Nicole Mackmiller
Any foreign national who obtains legal status in the U.S. as a lawful permanent resident is issued a Lawful Permanent Resident Card, commonly known as a “green card.” Pursuant to 8 USC 1304(e), “Every alien, eighteen years of age and over, shall at all times carry with him and have in his personal possession any certificate of alien registration or alien registration receipt card issued to him pursuant to subsection (d). Any alien who fails to comply with the provisions of this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall upon conviction for each offense be fined not to exceed $100 or be imprisoned not more than thirty days, or both.” While this federal statute has existed for decades, it has not been regularly enforced by USICE. Until recently. Therefore, a legal permanent resident could find themselves facing federal misdemeanor charges for an innocent moment of forgetfulness, and become saddled with a criminal record for failing to carry the green card.
Although legal permanent residents are notified of this requirement by USCIS when they first receive their green cards, many forget over the years. Therefore, if you represent any legal permanent resident clients, you should remind them of this potential federal criminal charge and associated consequences if they fail to produce their green cards when asked by law enforcement. All LPRs should maintain a front and back photo of their green cards on their phones, so that if they forget their cards they are able to produce some level of proof of their lawful status. It is unknown, however, whether producing a photo of one’s green card on their phone will be sufficient to satisfy this requirement. Therefore, the original green card should be carried.
If your LPR client does not have a valid unexpired green card in their possession, then they can apply for a new green card to be issued by USCIS. Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card (Green Card), is available on USCIS’s website, and LPRs can file Form I-90 to obtain new green cards if they are lost, stolen, damaged, or expired. Filing the I-90 form on-line can also provide your LPR client with an immediate receipt notice from USCIS, which they should carry until the new green card is received. As USICE increases their enforcement of immigration laws, LPRs should also increase their preparedness.
Nicole Mackmiller of Pear Sperling Eggan & Daniels, P.C. represents clients in Immigration, Family Law, and Probate matters. She started her legal career at a boutique immigration law firm in Detroit. Before joining PSED Law, Mackmiller operated her own immigration law firm, after leaving Mackmiller Manchester PLLC in Ypsilanti, where she was solely responsible for handling the firm’s immigration law case load, while assisting with probate and estate planning matters. Most recently, she served as the Supervising Attorney at the Eastern Michigan University Legal Resource Center. Mackmiller serves as Co-Chair of the Washtenaw County Immigration Section. She also volunteers as an advocate and speaker with the Alliance for Immigrants Rights and Reform - Michigan. Mackmiller earned her undergraduate degree in criminal justice from Madonna University, and her juris doctor from Ave Maria School of Law, where she was also a student client advocate at the law school's Asylum and Immigrant Rights Clinic.
She can be reached at nmackmiller@psedlaw.com or at 734-665-4441.
Reprinted with permission from the Washtenaw County Bar Association newsletter Res Ipsa Loquitur.
Although legal permanent residents are notified of this requirement by USCIS when they first receive their green cards, many forget over the years. Therefore, if you represent any legal permanent resident clients, you should remind them of this potential federal criminal charge and associated consequences if they fail to produce their green cards when asked by law enforcement. All LPRs should maintain a front and back photo of their green cards on their phones, so that if they forget their cards they are able to produce some level of proof of their lawful status. It is unknown, however, whether producing a photo of one’s green card on their phone will be sufficient to satisfy this requirement. Therefore, the original green card should be carried.
If your LPR client does not have a valid unexpired green card in their possession, then they can apply for a new green card to be issued by USCIS. Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card (Green Card), is available on USCIS’s website, and LPRs can file Form I-90 to obtain new green cards if they are lost, stolen, damaged, or expired. Filing the I-90 form on-line can also provide your LPR client with an immediate receipt notice from USCIS, which they should carry until the new green card is received. As USICE increases their enforcement of immigration laws, LPRs should also increase their preparedness.
Nicole Mackmiller of Pear Sperling Eggan & Daniels, P.C. represents clients in Immigration, Family Law, and Probate matters. She started her legal career at a boutique immigration law firm in Detroit. Before joining PSED Law, Mackmiller operated her own immigration law firm, after leaving Mackmiller Manchester PLLC in Ypsilanti, where she was solely responsible for handling the firm’s immigration law case load, while assisting with probate and estate planning matters. Most recently, she served as the Supervising Attorney at the Eastern Michigan University Legal Resource Center. Mackmiller serves as Co-Chair of the Washtenaw County Immigration Section. She also volunteers as an advocate and speaker with the Alliance for Immigrants Rights and Reform - Michigan. Mackmiller earned her undergraduate degree in criminal justice from Madonna University, and her juris doctor from Ave Maria School of Law, where she was also a student client advocate at the law school's Asylum and Immigrant Rights Clinic.
She can be reached at nmackmiller@psedlaw.com or at 734-665-4441.
Reprinted with permission from the Washtenaw County Bar Association newsletter Res Ipsa Loquitur.
