- Messages
- 17,471
- Reactions
- 36,484
I thought it was legal for foreigners to possess firearms - rent them at a range etc.
18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(5)(B)
- Australian man living in Hawaii on an H-1B visa has a rifle in his garage. And federal law makes it a crime to knowingly possess a firearm while being an alien admitted under a nonimmigrant visa. But wait. Does that mean that government had to prove the man knew his visa was "nonimmigrant"? Just so, holds the Ninth Circuit. (But this guy totally knew, so conviction affirmed.)
PER CURIAM: Along with felons, illegal aliens, and other specified groups, Congress proscribed nonimmigrant-visa holders from lawfully possessing a firearm. 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(5)(B).
But to be penalized for violating this law under 18 U.S.C. § 924(a)(2),
Congress also required the nonimmigrant-visa holder's knowledge of his "relevant status" as a prohibited possessor.
Rehaif v. United States, 139 S. Ct. 2191, 2194 (2019)