The United States needs Canadians who are in the country for more than 30 days to register with the government
Canadians who are in the United States for 30 days or more and cross the land border will soon have to record their information with the United States government, according to an opinion obtained by ABC News.
Foreign nationals who plan to stay in the United States for more than 30 days will have to request registration from the federal government and be imprinted digital from April 11, according to the rule, which was published on Wednesday on the federal register.
Canadians are exempt from fingerprints, which apply to other foreign nationals, according to an immigration lawyer who spoke with ABC News.
Traditionally, Canadians who cross the northern border on the ground and remain more than 30 days have not had to register with the federal government, but the secretary of the Department of Internal Security can unilaterally change this rule.
Canadians who stay in the United States for 30 days or more and have not received proof of registration, such as Form I-94, at the entrance will have to fill out the new G-325R form via myuscis online gate.
The rule would not require Canadians to apply for a visa but rather a different federal form to enter the United States
A car is waiting in the United States and Canada at the British-British Columbia border on March 4, 2025.
Ethan Cairns / The Canadian Press via AP
Rosanna Berardi, an immigration lawyer based in Buffalo, New York, told ABC News that her business had heard many Canadians who had expressed a “strong disappointment” in the new rule.
“It is important to specify that this measure has an impact specifically on Canadian citizens crossing the borders of land that intends to stay in the United States for periods of more than 30 days,” she told ABC News. “Occasional travelers visiting tourism or purchases will not be affected. However, Canadian professionals who regularly enter the United States for prolonged assignments will now face these new registration requirements.”
Berardi told ABC News that some Canadians reconsidered their trip to the United States due to “recent tensions” between the United States and Canada.
“Historically, Canadians appreciated visa status and have never officially registered their presence in the United States,” she said. “This development seems to be aligned with recent tensions in American-Canadian relations, including the threat of the 51st state, trade rates and other policy changes.”
The Canadian Canadian Snowbird Association, which represents Canadian “snowbirds” in the United States during the hottest months, said it worked with the Congress to see if the Canadians would be exempt from having to register.
