April 11, 2025 Registration Rule Enhanced: Foreign Nationals – Carry your Papers!

By Kathleen Campbell Walker on March 12, 2025

On March 11, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published the draft of its proposed new registration Interim Final Regulation (IFR) referenced in the announcement by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on February 25, 2025.[1] The IFR was published today in the Federal Register, March 12. Individuals who are required to register but do not have a qualifying registration document can submit Form G-325R through their USCIS online account[2].

The G-325R requires a substantial amount of information. (See summary of questions below.) The submission of this form, which requires detailed information to be provided, including place of birth, address history, immigration status information such as arrival date and activities in the United States (U.S.), biographic information, police/criminal records, family members, and supporting information, triggers a biometrics appointment at an Application Support Center (ASC) in the United States (U.S.). The regulation proposes a potential fee for comment of $30.00 for the biometric intake for each registrant. In addition, the regulation states that the failure to comply with the legal obligations[3] related to registration and the reporting of a change of address as required will be treated as a civil and criminal enforcement priority.

What populations of foreign nationals will most likely be subject to this new online registration process?

In the IFR, DHS estimates that between 2.2 and 3.2 million foreign nationals may be required to use the registration process considering those foreign nationals who previously filed qualifying registration forms under 8 CFR §264.1(a) or (b). The primary examples of groups affected by the new registration regulation are:

Canadian visitors entering the U.S. at land ports of entry who were not issued an I-94 admission record. These individuals are also referred to as “non-controlled” Canadian visitors. Note that Canadian visitors entering the U.S. by air are supposed to receive an I-94 as a part of their plane ticket. They should check to make sure that the I-94 was generated online and then print it out and carry it with them while in the U.S. https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/home Canadian visitors entering by land and ferry to the U.S. for thirty (30) days or more should make sure to request an I-94 at their time of application for admission to the U.S. The cost is $6.00. It is possible to request a provisional I-94 seven (7) days in advance of entry at a land border and pay the fee online using the CBP GO mobile application. https://www.cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors/i-94

In contrast between Canadian B visitors to the U.S. and Mexican B visitors, Mexican visitors are not visa-exempt. Thus, most Mexican visitors will not be subject to the new registration requirement because Mexican nationals must obtain a B visa or border crossing card from a U.S. consular post. Consular applications for a visitor visa require fingerprinting of all nonimmigrant visa applicants ages 14 to 79.[4] It is important to remember that some Mexican B visitors may be exempt from the I-94 requirement for certain border zone admissions (see chart below), but their visa constitutes registration. Mexican nationals may not visit the U.S. longer than seventy-two (72) hours or thirty (30) days depending on the border zone accessed without an I-94 admission record. (See chart below)

Foreign nationals present in the U.S. without inspection and admission (also known as entry without inspection – EWI).
Foreign nationals present in the U.S. after inspection and parole who have not yet registered [not filed a registration form listed in 8 CFR 264.1(a)] and do not have evidence of registration.
Foreign nationals, previously registered or not, who become fourteen (14) years of age in the U.S. are required to register within thirty (30) days after their fourteenth (14^th ) birthday.

What populations are excluded from registration?

S. citizens.
American Indians born in Canada possessing at least 50% of blood of the American Indian race, who are present in the U.S. pursuant to 8 USC 1359.
Members pf the Texas Band of Kickapoo Indians who entered the U.S. pursuant to the Texas Bank of Kickapoo Act.[5]

What are the penalties for a willful failure or refusal to register or be fingerprinted?

Fine not to exceed $5,000.00 as a Class B misdemeanor (previously $100.00),
Jail not more than six (6) months (previously up to 30 days), or
BOTH

These penalties apply to the foreign national or to the parent or legal guardian of a foreign national required to register for a willful failure or refusal to register their child as required. A registration application containing statements known by the registrant to be false or submitted by another person on behalf of the registrant fraudulently is subject to criminal prosecution for fraud.[6] Note that a conviction for a fraudulent registration exposes the person to removal from the U.S.[7]

Who must keep registration documents in their possession while in the U.S., and what is the penalty for a failure to do so?

All registered foreign nationals 18 years of age and over must “at all times” carry and have in their “personal possession” their certificate of alien registration or alien registration receipt card, as applicable.

Fine not to exceed $5,000.00 as a Class B misdemeanor (previously $100.00),
Jail not more than thirty (30) days, or
BOTH

Are foreign nationals who are required to register also required to notify USCIS in writing of each change of address within ten (10) days of the change[8]? YES

What are the penalties for a failure to comply with the change of address requirement?

