The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), an agency under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has formally adopted a new rule establishing an online registration and biometric data collection process for certain categories of foreign nationals residing in the United States.
Published this week, the rule makes permanent a set of temporary regulations that have been in use since April 2025. The policy is aimed at foreign nationals living in the United States who do not have current or properly documented immigration registration records with federal agencies.
According to the published guidelines, individuals covered by the policy will be required to access the DHS portal, formally register their presence in the United States, and complete compulsory identity verification procedures, including background screening and biometric collection such as fingerprinting.
The agency clarified that the updated rule does not expand registration requirements to cover additional groups. Instead, it permanently adopts the registration system introduced last year and includes a few adjustments intended to simplify the process for travellers.
“On June 29, 2026, DHS published a final rule that adopts the Interim Final Rule (IFR) as final and makes additional procedural and technical changes to the regulations, such as updating the list of immigration forms and processes that meet the registration requirement.
Aliens who are required to register but have not yet done so may continue to use Form G-325R, Biographic Information (Registration), to meet the requirement. For more information, see the final rule,” the agency said.
“Additionally, the final rule is seeking comments on other potential changes to the regulations relating to the alien registration and fingerprinting. Comments on these other potential changes described in the preamble of the final rule must be submitted on or before Aug.
28, 2026,” it added.
Under the policy, foreign nationals will only be required to complete online registration if they expect to remain in the United States for 30 days or longer and fall within specified categories, including people who entered the country without inspection or crossed the border without official immigration processing.
Another category covers visa-exempt Canadian citizens who entered the United States through a land border crossing but did not receive either a paper or an electronic Form I-94 record. In addition, foreign national children who turn 14 while residing in the U.S. will be required to complete the online registration or re-registration process, even if they had previously been registered by their parents under a different procedure.
For most legal immigrants and visitors, the new rule does not introduce any changes. The government explained that individuals who already possess recognised proof of immigration registration will not be required to complete the online registration process.
Exempt categories include those who already have:
* A valid U.S. visa or a standard Form I-94 arrival and departure record
* An Employment Authorisation Document (EAD) or work permit
* A Lawful Permanent Resident Card (Green Card)
* A pending application for Adjustment of Status
The government also stated that individuals covered by the policy who have already completed the online registration process during their current period of stay in the United States will not be required to register again.
