Carrying Passport and I-20 all the time

[alejandromolina]

Hi!

The International students office at my University recommends all international student to have their passport and I-20 with them all the time. However, this is really uncomfortable and even risky (I don't want to lose neither of those documents).

My question is... have any of you had any trouble for not having your passport and I-20 with you?

And also... I have an in-state valid ID Card. Is this enough proof of legal presence in the country? I know that the only ID most American carry is their License, so should I carry anything else? Thanks!!!!

[TakeruK]

Unless you are living in an area where you are likely to be stopped randomly for "inspections" (maybe Arizona?), I would certainly not carry my passport and I-20 around all the time. Technically, we must be able to produce our passport and I-20 upon request while in the United States, so maybe the University is just being extra careful by giving this advice. They don't want to get in trouble by saying that you don't have to, and then if a student is unable to produce their passport/I-20 and says that their school said they didn't have to!

I have a California Driver License and I use that as my main ID. Before that, I used my Canadian license as my ID but some places won't accept that as ID for e.g. alcohol. So, when I know I was going to such a place, I bring my passport too. However, now I never take my passport and DS-2019 (J-1 version of I-20) with me unless I am leaving the United States or need proof of legal presence (for example, the utilities company require this). Most people assume I am American and unless they need to know otherwise, I let them assume that.

[alejandromolina]

Ok, thanks for your answer.

If some authority asked me for my papers, and all I had was my USA Drivers License, would I get in trouble? Any experience with that?

 

Thanks!!!!

[TakeruK]

I have not had any issue with that. The only time I was "stopped" and asked for papers was when I was driving and encountered a random California Highway Patrol checkpoint looking for drunk drivers (pretty common thing to see in Canada and I think the US). They asked for my driver's license, which I showed and they asked questions like "Have you drunk any alcohol prior to driving?" etc. 

Again, I can't speak for everywhere in the US but in California, it is not customary for officials to stop random people and ask for immigration documents. I have heard rumours that this happens in Arizona and New Mexico but no confirmations. 

Personally, I think the risk of losing your passport is much greater than the risk of some very strange circumstance that you must produce your passport immediately upon request. There is no real risk in losing an I-20 or DS-2019 though, unless you are outside of the United States: you just go to your school's international student office and they print you a new one. 

So, I would only take these documents with me when I am doing something that requires it!

[fuzzylogician]

Like TakeruK said, it's very unusual to have any kind of interaction where you would need to produce your passport and I20 immediately upon demand (of course, not counting times when you know ahead of time you'll have to produce them, e.g. if you are going to the DMV to get a driver's license). That's never happened to me and I don't know anyone who it did happen to. Many US citizens actually won't be able to produce any document certifying that they are citizens if asked on the spot. There is no "certificate of citizenship" and not everyone even has a passport, certainly not with them at all times. So it's extremely unlikely that there would be a random checkpoint anywhere asking for that kind of documentation (maybe with the exception of Southern Arizona?). Being randomly "picked" as a suspected non-citizen would be profiling and also probably something that would get government officials into trouble. As a result, I think there is a much greater risk that you'll lose these docs or damage them than that you'll be in a situation where you'll need to suddenly produce them on the spot. 

[phdreally]

It would be wise to carry your passport and I20 when you are taking a flight anywhere. TSA has asked me for passport in "random" checks even in domestic flights. Also do carry them when you are driving around 50-100miles of the international border. The CHP post between San Diego and LA is known to occasionally stop ALL traffic and ask for passport if you are not a citizen.

Other times I always have a photocopy or scanned images of my passport and docs in my smartphone so that I don't have "nothing" in that highly improbable situation, just in case..

[rising_star]

Not just in southern Arizona, btw. If you're on, let's say, I-10 driving from CA to Texas, there are numerous permanent CBP (US Customs and Border Patrol) stops/checkpoints where you are asked if you are a US citizen. If you aren't they customarily ask you to produce documentation proving that you are in the country lawfully. This also happens on I-8, which runs between San Diego and Phoenix. See here for more (sorry to use Wikipedia but it lays out the situation pretty well). That said, if you're at one of those, you could decide not to answer (http://www.fronterasdesk.org/content/what-happens-if-you-dont-cooperate-inland-check-points) though I'm not sure if that applies to non-US citizens.

[TakeruK]

It would be wise to carry your passport and I20 when you are taking a flight anywhere. TSA has asked me for passport in "random" checks even in domestic flights. Also do carry them when you are driving around 50-100miles of the international border. The CHP post between San Diego and LA is known to occasionally stop ALL traffic and ask for passport if you are not a citizen.

