New USCIS guidance will require young nonimmigrants who turn 14 while in the U.S. to "re-register" with USCIS within 30 days of their birthday, even if previously registered when entering the country. This may affect, for example, F-2, J-2, H-4 dependents and young F-1/J-1 students who entered before age 14. Most nonimmigrants who entered the U.S. at age 14+ are already automatically registered (as evidenced by their Form I-94) and DON'T need to re-register. The new registration process isn't available yet but USCIS will announce it when ready. This is also a good time to remind noncitizens to carry their registration document and timely report address changes. See NAFSA's page Requirements to Carry Immigration Registration Document and Report Change of Address for information on these separate but related requirements.
- Read the USCIS page: Alien Registration Requirement (February 25, 2025)
The USCIS guidance references Executive Order 14159 of January 20, 2025: Protecting The American People Against Invasion (see 90 FR 8443 (January 29, 2025)) as a basis for the agency action.
Quick reference
What is the new DHS "Alien Registration" program? On February 25, 2025, USCIS published a web page called Alien Registration Requirement, that goes into procedural detail regarding who and how certain individuals must "register" or "re-register" with the U.S. Government as required by longstanding provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Most nonimmigrants are already registered. Most nonimmigrants (for example, F-1, J-1, H-1B, O-1, etc. as well as their dependents) who were aged 14 or over when they entered the United States were already registered with the U.S. government when they first arrive. When you receive a visa, are inspected at a U.S. port of entry, and receive a Form I-94 (either on paper or electronically), this automatically counts as your registration, and you will not have to re-register under this new DHS program.
New requirement for young people. There is, however, an important rule that affects young people who turn 14 while staying in the United States:
- If you turn 14 years old while in the U.S., you must register again within 30 days of your birthday; the Alien Registration Requirement page states, "Within 30 days of reaching his or her 14th birthday, the previously registered alien child must apply for re-registration and to be fingerprinted."
- This applies even if you were properly registered when you first entered the country under age 14
- For example, this rule affects dependents with F-2, J-2, and H-4 status, as well as young students with F-1 and J-1 status (such as boarding school students) who entered the United States under age 14
How to complete the re-registration. The U.S. government is creating a new online process for this re-registration. Neither the form nor the process is available yet. The USCIS Alien Registration Requirement page suggests that those who will need to re-register:
- Create a USCIS online account now if you do not already have one;
- Wait for the government to announce the new registration form and process; and
- Once USCIS makes the form and process available, submit the registration through your online account within 30 days after turning 14
USCIS will also have to specify additional logistics, since the process will also involve fingerprinting.
Why this matters. Failing to register could result in penalties. This requirement comes from longstanding laws that are now being enforced through a new process.
Who does NOT need to re-register. You do NOT need to re-register if:
- You entered the U.S. at age 14 or older; and
- You received an I-94 form when you entered
Must all individuals carry their "registration document?" - Yes! It has always been the case that all "aliens" (the legal term for individuals who are not U.S. citizens or nationals) must carry on their person their proof of being registered. Acceptable documents to carry include a print-out of your Form I-94, an EAD card issued to you for employment authorization, or your green card (for lawful permanent residents). All of those documents count as adequate proof of registration. Failure to carry your registration document is a separate offense from not being registered, but is equally important. See NAFSA's page Requirements to Carry Immigration Registration Document and Report Change of Address for information on this separate requirement.
What happens if I move my residence in the United States? Related to the requirements to be registered and carry your registration document is another separate rule that requires all "aliens" to update the Department of Homeland Security within 10 days of moving. Consult USCIS's page How to Change Your Address for details on the process. F-1 and M-1 students and J-1 exchange visitors must report any address changes to their Designated School Official (DSO, for F and M students) or Responsible Officer (RO, for exchange visitors), who then update SEVIS with that information. See NAFSA's page Requirements to Carry Immigration Registration Document and Report Change of Address for more information on this separate requirement.
For more information, visit the USCIS website or contact an immigration adviser at your school or organization.
More details
General background
For nonimmigrants, registration usually takes place automatically at the port of entry as a normal part of the inspection and entry process. Having been issued a Form I-94 (paper or electronic) is evidence of registration under the INA and DHS regulations. See NAFSA's page Requirements to Carry Immigration Registration Document and Report Change of Address for background on this long-standing requirement.
