Foreign nationals who are in the U.S. for more than 30 days, including Canadians, have a new task on their to-do list as of Friday: Make sure they’re registered with the U.S. government.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said failure to comply with this is a crime, punishable by fines, imprisonment or both.
The new requirement comes after a judge cleared the way for an executive order signed by U.S. President Donald Trump on January 20 requiring all “”all aliens 14 years of age or older" who remain in the United States for 30 days or longer to be registered, and to carry that proof with them.
The U.S. government points out that the rule has existed for more than 80 years, but is now being enforced for everyone.
Unlike other foreign nationals, Canadians do not have to be fingerprinted when they register.
Stephen Fine, president of the Snowbird Advisor, said most, but not all Canadians who fly into the U.S. are automatically issued an electronic I-94 when they arrive, which counts as being registered.
Canadians who enter the United States through a land border are generally not issued an I-94 when they arrive, said Fine. It happens behind the scenes, and you might not know your status until you check on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website.
“If you’ve been issued an I-94, you don’t need to worry. You’re good. You’re registered already. You’re considered to be registered. If you haven’t been issued I-94, then you do need to register,” Fine said in an interview with CTV News Friday.
Fine said Canadians who were not issued an I-94 when they entered the U.S. are required to register online with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Fine’s organization, which provides information and resources about travel insurance, phone plans and other snowbird essentials, has heard mixed reactions about the registration process.
“We’ve been hearing from a lot of our snowbird audience that it’s not a big deal. It’s easy to check your I-94 status online. It’s easy to register and create an account. We hear from other people who are having a very difficult time with it and are very frustrated by it,” Fine said.
Karen and Craig Strong are from Ontario, but spend their winters in Fort Myers, Fla.
The couple was issued an I-94 when they flew to Florida and didn’t have to register on their own, but note the new requirement has caused angst for some of their friends, especially when it required people to enter information about family history.
“We just feel like it’s not necessary, and that’s a waste of resources, and it’s— It’s causing heartache. There’s people older than us who are very confused,” said Craig.
“I think it’s caused some of our Canadians who drive, particularly, to make sure they got home before today,” Karen said.
Fine said he’s heard some people were confused about what address to enter — U.S. or Canadian — and whether the documentation needs to be printed, or if a PDF version carried on someone’s phone will suffice.
“At this point, we’re trying to get more clarification on some of those questions,” he said, adding he thinks the best practice is to print it off and carry it with you.
The Canadian Snowbird Association is working to convince Trump administration to rescind the rule.
“We see the rule as completely unnecessary. There is no reciprocal requirement of U.S. citizens staying in Canada, regardless of their admission period. And again, it just sends the wrong message,” said Evan Rachkovsky, director of research and communication for the Canadian Snowbird Association.
Rachkovsky said he’s also heard from people about the confusion around what address to enter when registering with U.S. government, adding the form doesn’t allow a person to enter a Canadian address and the association has raised the issue with U.S. officials.
“So we’re hoping to get some clarity on the rule itself and also, some updates on the form,” he said.
While the policy took effect Friday, Rachkovsky said he’s anticipating there will be amendments to the regulation.
“We’ll see what those look like in the coming weeks,” he said.
