A question for those who have already acquired the US Citizenship

[PrinceandPrincess 0]

Ampi-Hmm...The cops cannot ask for your SS card either...As that number is supposed to be kept private.....

If you give your card/number out....That is a risk for identity theft!

Lol..I have yet to meet a cop that asks for an SS card...lol..

As well, non-US citizen SS cards are pretty much the same as the US citizen SS cards...

So that doesn't prove anything either, other than you have work/employment status here in the USA...

Heck, even people on temporary work visas, student visas, etc. have SS cards.....

You should though, update your US Citizenship status with the SS office, regardless......

Likewise, it's the same with a regular driver's license...

Proves that one can drive...and is a resident of that particular state..

Other than that...It doesn't prove US citizenship status either....

Your best bet is a US passport......(or other WHTI document...), to prove US Citizenship status....

Hope this helps too...

PrinceandPrincess-Congrats on the baby! Cute! Good luck on your parents' application too..

Ant

HI Ant,

Thanks for a really good advice not to give out the SS number. You are absolutely right about the risk of identity theft. Sorry I didn't think about that I remember my hubby told me not to give our SS number over the phone. We don't carry our SS cards we kept it in our safety box.

By the way thanks my baby is 4 months old now. She keep me busy everyday. Congratulations on becoming a US citizen! You're finally done with the US immigration... such a wondewrful feeling!

Well, just a thought that I'm going to deal with the immigration again drives me crazy. If I could get someone (nanny) that I could trust to take care of my baby here in the US while I'm going back to school then I'm not going to petition my parents. (No choice hubby doesn't want me to go back to work nor school). So, we decided to deal with all the immigration hassle again. But having my parents around... is priceless!

How's you baby doing?

Edited April 22, 2010 by PrinceandPrincess

[CaptainPenguin 5]

Thank you guys for the responses, appreciate it. My DL is good until 2019 but doesn't say anything about immigration status so first I was confused I thought I have to upgrade with DMV after acquiring citizenship .BUT just realized it proves I'm a legal resident of AZ. But ID's can be faked right?

I asked you guys because we travel to California a lot and there's checkpoints where they ask for ID's and immigration status and I have had no problem I just show my GC /Passport with them. If I will not carry any proof of legal immigration status and will be stopped for questioning and run checks on me that will take time and delay us and I don't want it to happen esp. that we have a child with us so that is my concern.

Yes I am aware of the immigration bill and as for now I can't say if it's good or not. Some people here say that we will not see much workers standing by the road waiting to get 'hired' but they will be going house to house instead to find a 'job'.

Your DL should be sufficient, especially if you tell them that you have been naturalized they can update your status. Any police department can also pull up USCIS information through the radio to confirm that you are a citizen. You should know that apart from in Arizona, nowhere, and I do mean nowhere (not even at the checkpoints you mention) do you have to provide positive identification unless you are suspected of a crime, that is either detained or arrested.

[PrinceandPrincess 0]

Lol....Hmm.....

I wonder if I'm better off with a green card than a naturalization certificate, to prove my legal US status......

Really, the USA should come up with a US citizenship card with a certificate too!

Ant

[PrinceandPrincess 0]

Ampi-Another solution would be to register to vote, after you get your US Citizenship...

Only US Citizens can vote...

And you can carry around your voter's registration card to prove your US Citizenship too...

Just a thought..

Hope this helps too...

Ant

[Andis 0]

First, Congratulations!

This might be a silly question but I want to ask what proof of identifications you carry around with you now that you are basically done with immigration process .Aside from your driver's license, work ID's, etc., are you carrying a US passport or perhaps a copy of it in your wallet/purse also just in case you get pulled over by an immigration officer and question your immigration status?

Thanks for any inputs.

I never carried my PR card when I had PR status;however, now that I am US citizen I always have with me my US passport card (good for land travel in Canada, Mexico etc.) When I ordered my US passport book for an additional $20 or $25 I ordered the passport card, which is the size of PR card and easy to carry with you. Hope this helps.

[Lorenzoid 12]

My wife, who is from a country where a person can be fined if they are caught not carrying their national identity card, cannot get her head around the idea that in the U.S. there is no national legal requirement to carry any form of identification. Sure, if you are driving or otherwise have a need to prove you are eligible for something, you need an Driver's License or other form of ID, but in general there is no federal requirement to carry proof of citizenship or residency. Now, states like Arizona may be slowly trying to change that, but as far as I know the constitutionality of such laws has not been tested in the courts. I'm a natural-born USC and would feel that my rights were being severely infringed and feel severely insulted if I were penalized for not carrying an ID, which has long been a privilege of being (presumably legally) in the U.S. I frequently go out without carrying any ID on me and so do many natural-born USCs I know.

I don't wish legal entanglements of any sort on you naturalized citizens who have already sacrificed much and worked so hard to get where you are, but I really do hope that someone who gets penalized for not carrying a suitable form of ID challenges the constitutionality of the law in court. I'm not sure on what grounds it could be challenged, but I'm sure the constitutional lawyers can think of something! It's just very un-American to require citizens, whether natural-born or naturalized, to carry identification. If you are here on U.S. soil (again, presumably legally) and are not seeking anything or doing anything that arouses reasonable suspicion of an illegal act, there should be no legal basis for randomly requiring you to produce ID.

