Carrying ID in the US - what do you always carry with you?

[lizaanne 0]

Once you are here and settled, assuming you have a GC, a State ID, and are working legally and all that - what do you carry for identification (assuming you are NOT a citizen)? What are you REQUIRED to carry with you? I'm paranoid for Simon to carry his passport with him everywhere for fear of loosing it or having it stollen with all the important stamps and stuff inside. If you were ever asked by police for identification, is it ok to just present a driver license like every other American? Or must he always have his passport on him?

Thanks much!

~Liza

[Jenn! 918]

My husband carries his green card with him always. That is a requirement.

[Cassie 8]

I have my GC on me, and my driver's license, and I do carry around my passport with me, but that's just me.

Technically you are supposed to carry your GC around with you at all time -- some people do, some don't.

[ladybird216 2]

I always carry both my GC and my DL .... but my passport is left at home in the safe.

[Kez/JWolf 6]

I carry my Greencard and Drivers Licence... before I had the greencard I carried my passport and my drivers licence....

Kezzie

[saturn5man 0]

Once you are here and settled, assuming you have a GC, a State ID, and are working legally and all that - what do you carry for identification (assuming you are NOT a citizen)? What are you REQUIRED to carry with you? I'm paranoid for Simon to carry his passport with him everywhere for fear of loosing it or having it stollen with all the important stamps and stuff inside. If you were ever asked by police for identification, is it ok to just present a driver license like every other American? Or must he always have his passport on him?

Thanks much!

~Liza

I wouldn't advise him to carry his passport with him at all times. I would think it's more likely to get lost or stolen that way, than if it is stored somewhere at home. If home isn't too secure, for some reason, then maybe you could get a safety deposit box at a bank?

The Permanent Residency (Green) Card comes with a letter saying that it has to be carried at all times. I wonder how many people actually do this and what the penaty is if you are caught 'out' without one?

So far as 'general' ID is concerned, for verifying whom you are when using credit cards etc, a Driver's License should be sufficient, I would have thought.

Neil.

[lizaanne 0]

Thanks everyone! This is excellent info!

~Liza

[luv2teach77 41]

I carry my GC and my Drivers Lisence at all times. EVERYONE in the US carries their drivers lisence and its a requirement that GC holders carry that too.

Mark

[allynella 0]

I guess I'm in the minority group . I carry only my D/L with a copy of the green card. I know I should have the actual green card on me at all times, but it just seems to be a big pain in the ####### to replace if lost/stolen.

[Kez/JWolf 6]

I was stopped by the police (not for doing anything wrong) and was asked for ID.. I showed him my DL and he then asked for my Greencard... guess he knew I was not American by my accent... he did say if I had not had it with me I would have been taken to the Station to have my status confirmed by USCIS.....

I am so glad I followed the rules on the letter and carry it with me at all times...

Kezzie

[Leasel7 0]

Interesting question. My mother is a registered alien -- citizen of Australia -- but does not carry her green card or passport with her. She does carry her driver's license, of course. But since she has been in the US so long, her accent is gone, so anyone who talks to her will think she is American. In her 40 plus years in the US, I don't think she has ever been challenged on her legal presence in the US.

My husband, on the other hand, is obviously a Pacific Islander and has an accent. He has a penchant for losing things, especially his wallet. During the two years we corresponded while he was in college, he lost his wallet three times, and he admits that when he packed up to move from one dorm room to another, he found about five formerly lost student IDs! So I am very nervous about him carrying his passport or green card around. I don't think the passport is necessary now that he has his green card, but I think we may just make a nice color copy of his green card for him to carry around and leave the real thing at home.

[Leasel7 0]

I was stopped by the police (not for doing anything wrong) and was asked for ID.. I showed him my DL and he then asked for my Greencard... guess he knew I was not American by my accent... he did say if I had not had it with me I would have been taken to the Station to have my status confirmed by USCIS.....

I am so glad I followed the rules on the letter and carry it with me at all times...

Kezzie

Kezzie, I'm sure the accent probably had a lot to do with it...as I wrote below, my Australian mother has been in the US over 40 years and never bothered to carry her green card or passport around. She has been stopped by police at various times (once for driving too slow, LOL) and was never asked to show proof of legal presence. Of course, she has no accent at all now.

My mother has a Scottish friend who has also been in the US over 40 years but still has a strong accent....I wonder if she carries her green card at all times? I have a feeling that any police officer who asks Flo to produce a green card might get more than he bargained for -- she's not backwards in coming forward!

But your experience is making me rethink my position on whether hubby should carry his green card around...he doesn't have his driver's license yet, but once he starts driving, I guess maybe he'd better have his green card in his wallet in case he gets stopped for some reason. I just wish I could superglue it to his forehead, because he has a bad track record with losing wallets! Maybe I need to start checking into the process for replacing a lost green card....

[Reba 2]

before I got my green card, all I carried with me was my driver's license and my EAD card. Before I had that, I had a photocopy of my K3 visa with me. I don't carry my passport unless I'm travelling across borders, it'd be too much of a pain to have replaced if I ever lost it.

The green card however we are required by law to carry it with us at all times, so I do. If I ever lose it, I've got my passport with the stamp in it to prove my presence here is legal, until I get a replacement card. Hopefully I'll never lose it.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

I carry my green card and my driver's license. I would prefer not to carry my green card and to carry a copy but the regulations say to carry it. I carried my EAD before I received my green card. My passport stays safely at home unless I am flying or crossing the border somewhere.

[brtlmj 0]

then asked for my Greencard... guess he knew I was not American by my accent... he did say if I had not had it with me I would have been taken to the Station to have my status confirmed by USCIS.....

I'd say he lied. This simply can't be true. Many immigrants (including me) will never lose a foreign accent. Yet, an LPR can get naturalized in three or five years. Then (s)he won't have to carry any proof of citizenship.

Lawyers will have a field day when cops start detaining every USC who speaks with an accent and does not carry a passport or certificate of naturalization.

Bartek