Can green card, visa holders get Real ID, required to fly in the US?

Many radical crossed the United States are rushing to regenerate their driver’s licenses and authorities IDs with federally compliant licences, known arsenic Real ID cards, present required to committee home flights.

As of May 7, each US citizens much than 18 years of property indispensable amusement impervious of recognition that meets the 2005 Real ID Act’s rules, which acceptable higher national information standards. But this alteration successful national question requirements is creating immoderate disorder astir what it means for noncitizens.

Passed 2 decades agone by Congress successful effect to the bipartisan 9/11 Commission’s recommendations pursuing the September 11, 2001 attacks successful New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, DC, the purpose of the programme was to rise information standards for home question and national and atomic installation access.

But migration experts accidental the law’s enactment during the 2nd Trump medication has near noncitizens – including immoderate of the 13.5 cardinal radical legally successful the US connected greenish cards, enactment and pupil visas and humanitarian parole – uncertain astir what the regularisation alteration could mean for their travel.

US President Donald Trump has promised and prioritised mass deportations of criminals and undocumented radical successful the US. But successful practice, his policies person swept up US citizens and radical with a legal migration status. He has besides tried to end ineligible pathways that allowed radical to temporarily unrecorded and enactment successful the US. Many of these actions are being challenged successful court.

Here are immoderate answers to commonly asked questions astir Real ID and its effect connected national versus noncitizen travel.

What is peculiar astir Real ID?

The Department of Homeland Security says the purpose of the Real ID requirements was to bring consistency to the minimum documentation requirements needed for state-issued IDs – driver’s license, learner’s permits and nondriver IDs.

Now, each states issuing Real ID-compliant cards necessitate radical applying for those cards to contiguous definite documentation. The nonstop requirements alteration by state, but successful astir cases, the minimum documents needed include:

• Proof of individuality successful the signifier of a US commencement certificate, US passport, oregon a greenish card.
• Social Security Number successful the signifier of a Social Security card, W-2 form, oregon a wage stub.
• Two proofs of code of main residence, which whitethorn beryllium a inferior bill, slope connection oregon owe statement.
• Lawful presumption proof, including a valid employment authorisation document, Social Security Number oregon a valid unexpired visa.

A Real ID paper bears a achromatic oregon golden prima oregon a US emblem successful its precocious close corner. State-issued ID cards that don’t person these markers volition not beryllium accepted arsenic impervious of individuality to committee home flights oregon participate national facilities.

Here are immoderate examples of what Real IDs look like:

Examples of Real ID-compliant driver’s licenses posted connected the Department of Homeland Security’s website.

If I don’t person a Real ID, does it mean I cannot question domestically immoderate more?

No, you tin inactive question domestically provided you person different signifier of recognition that is Real ID-compliant.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) lists galore different forms of acceptable IDs, including options for radical who are not US citizens. Among them:

• State-issued enhanced driver’s licenses oregon enhanced IDs, which supply impervious of individuality erstwhile crossing the US borders successful a vehicle.
• US passports or US passport cards.
• Foreign government-issued passports.
• Department of Homeland Security trusted traveller cards nether programmes specified arsenic Global Entry, which fto US citizens, greenish paper holders and immoderate overseas nationals spell done expedited lanes astatine airports.
• US Department of Defense IDs, including IDs issued to dependents of radical successful the military.
• Lawful imperishable nonmigratory cards, besides known arsenic greenish cards.
• Border crossing cards, a papers utilized by Mexican citizens to participate the US.
• Acceptable photograph IDs issued by federally recognised tribal nations, including enhanced tribal cards.
• HSPD-12 PIV cards, which are utilized by national contractors to entree facilities and systems.
• Canadian provincial driver’s licence oregon Indian and Northern Affairs Canada cards.
• Transportation Worker Identification Credentials (TWIC).
• US Citizenship and Immigration Services Employment Authorization Cards.
• US Merchant Mariner Credentials, which amusement grounds of a mariner’s qualifications; and
• Veteran Health Identification Cards (VHIC).

There’s 1 large caveat: TSA says the database of acceptable IDs is taxable to alteration without announcement and advises travellers to cheque the database earlier travelling.

How could Real ID impact noncitizens arsenic they question successful the US?

Although galore forms of IDs are accepted for noncitizens, the Real ID argumentation could person a chilling effect connected travelers whose documentation differentiates them from citizens, migration experts told us.

As 1 example, migration lawyer Prerna Lal said that, successful immoderate enactment with national authorities, carrying a overseas passport could pb to scrutiny of that person’s individuality if they deficiency ineligible migration status.

“Even with valid overseas passports, undocumented individuals and mixed-status families whitethorn debar travelling owed to concerns astir interactions with TSA oregon instrumentality enforcement, contempt passports remaining acceptable documentation,” Lal said. “This fearfulness of enforcement, alternatively than entree to IDs, is the superior chilling effect connected the migrant community.”

What happens if radical don’t person an acceptable ID astatine the airport?

A TSA serviceman whitethorn inquire a idiosyncratic to implicit an individuality verification process. If the individuality is confirmed, that idiosyncratic volition beryllium allowed to participate the screening checkpoint.

Can an migrant with impermanent presumption get a Real ID?

Yes, the Real ID regulations define an idiosyncratic successful a “temporary lawful status” arsenic a idiosyncratic who has a pending exertion for asylum; has a pending oregon approved exertion for impermanent protected status; has approved deferred action; oregon has a pending exertion for lawful imperishable nonmigratory oregon conditional imperishable nonmigratory status.

The Real ID Act lets states contented temporary, Real ID operator licenses and ID cards to radical with impermanent status. People with a impermanent migration presumption are usually granted impermanent valid employment authorisation and Social Security numbers, which they tin usage to use for Real IDs. Their impermanent Real ID volition stay valid until their lawful presumption expires. Florida is 1 exception: The Sunshine State requires astir each immigrants with lawful presumption to renew their IDs annually. Green paper holders successful Florida don’t person to renew a REAL ID each year; their Real ID is valid until their greenish paper expires. Most greenish cards are valid for 10 years, but radical tin use for a renewal.

Also, radical with valid pupil oregon enactment visas tin contiguous their unexpired passports, visas and I-94 forms – documents that amusement a person’s authorised play of enactment successful the US – for impervious of individuality and ineligible presumption and get a Real ID.

States that supply non-Real ID compliant ID cards to radical without ineligible migration presumption tin inactive bash so, according to DHS, but the cards indispensable intelligibly authorities that they are not acceptable for Real ID purposes and indispensable person a unsocial plan oregon colour to differentiate them from compliant cards. These non-Real ID-compliant ID cards cannot beryllium utilized arsenic a signifier of recognition for home travel.

Could a Real ID forestall an apprehension by migration authorities? Does it corroborate that a idiosyncratic is legally successful the US?

Lal told PolitiFact that a Real ID unsocial does not forestall a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s apprehension oregon corroborate a lawful migration status. Although Real ID-compliant recognition requires impervious of lawful beingness for issuance, it is not impervious of existent migration status.

“ICE conducts its ain verification, and possessing a Real ID does not assistance immunity from enforcement actions,” Prerna said.

Prerna said that radical should contiguous to ICE valid, government-issued documentation that shows their existent migration status, specified arsenic a greenish card, employment authorisation paper oregon visa.