DHS Establishes New Online Registration Process for Certain Foreign Nationals

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued an Interim Final Rule (IFR) that amends the foreign national registration regulations to provide for a new online process by which unregistered foreign nationals can comply with the existing registration requirements of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The regulation is set to take effect on April 11, 2025, but a new online registration form is available for use immediately.

The INA and implementing regulations have long contained provisions requiring the registration and fingerprinting of foreign nationals at the time of application for a U.S. visa, and under existing law, nearly all foreign nationals 14 years of age or older who were not fingerprinted or registered in connection with a U.S. visa application and who remain in the United States for 30 days or longer are required to apply for registration and fingerprinting within 30 days of entry. Similarly, parents and guardians must ensure that their foreign national children under the age of 14 are registered, and within 30 days after turning 14, the foreign national child is generally required to apply for re-registration and be fingerprinted.

DHS’s new IFR is intended to implement President Trump’s January 20 Executive Order, entitled “Protecting the American People Against Invasion,” which ordered DHS to take steps, in coordination with the Departments of State and Justice, to ensure that foreign nationals are aware of and comply with the law’s registration requirements, and to ensure that a failure to comply with those requirements is treated as a civil and criminal enforcement priority.

The following individuals are exempt from the registration requirement and generally will not need to undergo the new registration process detailed in the IFR:

• Individuals present in the United States who were issued immigrant or nonimmigrant visas prior to arrival, as such individuals are generally required to be registered at time of visa application.
• Officials of foreign governments and international organizations who have been granted A or G visas, who are exempt from registration both at time of visa application and after entry into the United States.
• Foreign nationals who are in the United States for less than 30 days.

Current regulations provide a number of different ways for foreign nationals who are not exempt from the registration requirement to comply with that requirement. Foreign nationals who are already considered to have satisfied the registration requirement and therefore generally will not need to undergo the new registration process detailed in the IFR include the following:

• Individuals who have been issued any of the following documents:
  • I-551 permanent resident card (green card);
  • Border Crossing Card (BCC);
  • I-766 Employment Authorization Document (EAD);
  • I-94 or I-94W Arrival-Departure Record for nonimmigrants and parolees (even if now expired);
  • A valid, unexpired DHS nonimmigrant admission or parole stamp in a foreign passport;
  • Certain crewmen landing permits;
  • I-862 Notice to Appear; and
  • Certain other documents issued when a foreign national is placed in removal/deportation proceedings.
• Individuals who have filed certain application forms, including:
  • I-485 adjustment of status application;
  • I-590 application for Registration for Classification as a Refugee; and
  • Certain applications for temporary residence status.

Despite the multiple different methods available for satisfying the registration requirement, the government determined that its existing registration processes were not capturing certain classes of foreign nationals, particularly those who entered the United States without inspection. The new IFR is intended to address this gap by establishing a new form – the Form G-325R, Biographic Information (Registration) – which registrants can complete online, and USCIS has posted detailed guidance on its website regarding the new form and the associated online registration process.

The three main categories of foreign nationals who have heretofore not been covered by existing registration processes and will now need to undergo the new online G-325R registration process are the following:

• Foreign nationals of any age, including those under 14, who entered the United States unlawfully without undergoing immigration inspection and remain in the United States for 30 days or longer, and who have not been issued any of the above-listed documents that evidence registration, such as an EAD or a Notice to Appear for removal proceedings, and who have not applied for adjustment of status or refugee or temporary resident status. This would include individuals who entered without inspection and subsequently applied for DACA, Temporary Protected Status (TPS), or asylum but who either did not apply for or were not eligible for an EAD, or whose EAD application is still pending or has been denied, and who have not been issued any other evidence of registration.
• Visa-exempt Canadian nonimmigrant visitors for business or pleasure of any age, including those under 14, who entered at a land port-of-entry and were not issued an I-94 and who remain in the United States for 30 days or longer.
• Foreign nationals – whether previously registered or not – who have been in the United States for 30 days or longer and who turn 14 years old in the United States and therefore must register or re-register within 30 days after their 14^th birthday and be fingerprinted.

Foreign national children who entered the United States without a visa (such as those who entered without inspection or as parolees) and who were under 14 at the time of entry will need to register or re-register within 30 days of turning 14 and undergo biometrics collection, even if they were already registered by their parent when they were under 14, and even if they possess documentation (such as a parolee I-94 or an EAD card) that qualifies as evidence of registration.

