—Crewmen arriving by vessel.
- I-185, Nonresident Alien Canadian Border Crossing Card—Citizens of Canada or British subjects residing in Canada.
- I-186, Nonresident Alien Mexican Border Crossing Card—Citizens of Mexico residing in Mexico.
- I-221, Order to Show Cause and Notice of Hearing—Aliens against whom deportation proceedings are being instituted.
- I-221S, Order to Show Cause, Notice of Hearing, and Warrant for Arrest of Alien—Aliens against whom deportation proceedings are being instituted.
- I-551, Permanent Resident Card—Lawful permanent resident of the United States.
- I-766, Employment Authorization Document.
- Form I-862, Notice to Appear—Aliens against whom removal proceedings are being instituted.
- Form I-863, Notice of Referral to Immigration Judge—Aliens against whom removal proceedings are being instituted.
Also, anyone who submitted one of the forms to USCIS and provided fingerprints (unless waived) and was not issued one of the pieces of evidence, complied with the registration requirement of INA Section 262. These categories of foreign citizens are already registered (and do not have to register) and those include:
- Lawful permanent residents;
- Aliens paroled into the United States under INA 212(d)(5), even if the period of parole has expired;
- Aliens admitted to the United States as nonimmigrants who were issued Form I-94 or I-94W (paper or electronic), even if the period of admission has expired;
- All aliens present in the United States who were issued immigrant or nonimmigrant visas prior to arrival;
- Aliens whom DHS has placed into removal proceedings;
- Aliens issued an employment authorization document (EAD);
- Aliens who have applied for lawful permanent residence using Forms I-485, I-687, I-691, I-698, I-700, even if the applications were denied; and,
- Aliens issued Border Crossing Cards.
Who is not registered and must apply for registration?
Anyone who has not been issued one of the documents designated as evidence of registration and has not submitted one of the forms and provided fingerprints (unless waived) is not registered. Aliens who have not registered include:
- Aliens who are present in the United States without inspection and admission or inspection and parole; (All undocumented people who entered without a visa, a parole or a U.S. travel document)
- Canadian visitors who entered the United States at land ports of entry and were not issued evidence of registration; and,
- Aliens who submitted one or more benefit requests to USCIS not listed in 8 CFR 264.1(a), including applications for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals or Temporary Protected Status (without an EAD), who were not issued evidence of registration.
Therefore, above category of non-citizens must register:
- Any alien 14 years of age or older who were not registered and fingerprinted (if required) when applying for a visa to enter the United States and who remain in the United States for 30 days or longer. They must apply before the expiration of those 30 days.
- The parents and legal guardians of aliens less than 14 years of age who have not been registered and remain in the United States for 30 days or longer, prior to the expiration of those 30 days.
- Any alien, whether previously registered or not, who turns 14 years old in the United States, within 30 days after their 14th birthday.
How to register
DHS will soon announce a form and process for aliens to complete the registration requirement. Beginning Feb. 25, 2025, aliens required to register should create a USCIS online account in preparation for the registration process. See our How to Create a USCIS Online Account page for more information. Once the registration process is implemented, aliens will submit their registration, and parents and guardians will submit registration applications on behalf of their children under 14, through their USCIS online account.
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Endnotes:
Section 262 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) [8 U.S. Code 1302] requires the following:
Registration of aliens
(a) It shall be the duty of every alien now or hereafter in the United States, who (1) is fourteen years of age or older, (2) has not been registered and fingerprinted under section 1201(b) of this title or section 30 or 31 of the Alien Registration Act, 1940, and (3) remains in the United States for thirty days or longer, to apply for registration and to be fingerprinted before the expiration of such thirty days.
(b) It shall be the duty of every parent or legal guardian of any alien now or hereafter in the United States, who (1) is less than fourteen years of age, (2) has not been registered under section 1201(b) of this title or section 30 or 31 of the Alien Registration Act, 1940, and (3) remains in the United States for thirty days or longer, to apply for the registration of such alien before the expiration of such thirty days. Whenever any alien attains his fourteenth birthday in the United States he shall, within thirty days thereafter, apply in person for registration and to be fingerprinted.
(c) The Attorney General may, in his discretion and on the basis of reciprocity pursuant to such regulations as he may prescribe, waive the requirement of fingerprinting specified in subsections (a) and (b) in the case of any nonimmigrant.
8 CFR § 264.1 Registration and fingerprinting.
(a) Prescribed registration forms. The following forms are prescribed as registration forms:
Form No. and Class
- I-67, Inspection Record—Hungarian refugees (Act of July 25, 1958).
- I-94, Arrival-Departure Record—Aliens admitted as nonimmigrants; aliens paroled into the United States under section 212(d)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act; aliens whose claimed entry prior to July 1, 1924, cannot be verified, they having satisfactorily established residence in the United States since prior to July 1, 1924; aliens lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence who have not been registered previously; aliens who are granted permission to depart without the institution of deportation proceedings or against whom deportation proceedings are being instituted.
