Do I need to carry on my green card all the time?

[kris&me 572]

just like we are told to do with our american passport  , make 2 copies of it and put them in seperate places to issure safety

then,  carry the original as it says on  the back

it is hard to fight back when you are picked up without it (meaning getting it produced by another person to the right authoriy)

[Crazy Cat 42,298]

4 hours ago, abe&kari said:

I'm scanning my green card right now so I have a copy of it in my wallet. Is that okay?

Technically, you are required to carry the actual card.  Try Google.

 

From Nolo:

"If you decide to carry a copy of your green card instead of the original because you want to keep the original safe, you will be violating the law. Will you actually be stopped by immigration, prosecuted and fined or jailed for not having your original green card with you? It's unlikely. Like any other government agency, immigration authorities have limited resources and cannot spend precious government time and money on prosecuting people for not carrying their green card “at all times.”

But there have been cases where LPRs are detained or arrested during workplace enforcement actions for not having their green card on them."

[NYCruiser 423]

1 hour ago, Lemonslice said:

Citizens do not have the same requirement to carry document proving their status.  

Actually I think USC have to carry a form of ID. Both my spouse and I carry Global Entry cards  from CBP. Also a driver's license. In the 30+ years I have lived here, I have NEVER been asked for ID...except banks/Airport etc

[bad4tatt 168]

6 hours ago, abe&kari said:

I just looked at my green card and there’s nowhere where it says that I have to have it on me all the time!!!

Stop arguing.... This is directly from USCIS,  "A Permanent Resident Card (Green Card) is issued to all permanent residents as proof that they are authorized to live and work in the United States. If you are a permanent resident age 18 or older, you are required to have a valid Green Card in your possession at all times."

[Ben&Zian 4,398]

Very easy thing here... Carry the green card. Don't lose your wallet. Pretty simple.

[cyclone27 710]

Or don’t carry it -the decision is yours to contemplate.

[corvusheart 163]

And what happens if the LPR loses GC? Obviously they have to fill out a Form for a new one but what do they have to carry to prove status until they get new one. I'm sure it takes uscis time to produce a replacement card.

[cyclone27 710]

Can take a year and cost of $$$ is highway robbery. 

[TBoneTX 46,122]

The answer was given early and is simple:  carrying your green card is the law.

 

Carrying a photocopy might expose you to counterfeiting/unlawful reproduction of a government document, as an attorney once told me.

 

Without your actual green card, you can be detained for as long a time as it takes for your identity to be established -- and the detention will be on your record.

 

Because the law is clear, and because it violates the site's Terms of Service to suggest breaking the law, and because there are dozens of threads on this same topic, this thread is now closed.