(Keep in mind that these are my opinions, not advice to the original poster about what form of ID to carry or not carry.)

[APSD 0]

If you are worried about this and would like assurance, get a passport card, it's easy to carry and will serve as proof of citizenship...

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

in the U.S. there is no national legal requirement to carry any form of identification. Sure, if you are driving or otherwise have a need to prove you are eligible for something, you need an Driver's License or other form of ID, but in general there is no federal requirement to carry proof of citizenship or residency.

Not entirely true. One of the requirements of LPR is to carry the greencard with them at all times.

[rodeoman 0]

First, Congratulations!

This might be a silly question but I want to ask what proof of identifications you carry around with you now that you are basically done with immigration process .Aside from your driver's license, work ID's, etc., are you carrying a US passport or perhaps a copy of it in your wallet/purse also just in case you get pulled over by an immigration officer and question your immigration status?

Thanks for any inputs.

After you become a US CITIZEN and when you apply for your passport, by paying extra $25, you can get a passport card, which is a size of a credit card, which you can carry around in your wallet and is also valid for travel to CANADA, MEXICO and other areas.

[Ning 619]

Thank you guys for the responses, appreciate it. My DL is good until 2019 but doesn't say anything about immigration status so first I was confused I thought I have to upgrade with DMV after acquiring citizenship .BUT just realized it proves I'm a legal resident of AZ. But ID's can be faked right?

I asked you guys because we travel to California a lot and there's checkpoints where they ask for ID's and immigration status and I have had no problem I just show my GC /Passport with them. If I will not carry any proof of legal immigration status and will be stopped for questioning and run checks on me that will take time and delay us and I don't want it to happen esp. that we have a child with us so that is my concern.

Yes I am aware of the immigration bill and as for now I can't say if it's good or not. Some people here say that we will not see much workers standing by the road waiting to get 'hired' but they will be going house to house instead to find a 'job'.

When you got your license you had to show your visa or green card. If you have a visa Az issues the D L with experation date similar to the experation of the visa. If you have a green card they do the same thing. Police asking would know to look at the issue & experation dates to quickly understand your legal status. Your experation date of 2019 tells them you have a ten year G card. Anyone in Az with a license has legal immigration status.

At the checkpoints you can simply show your license if asked for I D. Those B Patrol agents are trained in the laws of both Ca & Az. If you are still concerned you need to take your green card on those trips.

The new law in Az if signed will help everyone. Brewer has 48 hours to decide what she will do. The people of Az & the nation are watching to see what happens. The new law doesnt have an effect on those that are legal. It does for the first time give all police agencys the responcibility of checking legal status if the have reason to do so.

I doubt those standing by the roads will be making house calls.

[Ning 619]

If driver's license may not be 'useful', the question still remains as to what docs should one carry on him/her to prove identity when necessary(after naturalization)?

The O P lives in Az. In Az a D L can be used because of the criteria needed to be issued one. Anyone that is unsure of what to carry should carry the green card because they are required by law to do so.

A citizen of the USA is not required to carry I D identifying their legal status. However if they are suspected of commiting a crime they can be detained until they are identified.

[Lorenzoid 12]

Not entirely true. One of the requirements of LPR is to carry the greencard with them at all times.

You're right--my mistake. I should have said "citizenship" instead of "citizenship or residency."

But even the requirement to carry the GC at all times makes little sense, since a non-citizen who doesn't have a GC is not required to carry anything in particular as far as I know. My wife currently has no GC or U.S. driver's license or any other ID recognized in the U.S., and she sure doesn't carry her precious passport on her at all times for fear of it being lost, stolen or damaged. As a practical matter, I find it difficult to believe that a LPR or any other person who is legally in the U.S. and who has violated no other law is going to have any real problem if not carrying the GC or other required ID at all times.

As far as I know, and though it may not be a good idea, a person can come here as, say, a tourist and carry no ID without violating any law. Does the I-94 say you must carry your passport at all time?--if so, then I stand corrected. But it sure would be risking loss or damage to one's precious passport to carry it at all times. I keep mine at home in a fireproof safe. In any event, once a person is a naturalized citizen I cannot imagine that the person can be legally forced to carry any form of proof of citizenship.

[Lorenzoid 12]

. . .

A citizen of the USA is not required to carry I D identifying their legal status. However if they are suspected of commiting a crime they can be detained until they are identified.

Yes, of course as a practical matter it is beneficial to carry a form of identification, such as a driver's license. You indeed can be detained by the police if they have reasonable suspicion of you having committed a crime, and you'll probably want to be able to prove who you are. You could also be hit by a bus or have some other emergency, and you might want the emergency personnel who take care of you to know who you are. But I have to believe it is your constitutional right as a citizen not to carry ID. Unlike some other countries, the U.S. government does not imprison a person for no other reason than because the government cannot determine who he is. If that were the case, many of the homeless people who roam the streets and who may have no form of ID, no birth certificate, pay no taxes, and are basically unaccounted for, would be thrown in prison. We don't do that in the U.S. ... at least not yet.

[lovelysummer1982 0]

I carry my passport card with me to prove that i am a citizen...

[moroccogirlny 100]

To the OP, check this out :

http://cis.org/vaughan/leapstv-estrada-case