Fine not to exceed $5,000.00 as a Class B misdemeanor (previously $100.00),
Jail not more than thirty (30) days, or
BOTH

A failure to comply with this change of address requirement causes the foreign national to be subject to removal unless the failure was “reasonably excusable” or not willful.[9]

Are minors, who are lawful permanent residents (LPRs) or nonimmigrants required to register and be fingerprinted within thirty (30) days after reaching the age of 14 if in the U.S.? YES[10]

If the minor is temporarily outside the U.S. when they become 14, the minor must apply for registration and provide a photograph within thirty (30) days of their return to the U.S. and surrender any prior evidence of registration (e.g. I-94 for nonimmigrants or a LPR cards for permanent residents). For nonimmigrants, USCIS will annotate the I-94, for example, to show the updated registration and the date of the updated registration.[11]

Note that the fingerprinting requirement does not apply to the following[12]:

Foreign nationals younger than 14 or older than 79 years of age.
Foreign government officials and employees (A-1, A-2, C-3 except for attendants, servants or personal employees of accredited officials);
International organization representatives, officers, and employees (G-1, G-2, G-3, G-4);
NATO representatives, officers, and employees (NATO-1, NATO-2, NATO-3, NATO-4, NATO-5, or NATO-6);
Certain Taiwan officials holding E-1 visas and members of their immediate families holding E-1 visas unless the Secretary of State and DHS jointly determine that they should be subject;
Other nonimmigrants, while they maintain nonimmigrant status, who are nationals of countries that do not require U.S. citizens temporarily residing in such foreign countries [e.g., visa exempt Canadians under 101(a)(15)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended (INA) not required to be issued a Form I-94 record of admission under 8 CFR §1.4 or Form I-95 for admission or parole into the U.S.]. A nonimmigrant who fails to maintain status, however, must apply to be fingerprinted at once upon such failure.[13]
Fingerprinting is also waived for other nonimmigrants not listed in 8 CFR 264.1(e)(1) who depart from the U.S. within one year of their admission if they maintain their nonimmigrant status during the time period. If they remain longer than one year in the U.S., those not previously fingerprinted must apply “at once” to be fingerprinted.

Who qualifies as being registered?

Any foreign national who was issued one of the documents designated as evidence of registration under 8 CFR §264.1(b), as well as anyone who submitted, who submitted one of the forms listed at 8 CFR §264.1(a); provided fingerprints (unless waived); and who was not issued one of the documents designated at 8 CFR §264.1(b), is deemed to comply with the registration requirement of INA §262.

Who must apply for registration?

All foreign nationals 14 years of age or older who were not registered and fingerprinted (if required) when applying for a visa to enter the U.S., who remain in the U.S. for 30 days or longer. They must apply before the expiration of those thirty (30) days.
The parents and legal guardians of foreign nationals less than fourteen (14) years of age who have not been registered and remain in the U.S. for thirty (30) days or longer prior to the expiration of those thirty (30) days.
Any foreign national, whether previously registered or not, who turns 14 years old in the U.S. within thirty (30) days after their fourteenth(14^th) birthday.

Which foreign nationals are not registered?

Any foreign national who has not been issued one of the documents designated as evidence of registration under 8 CFR 264.1(b) and has not submitted one of the forms designated at 8 CFR 264.1(a) and provided fingerprints (unless waived) is not registered. Aliens who have not registered include:

Foreign nationals present in the U.S. without inspection and admission or inspection and parole;
Canadian visitors who entered the U.S. at land ports of entry and were not issued evidence of registration (I-94)[14]; and,
Foreign nationals 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 (DACA) or Temporary Protected Status (TPS), who were not issued evidence of registration.
Forms designated for registration in 8 CFR 264.1(a) (such as the Form I-485) not normally used within 30 days of entry into the U.S. [the relevant time period for registration under 8 USC §1302 and 8 CFR §264.1(g)]. Note that I-485 adjustment applicants could use an I-766 EAD as a registration document, and those adjustment applicants maintaining underlying nonimmigrant status (e.g. H-1B or L-1) could use, for example, the I-94 as evidence of registration.
When the acceptable evidence of registration under 8 CFR §264.1(b) is the result of an approved application only, it may leave denied or pending applicants without any acceptable evidence that they have complied with the requirement to register. This example appears to apply to a nonimmigrant worker with a pending extension petition with USCIS after expiration of the I-94 admission record.
Petitions filed for children and other derivative beneficiaries who may be in the U.S. do not qualify as evidence of registration.

So, what qualifies as evidence of a registration certificate/receipt card?

8 CFR §264.1(a) provides a list of forms satisfying the registration requirements, which includes the following:

The following forms are designated as evidence of registration under 8 CFR §264.1(b).

What if the registration document is lost or not available for any reason?

The foreign national is required to apply immediately for a replacement.

What about the I-94 admission record available at https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/home ?

On March 27, 2013, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published an Interim Final Rule (IFR) in the Federal Register[17] effective on April 26, 2013, recognizing that the I-94 admission record includes the form in a paper or electronic format. The Executive Summary in the IFR notes that employers would benefit “from their employee’s prompt access to their electronic Form I-94…” In addition, the comments speculate that “…we assume that employers with Internet access will allow their employees to use their Internet connection to access their electronic Forms I-94.” The definition of the term “original I-94” includes, but is not limited to, “any printout or electronic transmission of information from DHS systems containing the electronic record of admission or arrival/departure.” [18] As to the definition of “possession” of an I-94, it includes obtaining a copy or printout of electronic evidence of admission or arrival/departure from the “appropriate” CBP systems.

