CHL for Legal Resident Alien ? (non-immigrant visa)

[tassim]

Okie the search did'nt give me any results so I'm posting this one and any "inputs" will be appreciated .

All my friends have CHL so I've decided to get one too

Legal Resident Aliens with long term (non-immigrant work visas+TX DL+SSN+Hunting Permit+3~6Months TX Residency)are authorized to buy firearms in Texas with [exception to 11.1 Firearm Transaction Record Part 1(over the counter) Form...........

But as per DPS #There is no mention whether Legal Resident Alien ? (non-immigrant visa) can get a CHL in Concealed Handgun Statutes & Related Weapons Laws ftp://ftp.txdps.state.tx.us/forms/ls-16.pdfin but a Pg1 FAQ Q on DPS website mentions http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/administra ... chlfaq.pdf [Unless I missed some line/info ]
INCORRECTLY that since Legal Resident Aliens on non-immigrant visas cannot buy firearms so cannot get CHL in Texas . Is there anybody out there who has dealt with this situation as I'm at the DPS website payment page don't want to risk $160 and go through this application cycle in vain ....

[joe817]

Welcome to the forum tassim. I am glad to have you with us.

I cannot answer your questions, but with patience I hope other forum members who are also resident aliens will respond to your well put questions. In the meantime please use the search function in the upper right hand corner and do a search { resident+alien}, in that format without the { }.

[srothstein]

Welcome Tassim. I am not an expert on this but I was curious about your situation. I just did a quick search of the Texas statutes and found the only relevant part is that you must be federally eligible to buy a handgun (note handgun and not firearm). From what you posted, after checking the ATF faq's, it looks like you need one more thing to buy a firearm, your alien admission number. I assume you do have this. But, I also noted the ATF used the term firearms instead of handguns and I do not know if there is a legal difference in the requirements.

It looks to me like you should be good to go. I strongly suggest you not take my judgment quite yet. You could contact the DPS directly to verify that you are eligible. You might also contact a lawyer to review your case and prepare an appeal if DPS turns you down.

You might contact the Texas State Rifle Association and see if they can offer any advice. I don't know exactly what they can do other than maybe refer a lawyer, but the TSRA is very helpful in questions like this and dealing with the DPS.

[ghostrider]

We need to make this a sticky; it seems to come up periodically.

I am not a lawyer or LEO, so take this with a grain of salt.

My interpretation of DPS rules is (the last time I looked) that they are inconsistent with Federal law. Basically, DPS says you must have a green card (Permanent Resident) to be eligible for a TX CHL based on Federal requirements to purchase a handgun.

However, Federal rules (confirmed with an ATF memo several years ago) is that non-resident aliens (ie. those with a work visa, not a green card) are not eligible to purchase/possess firearms and ammunition except under certain circumstances such as the possession of a valid State hunting license.

[tassim]

Thanks for the warm welcome and instant responses .I have a alien admission no and at this stage think that I should post a query to DPS and would share the reponse here for the benefit of a wider audience .

[neilp]

I am legal resident alien, with what is colloquially known as a "green card". More accurately this is a "Permanent Resident Card". I'm not sure what you mean by stating that you are a non-immigrant.

If you are have permanent residency you are eligible. My understanding is that if you are here as the holder of a visa (non-permanent residency) you are not eligible. I have not looked into this in detail as it wasn't relevant to my situation, so my understanding could be flawed.

[neilp]

I found this on the TX DPS web site FAQ:

[shootthesheet]

If you plan to stay you should be in process of getting your status upgraded anyway. That usually means you have to have a talent or education this country desires and have met the requirements of time in the U.S. from my experience with my wife. Seems like you are good there. Things are MUCH better today so you should have little problem moving thru that process if that is what you are looking to do. If your are here on any temporary basis such as a non-immigrant and do not work to change that status you will not enjoy more of our rights and will eventually be forced to go back to your country. You need to get into the INS web site and study up on what you need to be doing and when as far as your status is concerned. I urge you to take the time to do that because I have known a few people that were forced to leave because they did not do what they were required to do and some of those things are time sensitive. I am sure you know these things but I wanted to encourage you to not put off moving toward a resident status and eventually citizenship if that is your plan. But, to do that you have to have a plan in order to file the paperwork, make INS appointments and have the money available.

When I checked my wife’s ability to get a CHL years ago when she was in the same position you are in now I found she was eligible. However, that was years ago and she DID NOT apply so I don't know if I was correct. IANAL or INS employee.

[neilp]

Shootthesheet I'm not sure when you and your wife went through the process you describe but I'm pretty sure that is no longer possible. While I have no knowledge of the enforcement level, when I visited using non-immigrant visas before I decided to move to the US I had to sign a document stating that I would not apply to change my status to that of an immigrant.

You have to leave the US and apply from the country of your citizenship in order to change your status to an immigrant.

My experience was over 15 years ago so the situation may have changed but I don't think it has.

[karder]

My wife is a permanent resident and I want to get her a CHL. She is not too keen on it though, so I have not pushed much. From what I can tell, neilp is correct about the process to change status. It is a red tape nightmare to get anything done with INS. That aside, from what I have read, a permanent resident should be fine to get a CHL. I don't believe that DPS can legally refuse you. Just my uneducated opinion though.

[DoubleActionCHL]

I'm not familiar with the distinctions between all the different immigrant categories, but I do know that DPS accepts legal "Resident Aliens" for CHL, provided you meet the other eligibility requirements. This means you have a valid green card and are, I assume, on the path to citizenship. DPS requests that you provide color copies of your green card (front and back), the ID page of your passport, and a copy of your birth certificate (if possible). The more information you can provide, the quicker the background check goes.

They've specifically stated that work visas, student visas, etc. do not qualify.

[Dudley]

You should look into a Utah license. They used to issue to foreigners.

[ghostrider]

There's a good summary here:

http://www.vrolyk.org/guns/alien-laws.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

More info here:
http://www.atf.gov/firearms/form6nia/faqs.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Kevinf2349]

I'm not familiar with the distinctions between all the different immigrant categories, but I do know that DPS accepts legal "Resident Aliens" for CHL, provided you meet the other eligibility requirements. This means you have a valid green card and are, I assume, on the path to citizenship. DPS requests that you provide color copies of your green card (front and back), the ID page of your passport, and a copy of your birth certificate (if possible). The more information you can provide, the quicker the background check goes.

They've specifically stated that work visas, student visas, etc. do not qualify.

All they needed from me was the Green card front and back.....of course I had to send in copies of my citizenship certificate when that came in before the CHL (Yes...the USCIS actually turned my citizenship around quicker than the TXDPS did with my CHL!...whoda thunk it? )

[ghostrider]

>You have to leave the US and apply from the country of your citizenship in order to change your
>status to an immigrant.



Not to stray from the original question, but it depends on what non-immigrant status or visa you entered the US on. On some types of work visas it is perfectly legal (and expected) to apply for immigrant status while still in the US.