On March 7, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released an Interim Final Rule (IFR) implementing the Alien Registration Requirement announced by the agency in February. We discussed the announcement in an earlier article,
The IFR is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on March 12 and to become effective 30 days later, on April 11, 2025.
As of that effective date, three categories of noncitizens will be required to register through a myUSCIS online account within the timeframes indicated below. The requirement applies to all noncitizens, regardless of status:
- Those who have been in the United States for 30 days or more and do not already have evidence of registration – no deadline is given;
- Those who enter the country on or after the effective date and do not have evidence of registration – within 30 days of entry; and
- Those who reach age 14 in the United States, whether they have existing registration evidence or not – within 30 days of reaching their 14th birthday.
Pre-existing registration evidence consists of a list of forms, as set out in a 1960 regulation, that are either issued by a federal agency or filed by a noncitizen for a specific immigration benefit. The most common existing evidence of registration are the following:
- I-94 Arrival-Departure Record – issued by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to nonimmigrants who enter by air or land (except Canadians who enter by land);
- I-485 Application for Adjustment of Status;
- Unexpired admission or parole stamp – issued by CBP into a foreign passport;
- Border Crossing Card, issued to Mexicans and some Canadians;
- Permanent Resident Card;
- Employment Authorization Document (EAD); and
- Notice To Appear, issued to initiate removal proceedings.
Noncitizens who possess one of the above forms are already registered. However, noncitizens who turn age 14 must re-register and be fingerprinted within 30 days of their 14th birthdays, even if they already have one of the above documents. The registration method for these children varies by status:
- Nonimmigrant children (those who enter on visas or ESTA) must register by submitting Form G-325R through their own myUSCIS account; and
- Immigrant children (those who hold green cards) must register by filing Form I-90 with USCIS.
The IFR confirms that children under age 14, whose parents or guardians must register them, will not be fingerprinted. Biometrics will also be waived for Canadian business and tourist visitors who enter by land, but they also must register if they remain in the country for 30 days or more.
Registering will be free initially, but USCIS has solicited public comment on a $30 fee that may be implemented in the future.
Submitting a registration in a myUSCIS account will generate first a biometrics appointment notice (unless waived, as indicated above) and then, after biometrics are captured, a printable “Proof of Alien Registration.”
All noncitizens age 18 or over are legally required to carry registration evidence or be subject to misdemeanor prosecution, fines and/or jail time.
USCIS will use online Form G-325R (now available in myUSCIS accounts) as the “general registration form.” In a February memo to the Office of Management and Budget, USCIS requested emergency clearance for the digital form, bypassing normal government review periods, on the basis that “nearly 2 million aliens were successful in evading detection or capture” over the past four years and represented an “imminent threat.”
The digital G-325R requests extensive biographical and contact information, but not all of it is required to submit the form. Required fields are as follows:
- Legal name;
- Email address;
- Mailing and physical addresses;
- Date of birth;
- Country of citizenship or nationality;
- Activities since entry;
- Expected activities before departure;
- Expected length of stay;
- Sex (as provided on birth certificate);
- Offenses, arrests, citations, charges and detentions anywhere in the world; and
- Marital status.
Date and place of arrival, status on arrival, expiration date, and names and locations of family members are currently not required fields.