Other times I always have a photocopy or scanned images of my passport and docs in my smartphone so that I don't have "nothing" in that highly improbable situation, just in case..

For the first point, it's also important to keep in mind that while the TSA or other authorities might ask for a specific document (e.g. a passport during random checks), that doesn't mean the only thing that would satisfy them is this passport. I wonder what would have happened if you said you didn't have it with you or if you showed them a driver's license/ID card instead? For a domestic flight, most Americans would not even carry one. I don't carry my passport when traveling within the United States because it just increases the chance of losing one. Of course, my decision to not take my passport is not necessarily the best advice for everyone, it's just my decision that the risk of being forced to produce a passport is lower than the risk of losing the passport. Also, since you do need to prove legal presence to obtain a Driver's License/ID card, producing this should be good enough.

I think the scanned image of passport and docs is a great idea though. Sometimes I need my passport number for some random reason (e.g. identify confirmation for my utilities company since I signed up for that before my SSN so they use my passport # instead of last 4 digits of SSN) and I just don't have it because it's safe at home.

I don't think I've ever driven south past San Diego so I have not yet encountered one of these checkpoints that rising_star mentioned. I don't think I plan to ever be in that area, but sounds like good advice to have it just in case there? If I ever do that, I'll have my passport/DS-2019 just in case, but I'll show them my driver's license first and see what happens!

[rising_star]

I don't think I've ever driven south past San Diego so I have not yet encountered one of these checkpoints that rising_star mentioned. I don't think I plan to ever be in that area, but sounds like good advice to have it just in case there? If I ever do that, I'll have my passport/DS-2019 just in case, but I'll show them my driver's license first and see what happens!

I've been through them several times. They don't care about a driver's license, even for US citizens. They have one standard question: "Are you a US citizen?" which you are supposed to answer (though there's a lively debate about whether you actually have to answer). I've also gone through them with non-US citizens in the car. One of those (a UK citizen) was a straight white man, said nothing (that is, he did not respond to the question), and received no additional questions. Another passenger in the car was a citizen of an Asian country. When asked the question, he answered truthfully. He was then asked to produce his passport, visa, and other documentation proving he was in the country legally. He retrieved them from the trunk and, after about a 30 minute delay, we were free to continue our roadtrip. YMMV obviously but that's one of many experiences I've had with the CBP checkpoints.

To clarify, when driving through those, you roll down your window and they ask you if you're a US citizen. They don't ask for license, registration, or proof of insurance, which are what most people associate with checkpoints (of course, those are people thinking of highway patrol, sheriff, and police checkpoints). So, I'm not sure what would happen if you tried to show them your driver's license because, essentially, you'd be trying to prove your US citizenship with a driver's license...

[fuzzylogician]

Alright, so I suppose safe advice for the OP would be to ask other international students in your new department if they carry their passports around. If you're going to be in an area where these checkpoints exist, others will know about them and give you advice accordingly. If they don't exist, I don't know of other reasons why you'd want to have your documents on you on a regular basis.

FWIW I do always take my passport and docs with me when I travel away from home, even if it's not outside the States. I feel like if I'm home, I know people who will help me out and retrieve the documents for me on the off chance I'd need them, but I don't want to ever have problems when I'm far away and don't have anyone to rely on. 

[TakeruK]

I've been through them several times. They don't care about a driver's license, even for US citizens. They have one standard question: "Are you a US citizen?" which you are supposed to answer (though there's a lively debate about whether you actually have to answer). I've also gone through them with non-US citizens in the car. One of those (a UK citizen) was a straight white man, said nothing (that is, he did not respond to the question), and received no additional questions. Another passenger in the car was a citizen of an Asian country. When asked the question, he answered truthfully. He was then asked to produce his passport, visa, and other documentation proving he was in the country legally. He retrieved them from the trunk and, after about a 30 minute delay, we were free to continue our roadtrip. YMMV obviously but that's one of many experiences I've had with the CBP checkpoints.

To clarify, when driving through those, you roll down your window and they ask you if you're a US citizen. They don't ask for license, registration, or proof of insurance, which are what most people associate with checkpoints (of course, those are people thinking of highway patrol, sheriff, and police checkpoints). So, I'm not sure what would happen if you tried to show them your driver's license because, essentially, you'd be trying to prove your US citizenship with a driver's license...

Oh, interesting! Good to know, thanks  I thought they would ask for ID first, since as you said, that's what normally happens when they stop you at a checkpoint. 

[alejandromolina]

Thanks everyone for your comments!!! This is an issue without too much info online!