- I-95, Crewmen's Landing Permit—Crewmen arriving by vessel or aircraft.
- I-181, Memorandum of Creation of Record of Lawful Permanent Residence—Aliens presumed to be lawfully admitted to the United States under 8 CFR 101.1.
- I-485, Application for Status as Permanent Resident—Applicants under sections 245 and 249 of the Immigration and Nationality Act as amended, and section 13 of the Act of September 11, 1957.
- I-590, Registration for Classification as Refugee—Escapee—Refugee-escapees paroled pursuant to section 1 of the Act of July 14, 1960.
- I-687, Application for Status as a Temporary Resident—Applicants under section 245A of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended.
- I-691, Notice of Approval for Status as a Temporary Resident—Aliens adjusted to lawful temporary residence under 8 CFR 210.2 and 245A.2.
- I-698, Application to Adjust Status from Temporary to Permanent Resident—Applicants under section 245A of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended.
- I-700, Application for Status as a Temporary Resident—Applicants under section 210 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended.
- I-817, Application for Voluntary Departure under the Family Unity Program.
(b) Evidence of registration. The following forms constitute evidence of registration:
Form No. and Class
- I-94, Arrival-Departure Record—Aliens admitted as nonimmigrants; aliens paroled into the United States under section 212(d)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act; aliens whose claimed entry prior to July 1, 1924, cannot be verified, they having satisfactorily established residence in the United States since prior to July 1, 1924; and aliens granted permission to depart without the institution of deportation proceedings.
- I-95, Crewmen's Landing Permit—Crewmen arriving by vessel or aircraft.
- I-184, Alien Crewman Landing Permit and Identification Card—Crewmen arriving by vessel.
- I-185, Nonresident Alien Canadian Border Crossing Card—Citizens of Canada or British subjects residing in Canada.
- I-186, Nonresident Alien Mexican Border Crossing Card—Citizens of Mexico residing in Mexico.
- I-221, Order to Show Cause and Notice of Hearing—Aliens against whom deportation proceedings are being instituted.
- I-221S, Order to Show Cause, Notice of Hearing, and Warrant for Arrest of Alien—Aliens against whom deportation proceedings are being instituted.
- I-551, Permanent Resident Card—Lawful permanent resident of the United States.
- I-766, Employment Authorization Document.
- Form I-862, Notice to Appear—Aliens against whom removal proceedings are being instituted.
- Form I-863, Notice of Referral to Immigration Judge—Aliens against whom removal proceedings are being instituted.
Note to paragraph (b):
In addition to the forms noted in this paragraph (b), a valid, unexpired nonimmigrant DHS admission or parole stamp in a foreign passport constitutes evidence of registration.
(c) Replacement of alien registration. Any alien whose registration document is not available for any reason must immediately apply for a replacement document in the manner prescribed by USCIS.
(d) Surrender of registration. If an alien is naturalized, dies, permanently departs, or is deported from the United States, or evidence of registration is found by a person other than the one to whom such evidence was issued, the person in possession of the document shall forward it to a USCIS office.
(e) Fingerprinting waiver.
(1) Fingerprinting is waived for nonimmigrant aliens admitted as foreign government officials and employees; international organization representatives, officers and employees; NATO representatives, officers and employees, and holders of diplomatic visas while they maintain such nonimmigrant status. Fingerprinting is also waived for other nonimmigrant aliens, while they maintain nonimmigrant status, who are nationals of countries which do not require fingerprinting of United States citizens temporarily residing therein.
(2) Fingerprinting is waived for every nonimmigrant alien not included in paragraph (e)(1) of this section who departs from the United States within one year of his admission, provided he maintains his nonimmigrant status during that time; each such alien not previously fingerprinted shall apply therefor at once if he remains in the United States in excess of one year.
(3) Every nonimmigrant alien not previously fingerprinted shall apply therefor at once upon his failure to maintain his nonimmigrant status.
(f) [Reserved]
(g) Registration and fingerprinting of children who reach age 14. Within 30 days after reaching the age of 14, any alien in the United States not exempt from alien registration under the Act and this chapter must apply for registration and fingerprinting, unless fingerprinting is waived under paragraph (e) of this section, in accordance with applicable form instructions.
(1) Permanent residents. If such alien is a lawful permanent resident of the United States and is temporarily absent from the United States when he reaches the age of 14, he must apply for registration and provide a photograph within 30 days of his or her return to the United States in accordance with applicable form instructions. The alien, if a lawful permanent resident of the United States, must surrender any prior evidence of alien registration. USCIS will issue the alien new evidence of alien registration.
(2) Others. In the case of an alien who is not a lawful permanent resident, the alien's previously issued registration document will be noted to show that he or she has been registered and the date of registration.