At this point, it is unclear whether foreign national children who entered the United States with a visa (such as H-4 and L-2 dependent children of temporary foreign workers in H-1B or L-1 status) and who were under 14 at the time of entry will need to undergo the new G-325R registration process within 30 days of turning 14 and undergo biometrics collection. Further guidance from DHS is needed on this issue.

Foreign nationals who are subject to registration must register themselves, unless they are under 14, in which case they must be registered by their parent or guardian. For foreign nationals seeking to register using the new online Form G-325R, the registration process involves five main steps:

• The foreign national creates an account in the DHS’s myUSCIS system (or a parent or guardian creates an account for any children under 14).
• The foreign national (or parent or guardian) completes and submits the online Form G-325R, which principally collects biographic, contact, and immigration information, as well as address history, date of last entry into the United States, current and planned activities in the United States, expected duration of stay and departure date, and criminal history. Only the foreign national or the parent or guardian of a foreign national under 14 may complete and submit the Form G-325R; an attorney may not complete or submit the form for the foreign national.
• USCIS schedules the foreign national for a biometrics appointment, to collect the foreign national’s fingerprints, photo, and signature (unless biometrics are waived, as discussed below). If, however, USCIS records indicate that the foreign national is already registered, the agency will so inform the foreign national and will not schedule the individual for a biometrics appointment or provide the individual with new evidence of registration.
• Upon collecting the foreign national’s biometrics, USCIS uses the information to undertake background and security checks, including a check of the criminal history records maintained by the FBI.
• The USCIS system generates a “Proof of Alien Registration” document containing a unique identifier, which the foreign national must download from their myUSCIS account and print out and carry with them at all times.

For foreign nationals who are exempt from biometrics collection – which includes children under 14 and visa-exempt Canadian nonimmigrant visitors who entered at a land port-of-entry and were not issued an I-94 and therefore must undergo registration – the “Proof of Alien Registration” document will be automatically generated upon the foreign national’s online submission of the Form G-325R. These individuals will not be scheduled for biometrics collection.

There is no filing fee for the Form G-325R; however, DHS is considering a possible $30 fee for biometrics services and has invited public comment on this issue.

Registration is not a legal status and does not confer work authorization or any other right or benefit under U.S. law. Rather, it facilitates enforcement of U.S. immigration law, and foreign nationals who are not in lawful status who undergo required registration may be vulnerable to being placed in removal proceedings.

Failure to comply with registration and related requirements may expose an individual to significant fines, as well as possible incarceration, and the Trump Administration has made enforcement of immigration-related criminal provisions, including provisions related to registration, an enforcement priority.

A willful failure or refusal to undergo required registration is considered a misdemeanor criminal offense, punishable by a fine of up to $5,000 or imprisonment of up to six months, or both.

All foreign nationals – including legal permanent residents and visa holders – are also required to carry documentation evidencing registration (such as a “green card” or I-94) at all times, and they must notify DHS of any change of address within ten days of the address change. A failure to comply with either of these requirements is considered a misdemeanor criminal offense, punishable by a fine of up to $5,000 or imprisonment of not more than 30 days, or both.

In addition, foreign nationals who fail to comply with the change of address notification requirement are subject to detention and removal, unless the foreign national can satisfy DHS that the failure was reasonably excusable and not willful.

Because the new regulation does not impose any new registration requirement but only creates an additional method for complying with the existing registration requirement in the law, DHS has taken the position that the new regulation is merely procedural in nature and therefore does not require any notice of proposed rulemaking or the usual notice and comment process before the regulation can be issued in final form.

The new regulation will take effect on April 11, 2025, but DHS is accepting post-publication comments from the public. Comments on the contents of the regulation are due by April 11, 2025, and comments on the new Form G-325R are due by May 12, 2025.

The new registration process may face legal challenges, and DHS’s decision to issue the regulation as an Interim Final Rule rather than going through the notice of proposed rulemaking process could increase the likelihood of the rule being challenged in court.

The Form G-325R is already available for completion on the myUSCIS website, and individuals who are required to register should be able to submit their completed G-325R online beginning today, even though the IFR does not take effect until April 11, 2025.

Canadian nationals who enter the United States as visitors for business or pleasure via a land border and are not issued an I-94 will now need to undergo registration if they intend to remain in the country for 30 days or more.

Foreign nationals who are not in lawful status should consult with immigration counsel concerning the potential impacts of registration. 

Parents of foreign national children who entered the United States on a nonimmigrant visa, such as an H-4 or L-2 derivative visa, and who were under 14 at the time of entry should await further guidance to determine whether their children will need to undergo registration and biometrics collection through the new Form G-325R process when they turn 14.