Which Immigration Documents to Keep Ready (and Where to Keep Them)
The document you need most urgently is almost always the one in a drawer at somebody else's house. Here is the list worth digitising this week.
Updated August 18, 2026
Paperwork fails people in a very specific way. It is not usually lost. It is simply somewhere else, at the exact moment it is needed, and the one person who knows where it is cannot be reached. This checklist is about removing that failure mode.
United States
- Green card (Permanent Resident Card, Form I-551)
- Employment Authorization Document (EAD)
- I-94 arrival and departure record
- I-797 USCIS approval or receipt notices
- Visa pages and passport biographic page
- DACA approval notice, if applicable
- I-20 or DS-2019 for students
- Birth certificates and naturalization certificates
- Your A-number, recorded somewhere you can reach
Gulf states
- Iqama or residence permit, both sides
- Emirates ID, both sides
- Passport biographic page and visa page
- Exit and re-entry visa, where applicable
- Labour contract and sponsor details
- Attested educational and professional certificates
Europe
- Residence permit card, both sides
- Registration certificate or biometric residence permit
- Passport biographic page and any visa pages
- Proof of address and employment documentation
Where to keep them
The requirements are unglamorous but strict. Storage has to be reachable without a laptop, without the person who filed it, and often without a signal. It also has to be private, because these are exactly the documents you do not want sitting in a general-purpose cloud drive or a messaging thread.
- On your phone, not on a shelf
- Encrypted, and locked behind biometrics or a PIN
- Available offline
- Shareable deliberately, not by default
- With expiry dates recorded, so renewals are never a surprise
Stop checking manually
Get warned 90 days before it expires
ICEProof keeps your documents encrypted on your phone, tracks every expiry date, and alerts your trusted contacts with your location in one tap. It works offline, and nothing is uploaded to a server.
- Alerts at 90, 60 and 30 days
- AES-256 encryption on device
- Face ID, Touch ID and PIN lock
- Contacts need no app installed
Frequently asked questions
Is it safe to keep photos of immigration documents on my phone?
In your camera roll, no. Those images are typically unencrypted and often synced to general-purpose cloud storage. The safer approach is an app that encrypts documents on the device and locks them behind biometrics or a PIN.
Should I carry my original green card or a copy?
Lawful permanent residents over 18 are generally required to carry their green card. A digital copy is not a substitute for the original, but it is valuable as a backup and for sharing details with an attorney or family member quickly.
What is an A-number and why does it matter?
An alien registration number is the unique identifier immigration authorities use for your case. Attorneys, detention locators, and case status systems all rely on it, so it is worth recording somewhere you can reach under pressure.