Thus, it is critical for nonimmigrants to make sure to print out their I-94 record from the CBP system to carry with them. Another option, which should work but is NOT accepted at present, is for a visa holder to maintain a digital record of the I-94 among the photos on their cell phone or via the CBP GO mobile application (formerly CBPOne). Unfortunately, we have no assurance that once a CBP officer is granted access to a foreign national’s phone that the CBP will not mine the phone further for other data.

Note that the CBP I-94 website warns law enforcement officials to contact CBP for information about an individual for official purposes and that the I-94 website may be used for personal, non-commercial purposes. Law enforcement officers should be required to review this data before proceeding with any enforcement action tied to immigration status or to consult the SAVE system outlined below. Unfortunately, it is not likely that a studious review of status documents can be expected, especially when so many law enforcement authorities with no immigration enforcement backgrounds are required to join the fray of enforcement. Of course, the CBP I-94 system is also not infallible and is subject to error.[19] Please refer to the example of the I-94 https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/home below.[20]

The paper I-94 with an admission stamp is a rare siting nowadays, but below is an example:

The I-94 admission record may also be at the bottom of the I-797A[21] approval notice issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). (see below) Normally, the period of authorized admission on the USCIS I-94 form is due to an approved change of status or extension of status of the nonimmigrant. Unfortunately, the CBP system does not reflect this information, as noted on the I-94 record issued by USCIS. At least a copy/scan of the entire I-797A approval notice should be retained in the possession of the foreign national. Recently, though, CBP officers have been requesting the originals of such notices. In addition, the filing of an extension request by many work-authorized nonimmigrants results in an automatic extension of their work authorization in the U.S. for up to 240 days while USCIS adjudicates the application.[22] It is important for such applicants for extension or change of status as well to retain a copy (preferably the ORIGINAL) of their I-797 receipt from USCIS. Please refer to the example of the I-797A approval notice below.

What is the registration application process?

Create a unique myUSCIS account or an account for a child, as applicable here.
Complete G-325R form online, which is free of charge at the moment.
Submit the G-325 form online.
Review the account for biometrics services appointment at a USCIS Application Support Center (ASC). At the appointment, fingerprints, a photograph, and a signature will be required. (It is expected that this ASC biometric intake appointment will eventually require a fee of $30.00.)
USCIS will use this information to check criminal history records maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
After the ASC appointment, the ELIS case management system will produce a “Proof of Alien Registration” form with a unique designated identifier. For those required to register, but for whom a fingerprint is waived, such as Canadian nonimmigrants under the age of 14, the ELIS case management system will issue the “Proof of Alien Registration” form upon receipt of the Form G-325R online.
The Proof of Alien Registration is posted to the foreign national’s myUSCIS account.
The foreign national downloads a .pdf version of the certificate to print and use as evidence of registration, which must be carried at all times in the personal possession of the foreign national while in the U.S.

We are including charts below regarding more information as to documents required for the admission of U.S. citizens, legal permanent residents, and visitors to outline when the I-94 may not be available.

The G-352R Questions

Admission Documents for Certain Categories

Related Services:

Immigration

About the Author:

Kathleen Campbell Walker is chair of the Immigration Practice Group, based in El Paso, Texas. She is a past president (2007) and general counsel (2009) of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). She began practicing immigration law in 1986. In 2014, Ms. Walker received the AILA Founder’s Award, given occasionally to the person or entity having the most substantial impact on immigration law or policy. She is board certified in Immigration and Nationality Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. In addition, she is recognized in Chambers USA (Band One), Chambers Global (Band One), International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers, Super Lawyers, and Best Lawyers in America. She is rated AV® Preeminent in Martindale-Hubbell®. She can be reached at 915-541-9360 or KWalker@dickinsonwright.com, and her biography can be accessed here.

[1]See https://www.uscis.gov/alienregistration .

[2]Seehttps://my.uscis.gov/,https://www.uscis.gov/file-online/how-to-create-a-uscis-online-account, https://omb.report/icr/202502-1615-014/doc/153036400, and https://omb.report/icr/202502-1615-014/doc/153035300 .

[3] See 8 U.S.C. §§1301-1306.

[4] See 9 FAM 303.1-2(D)(1) Note that all immigrant visa applicants ages 14 and above must be fingerprinted. The Department of State also uses facial recognition technology and digital photographs as a part of the visa application process.

[5] See Indian Reorganization Act of June 18, 1934 (48 Stat. 984) (Pub. L. No. 97-429).

[6]See 8 U.S.C. §1306(c); see, e.g., 18 U.S.C. §§1001,1546.

[7]See 8 U.S.C. §1227(a)(3)(B)(i).

[8] See 8 U.S.C. §1305(a).

[9] See 8 U.S.C. §1227(a)(3)(A).

[10] See 8 CFR §264.1(e) and (g).

[11]See 8 CFR §264.1(e) and (g).

[12] Id. and 8 CFR §235.1(f).

[13]See 8 CFR §264.1(e)(3).

[14] See 8 CFR §§212.1(a)(1), 235.1(f)(1)(ii).

[15] See 8 CFR §264.1(a) – Documentation satisfying registration requirement.

[16] See 8 CFR §264.1(b) – Documentation serving as evidence of registration.