Buying a Gun in the USA with a Green Card: Form 4473 and NICS

This page is for permanent residents: everyone who has a green card or will get one soon. If you live in the USA lawfully and permanently, the firearms ban for visa holders does not apply to you. What remains is the purchase itself, and every state has its own rules for it. Here it is step by step, from residence through Form 4473 and the FBI check to the rules in Texas, Florida, California and New York.

This page is for permanent residents: everyone who has a green card or will get one soon. If you live in the USA lawfully and permanently, the firearms ban for visa holders does not apply to you. What remains is the purchase itself, and every state has its own rules for it. Here it is step by step, from residence through Form 4473 and the FBI check to the rules in Texas, Florida, California and New York. The framework for all non-citizens is explained in Gun ownership in the USA as a foreigner; if you are still in the country on an E-2, L-1 or H-1B, read Guns on a visa first.

First, the line that appears on every one of these pages: whether you may buy or own a gun depends on your status and your state. Both need checking before any purchase. This page describes the rules; it does not replace a review of your case. And it recommends neither guns nor dealers.

1What the green card changes, and what it doesn't

Immigration law defines permanent residence in 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(20) as the status of having been granted the privilege of residing permanently in the USA as an immigrant. For gun law, the consequence is simple. The ATF answers the question of whether a green card holder is a nonimmigrant with a clear no: they are a permanent resident. The ban in 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(5)(B), which bars E-2 investors and L-1 managers without a hunting license from possessing firearms, therefore does not apply.

What does not go away are the other prohibitions in § 922(g), which apply to citizens just the same: a conviction for a crime punishable by more than one year in prison, a protective order, a domestic violence conviction, use of controlled substances under federal law and a few more. And one difference from citizens remains, and it shows at the dealer: as a non-citizen you give your Alien Number, and the check queries the immigration authorities.

For many Europeans, this is the moment America feels different from home. No proof of need, no authority issuing a permit before you buy, at least not in Texas. Whether you find that liberating or strange is a matter of temperament; the rules are the same.

2Before you buy: state of residence and age

The first point is residence. Under § 922(b)(3), a federally licensed dealer, a Federal Firearms Licensee or FFL, may not sell a gun to anyone who does not live in the dealer's state. There is an exception for rifles and shotguns: the dealer may hand them over in person to residents of another state if the sale is legal in both states. There is no such exception for handguns. If you live in Texas and want to buy a pistol in Florida, you have to have it shipped to a dealer in Texas and pick it up there.

Under 27 CFR § 478.11, residence means living in a state with the intention of making a home there. The regulation expressly says a second home counts, as long as you actually live there. If you have just moved, in practice you prove residence with state identity documents; California, for example, requires a California driver's license or ID card and, for handguns, an additional proof of residency. How to get proof of address in your first weeks is covered in our guide Proof of Address.

The second point is age. Under § 922(b)(1), a dealer sells rifles, shotguns and their ammunition from age 18, and all other guns and ammunition, mainly handguns, from 21. Florida goes further: § 790,065(13) Florida Statutes bars anyone under 21 from buying a firearm, with exceptions for police, corrections officers and military personnel. California also bars dealers from selling to anyone under 21, but allows exceptions from 18 for guns other than handguns, for example with a valid California hunting license.

3At the dealer: Form 4473

When you buy from a dealer, you fill out ATF Form 4473. Its contents are set by 27 CFR § 478,124: name, sex, residence address including county, date and place of birth, height, weight, citizenship, the Alien Number or Admission Number issued by the Department of Homeland Security, and state of residence. You also certify that no law prohibits you from possessing a firearm and that you are not buying the gun for someone else who may not have one.

According to the ATF, the Alien Number is a seven-, eight- or nine-digit number that the Department of Homeland Security assigned when it opened your file; it is printed on your green card. Without it, the dealer may not sell to a non-citizen. Your Social Security number, on the other hand, is expressly optional under § 478,124; it only helps avoid being confused with someone else.

The dealer verifies your identity against a valid photo ID, as required by § 922(t)(1)(D), and records which document you showed. Take your time with the form. False statements on the 4473 are a crime under § 922(a)(6), punishable under § 924(a)(2) by up to ten years in prison, and as a foreigner you pay twice for a conviction, as the last section shows.

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4The NICS check

After the form, the dealer queries the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, NICS for short. Depending on the state, the query goes directly to the FBI or to a state agency acting as the NICS Point of Contact. According to the FBI's annual report for 2024, the FBI itself runs the checks in 31 states, including Texas, while California, Florida and New York are among the 15 states that handle all checks themselves.

Usually the answer comes within minutes. The FBI reports an immediate determination rate of 91.87 percent for 2024. If it takes longer, § 922(t) applies: if the system reports no prohibition within three business days, the dealer may transfer the gun under federal law. For non-citizens, the FBI report notes an extra step: the NICS section asks the immigration agency ICE whether the person is lawfully present in the USA. As a green card holder, you should therefore expect a check that may take a little longer than your American neighbor's.

