Greetings fellow members! I finally managed to buy a firearm after all the extra legal hoopla that Legal Aliens have to go through in order to buy guns.
I am an Indian(from India not Native American)and
No, I dont have a Green Card or Alien registration number, I am here only on a H-1 work visa which allows me to stay here for 3 years. Now I did mention in my previous posts that the only way legal aliens can buy guns, is if they are either:
1.A Diplomat designated by the Dept.of Justice or,
2.A LEO on official business from a friendly country or,
3.Has a waiver from the Attorney General allowing purchase of guns,or
4.Has a hunting license legally issued in the USA.
Now these are recent rules and I did buy guns in the past before these rules came into place.
What with the present political scenario, I decided the last of the above options was the best for me.
Anyway, I went to my friendly neighbourhood FFL,and went through the paperwork, and was initially 'delayed' and then given the 'proceed' after about 10 minutes of waiting. I then told my FFl to get me a 1911 frame from Caspian Arms and a Ciener .22 LR conversion kit so that I could have a dedicated plinker. Now the Caspian frame was ordered right away but because of a shipping error and a lost check(which was later found but had been cancelled) the whole process took more than 30 days. Now because of that I had to go through the NICS again and this time I was delayed again, Also I had to wait until the next morning to collect my pistol.
The agent that my FFL was dealing with seemed extremely knowledgeable about rules pertaining to firearms and aliens. A proof of residence(utility bills) was asked for,along with a copy of my hunting license. Now these were not asked for, when I had gone through the NICS the first time. Even so I drew attention to the law and gave my FFL copies of both proof of residence and my hunting license along with a copy of the actual statute in the FFL rule book & these were attached to my 4473 and filed away.
Now I learned a few things while going through this experience:
1.Not all FFL's know all the rules.
2.Not all NICS and/or ATF agents know all the rules.
3.Caspian Arms' customer service is not all that great.
4.Do your own research about the law.
5.Some ATF agents definitely don't like civilian firearm ownership.
Now unconnected to all this I was issued a Florida CCW License while I was a student.
It just seemed strange to me that I am legally allowed to carry a firearm in 17 states , but the Feds require that I go through extra stuff to buy a gun.
My FFL was extraordinarily helpful throughout the process and I will send more business his way for that. Other FFLs did'nt even listen to what I was saying, they treated me as if I was trying to buy a gun illegally.
If there are any Aliens wanting to buy guns or apply for CCW Licenses and they have any questions, my email :
[email protected]
regards,
Anand