Updated on 26.05.2025
Your question: We entered the USA as a family with an E-2 visa. Our daughter was 12 years old at the time of application and did not have to appear in person for the interview. Do we need to make any arrangements for our daughter who is turning 14 due to the new registration requirement?
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Yes, in this constellation you actually have to register your daughter in the USA. The US government has introduced a new Alien Registration Requirement (ARR). This generally obliges all foreign nationals aged 14 and over who have not already been officially registered or fingerprinted as part of a US visa application or other procedure and who are staying in the United States for 30 days or longer to subsequently register with the USCIS. This also applies to children of visa holders (such as E-2 or L-2 etc.) who entered the country before their 14th birthday without submitting fingerprints and turn 14 during their stay.
Since your daughter will reach her 14th birthday in the US in June 2025 and you plan to stay in the country for more than 30 days after that, she is subject to this registration requirement. You or the other parent / guardian must initiate the registration for her. Registration must take place within 30 days of your daughter's 14th birthday.
Registration would not be required, for example, if your daughter has already been officially registered in another way, e.g. by submitting fingerprints when entering the country after reaching the age of 14. So if your daughter leaves the United States after her 14th birthday and before the 30-day period expires – and then re-enters the country – her fingerprints would be taken at the border upon re-entry, which is considered official registration (in combination with the new I-94 form). In this case, separate online registration would no longer be required. However, as you are not planning to travel, the registration requirement applies within the United States.
Registration takes place online via the USCIS website: https://www.uscis.gov/alienregistration
Please note that failure to comply with the obligation to register may have consequences under civil and criminal law. Also, failure to update a US address within 10 days of relocation may result in penalties.
As parents, you are not affected by the Alien Registration Requirement (ARR).
Background: Individuals who were over the age of 14 when they applied for a US visa (such as your E-2 visa) have already been fingerprinted as part of the consular process. In addition, foreign nationals who were issued a form I-94 or I-94W (whether paper or electronic) upon entry into the US, including fingerprinting, are considered already registered under US immigration laws.
The new registration requirement and the focus on the subsequent submission of fingerprints are primarily aimed at those who not have already been officially registered in one of these ways (e.g. persons who entered the country illegally) - but this includes children who entered the country before their 14th birthday and turn 14 in the USA without leaving the country within the 30-day period.
On the USCIS alien registration website you will find a helpful "Self-Check" (button "Do I need to register?"). This tool helps people to determine whether they need to register under the new regulations within the United States.
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