A permit that the ATF has recognized as an alternative to the NICS check, such as the Texas License to Carry, can spare you the query. According to the ATF, you still have to give your Alien Number. How many checks run each year and how many are denied is on our page Guns by the numbers.

5Texas: no waiting period, no permit to purchase

Texas is the simplest of the four states. The firearms chapter of the Penal Code, Chapter 46, has neither a state waiting period nor a permit you need before buying. The dealer's check runs through the FBI's NICS. If you hold a Texas License to Carry, the Texas Department of Public Safety says you can use it as an alternative to the NICS check when buying; the dealer confirms through a DPS query that the license qualifies.

Carrying is open to green card holders in Texas, too. Since September 1, 2021, § 46.02 of the Penal Code allows anyone aged 21 or older who is not legally prohibited from possessing a firearm to carry a handgun, concealed or openly in a holster. The License to Carry is still useful, for example in other states and at certain locations. How to apply is explained on our page Texas License to Carry.

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6Florida: three days and an age limit

In Florida, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement runs the check. Under § 790,065 Florida Statutes, the dealer may only sell after receiving the state form, collecting a fee of no more than $8 per transaction and obtaining an approval number. On top of that comes the waiting period under § 790.0655: three days excluding weekends and legal holidays, or until the check is complete, whichever is later.

The waiting period does not apply if you hold a concealed carry license, if you trade in another firearm, or if you buy a rifle or shotgun after completing a hunter safety course of at least 16 hours. In Florida you can carry concealed with or without a license, but only if you meet the requirements for the license; under § 790.06(2)(a), one of them is being a US citizen or permanent resident. So a green card is enough, a visa is not. There is more on life in the Sunshine State on our Florida page.

7California: ten days and a certificate

California is the strictest of the four states. According to the California Department of Justice, almost every purchase and transfer goes through a California dealer, including private sales and sales at gun shows, using the Dealer Record of Sale process, DROS for short. After that comes a waiting period of ten times 24 hours from the report to the DOJ. If you don't pick up the firearm within 30 days, the sale is cancelled.

Before the report is filed, you need a Firearm Safety Certificate. To get one, you answer at least 23 of 30 questions correctly (75 percent) in front of a DOJ-certified instructor. As proof of identity and age, the DOJ accepts a California driver's license or ID card. If you are not a US citizen, you prove lawful presence with a document showing your Alien Registration Number or I-94 number. For handguns, you also need proof of residency and a safe handling demonstration with the firearm you are buying. Under Penal Code § 27535, you may not apply for more than three firearms within 30 days. You can only carry concealed with a license from your county sheriff or your city's police chief; California does not recognize licenses from other states.

8New York: license first, then the gun

New York puts the license before the purchase. To own a handgun, you need a license under Penal Law § 400.00, issued by the licensing officer of the city or county where you live. Applicants must be at least 21 years old (with an exception for honorably discharged veterans) and, as non-citizens, must not be in the country unlawfully or admitted on a nonimmigrant visa. That leaves the door open for green card holders.

Semi-automatic rifles require a separate license under § 400.00. To carry concealed, you need a carry license and must first complete an in-person course of at least 16 hours plus at least two hours of live-fire training. The state runs the NICS check itself. For everything else that makes New York what it is, see our New York page.

9What puts your green card at risk

A green card means permanent residence, but not residence you can never lose. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(C), any noncitizen convicted after admission of buying, selling, possessing or carrying a firearm in violation of any law is deportable. That covers federal and state law alike, so it includes owning a handgun without the license New York requires. This is where the gap between you and a citizen is widest: what is a fine for your neighbor can be the end of your stay for you.

Your path to citizenship depends on it too. To naturalize, you must show good moral character, and under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(f)(8) a conviction for an aggravated felony rules that out. Our guide Becoming a US citizen explains how naturalization works. For the purchase itself, the principle this page started with still holds: your status and your state decide, and you check both before every purchase, especially after moving to another state.

In short

• Green card holders are not nonimmigrants; when buying a gun, the same disqualifications apply to them as to citizens.
• You buy in your state of residence: dealers sell handguns only to residents of their own state, and federal law requires buyers at a dealer to be 18 for rifles and shotguns and 21 for handguns.
• Form 4473 asks for your citizenship, Alien Number and state of residence; NICS then runs the check, which for non-citizens includes a query to immigration authorities.
• Texas has no state waiting period, Florida has three days, California ten days plus a safety certificate, and New York requires a license for handguns.
• A firearms offense can make even permanent residents deportable; check your status and your state before every purchase.

How we help you

• Visa RoadmapIn writing: which visa fits you and your family, prepared with the immigration attorney on the firm's team.
• Moving to the USAVisa, bank account, taxes and where to live: your move with Mount Bonnell Advisors.
• Visa and Green Card ConsultationWhich route to the USA fits you, settled in one conversation.