It is important to note that the USCIS Alien Registration Requirement page clarifies that most nonimmigrants who obtained a visa and entered the United States in nonimmigrant status at age 14 and above will likely already have been properly registered automatically, and would not have to re-register at this time. The USCIS page lists "Aliens who have already registered" as including:
- Lawful permanent residents;
- Aliens paroled into the United States under INA 212(d)(5), even if the period of parole has expired;
- Aliens admitted to the United States as nonimmigrants who were issued Form I-94 or I-94W (paper or electronic), even if the period of admission has expired;
- All aliens present in the United States who were issued immigrant or nonimmigrant visas prior to arrival;
- Aliens whom DHS has placed into removal proceedings;
- Aliens issued an employment authorization document;
- Aliens who have applied for lawful permanent residence using Forms I-485, I-687, I-691, I-698, I-700, even if the applications were denied; and,
- Aliens issued Border Crossing Cards."
Nonimmigrant dependents who entered the United States before age 14
Although Section 7 of the executive order referenced on the USCIS Alien Registration Requirement page focuses generally on an effort to register unregistered "aliens" (the technical term for non-U.S. citizens/nationals) present in the United States, the new USCIS guidance appears to take the executive order several steps beyond that by stating:
"Any alien, whether previously registered or not, who turns 14 years old in the United States, within 30 days after their 14th birthday" must also register."
and
"Within 30 days of reaching his or her 14th birthday, the previously registered alien child must apply for re-registration and to be fingerprinted."
This could be interpreted to mean that DHS also wants F-2, J-2, H-4 and other dependents who are in the United States to register again if they turn 14 in the United States, through a forthcoming new DHS registration process, even if they had properly been registered upon entering the United States with a visa and were given an I-94.
The USCIS Alien Registration Requirement page states:
"It is the legal obligation of all unregistered aliens (or previously registered children who turn 14 years old) in the United States to comply with these requirements. Failure to comply will result in criminal and civil penalties, up to and including misdemeanor prosecution and the payment of fines."
A possible basis for this move by the administration is that generally, even though all nonimmigrants are registered (i.e., inspected and issued an I-94) at the time of admission, minors may not have been fingerprinted at that time. Two very old provisions are at work that have never had INS or DHS mechanisms to implement and enforce them:
The Immigration and Nationality Act at INA 262 [8 USC 1302] establishes that:
"It shall be the duty of every alien now or hereafter in the United States, who (1) is fourteen years of age or older, (2) has not been registered and fingerprinted under section 1201(b) of this title or section 30 or 31 of the Alien Registration Act, 1940, and (3) remains in the United States for thirty days or longer, to apply for registration and to be fingerprinted before the expiration of such thirty days."
Likewise, DHS regulations at 8 CFR 264.1(g) state:
(g) Registration and fingerprinting of children who reach age 14. Within 30 days after reaching the age of 14, any alien in the United States not exempt from alien registration under the Act and this chapter must apply for registration and fingerprinting, unless fingerprinting is waived under paragraph (e) of this section, in accordance with applicable form instructions.
(1) Permanent residents. If such alien is a lawful permanent resident of the United States and is temporarily absent from the United States when he reaches the age of 14, he must apply for registration and provide a photograph within 30 days of his or her return to the United States in accordance with applicable form instructions. The alien, if a lawful permanent resident of the United States, must surrender any prior evidence of alien registration. USCIS will issue the alien new evidence of alien registration.
(2) Others. In the case of an alien who is not a lawful permanent resident, the alien's previously issued registration document will be noted to show that he or she has been registered and the date of registration.
Procedures
Recognizing that "a significant number of aliens present in the United States have had no direct way in which to register and meet their obligation under INA 262," the USCIS Alien Registration Requirement page states that "USCIS is establishing a new form and process by which they may register. No alien will have an excuse for failure to comply with this law." DHS has already submitted an interim final rule to be reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to authorize this new data collection.
The USCIS page goes on to say:
"How to register
DHS will soon announce a form and process for aliens to complete the registration requirement. Beginning Feb. 25, 2025, aliens required to register should create a USCIS online account in preparation for the registration process. See our How to Create a USCIS Online Account page for more information. Once the registration process is implemented, aliens will submit their registration, and parents and guardians will submit registration applications on behalf of their children under 14, through their USCIS online account.
We will update this webpage to provide additional information in the coming days."