On March 12, 2025, DHS issued a interim final regulation which imposes a registration requirement upon certain noncitizens in the US.
The regulation requires noncitizens to register and be fingerprinted by the DHS. The registration requirement becomes effective on April 11, 2025.
Registering could put individuals at risk of immigration court proceedings, detention, or revealing information that violates other laws.
Who is Subject to the Registration Requirement?
- All non-US citizens who were not registered and fingerprinted when applying for a visa to enter the United States and who remain in the United States for 30 days or longer. This includes:
- Persons who entered the U.S. without inspection and have not been fingerprinted in connection with an application for immigration benefits;
- Children below the age of 14 of present in the U.S. with their parents who are on temporary visas. Their parents are required to register them although they will not need to be fingerprint until they reach the age of 14;
- Any noncitizen, regardless of previous registration, who turns 14 years old in the U.S., must update their registration and be fingerprinted within 30 days after their 14th birthday;
- Green card holders who obtained their green cards under age 14 are required to register by filing Form I-90, to replace their green cards, and be fingerprinted, upon reaching age 14; and
- Canadians who entered the U.S. at land ports of entry if they intend to remain in the U.S. for 30 days or longer. They will not need to be fingerprinted.
Once a person complies with the registration requirement and appears for fingerprinting, DHS will issue evidence of registration. You must carry and keep this in your possession at all times.
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What is the Registration Process?
You must create an account on the myUSCIS website and submit Form G-325R (Biographic Information – Registration), available only for online filing, to USCIS. Form G-325R requests your name and other identifying information, current mailing address and physical address, 5 years of address history, arrival date and immigration history, planned activity in the U.S., plans to depart the U.S. (if any), and criminal history (if any). The form also requests your spouse’s and parents information. Once Form G-325R is submitted, USCIS will schedule an appointment for you to appear at an Application Support Center to have your fingerprints taken, unless you are in a category exempted from fingerprinting.
Finally, each alien required to be registered under the alien registration requirements of the INA who is within the United States must notify DHS in writing of each change of address and new address within ten days from the date of such change and provide such additional information as the Secretary may require by regulation. 8 U.S.C. 1305(a). Noncompliance is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $5,000 or imprisonment for not more than thirty days, or both. 8 U.S.C. 1306(b); 18 U.S.C. 3559(a)(8), 3571(b)(6). In addition, any alien who has failed to comply with the change-of-address notification requirements of 8 U.S.C. 1305 is deportable unless the alien establishes that such failure was reasonably excusable or was not willful.
How Do I Prove that I Have Complied with the Registration Requirement?
Non-US citizens over the age of 18 are required to carry proof of their registration with them at all times. For nonimmigrants, a printout of your I-94 from the CBP website is your proof of registration. For green card holders, your green card is your proof of registration. For others, proof of registration can be printed from the USCIS website once Form G-325R is completed online for those not required to be fingerprinted. If fingerprinting is required, proof of registration will be available in the person’s myUSCIS account once fingerprinting is completed.
What is the Penalty for Failure to Comply with the Registration Requirement?
A person’s willful failure or refusal to apply to register or to be fingerprinted is punishable by a fine of up to $5,000 or imprisonment for up to 6 months, or both. The same applies to an alien’s parent or legal guardian’s willful failure or refusal to register.Any alien or any parent or legal guardian of an alien who files a registration application “containing statements known by him to be false, or who procures or attempts to procure registration of himself or through another person by fraud” is subject to criminal prosecution.A conviction for fraudulent registration constitutes a ground of deportability.
Will I Be Deported After I Register? I Have No Papers
Not immediately. You have a right to a Deportation Hearing before an Immigration Judge.
Read our articles about How to Win your Case in Immigration Court and How to Get a Green Card through Cancellation of Removal.