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December 28, 2016, 12:54 PM | #1 |
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Legal alien gun possession
I can not find a definitive answer to a question. Can a LEGAL alien, 40 years with a "green card" (they are not really green anymore) legally own a gun in the United States. My conjecture is that a long gun is legal. A hand gun is not. Any references?
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December 28, 2016, 01:09 PM | #2 |
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I don't have the time to provide references at the moment, but I've been selling guns at two different gun shops for almost 5 years now and I can tell you that a legal alien with a green card has all the same firearm purchase rights as a citizen does. The only extra step is that you need to show your green card when filling out the 4473.
Keep in mind that this is federal law I'm referring to: As always, state and local laws might differ.
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December 28, 2016, 02:15 PM | #3 |
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I spent part of Christmas day visiting with a friend of my son's and his date who is a legal alien. He has purchased several firearms, both long guns and hand guns.
He did say one thing that I didn't question at the time but have wondered about since and that is he had to get a hunting license before the purchases could be made. Maybe this is a Texas thing or maybe some bad information he got.
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December 28, 2016, 02:19 PM | #4 |
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PolarFBear, I think you'll find that most of your questions are answered here:
https://www.atf.gov/qa-category/nonimmigrant-aliens Or here: https://www.atf.gov/firearms/qa/may-...chase-firearms The key to understanding the dense legalese is that a lawful permanent resident (i.e. a "green card" holder) is an immigrant alien, and not a nonimmigrant alien nor an illegal alien. AFAIK under federal law, a lawful permanent resident has almost all of the same rights and privileges as a citizen with regard to firearms and ammunition; it makes no difference whether it's a long gun or a handgun. The only exception I'm aware of is that a non-citizen may not order firearms from the CMP.
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December 28, 2016, 02:27 PM | #5 | |
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Quote:
https://www.atf.gov/firearms/qa/may-...immigrant-visa FWIW this prohibition does not technically apply to nonimmigrant aliens who have been lawfully admitted to the United States under one of several dozen visa waiver programs, but many FFLs insist on seeing a hunting license anyway, because it's not easy for a FFL to verify whether a foreigner properly qualifies for a visa waiver (which are often conditional based on factors that the FFL would have no way to verify). It's CYA. And to be clear... this does NOT apply to lawful permanent residents. See my previous post.
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December 29, 2016, 01:26 PM | #6 |
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Carguychris, Thanks for the info and link. He is proud of his home country but is glad his US employment opportunity is in Texas.
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January 26, 2017, 01:23 AM | #7 | ||
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Let's look at current federal law, see 18 USC 922(g)(5):
and 18 USC 922(y): The statutes I cited generally prohibit possession of guns or ammunition by aliens present in the United States on a non-immigrant visa. An alien lawfully in the United States on an immigrant visa is not a prohibited person under federal law; and an alien lawfully present in the United States on a non-immigrant visa can come within an exception to the prohibition by getting and maintaining a hunting license.
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January 26, 2017, 11:00 AM | #8 | |
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Quote:
As the law is written, an alien lawfully present in the United States on a non-immigrant visa becomes a prohibited person the moment that his or her hunting license lapses! Watch that renewal date!
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January 26, 2017, 12:52 PM | #9 |
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My buddy who is a legal immigrant from Columbia just purchased a glock G30S and went through/passed all bc same as me a born in usa guy.
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January 26, 2017, 12:56 PM | #10 | |
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Quote:
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January 26, 2017, 12:57 PM | #11 |
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Green card holder for the most part has all the same rights as a citizen. But cannot hold an FFL, even a C&R.
Foreign visitors I believe CAN purchase rifles if they have a valid hunting permit for the state of sale.
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