Being a legal permanent resident of the United States (“LPR” or “Green card holder”) means that you have new rights and responsibilities. As a permanent resident, you have the right to:
- Live permanently in the United States provided you do not commit any actions that would make you removable under immigration law.
- Work in the United States at any legal work of your qualification and choosing. (Please note that some jobs may be limited to U.S. citizens for security reasons).
- Be protected by all laws of the United States, your state of residence and local jurisdictions.
- Rights and Responsibilities of a Green Card Holder (Permanent Resident)
As a permanent resident, you are (Responsibilities as a Permanent Resident:
- Required to obey all laws of the United States the states, and localities.
- Required to file your income tax returns and report your income to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and state taxing authorities.
- Expected to support the democratic form of government and not to change the government through illegal means.
- Required, if you are a male age 18 through 25, to register with the Selective Service.
Maintaining Permanent Residence
Once you become a lawful permanent resident, you maintain permanent resident status until you:
- Apply for and complete the naturalization process; or
- Lose or abandon your status.
There are several scenarios which could trigger a loss of lawful permanent resident status:
- Being Outside the United States continuously for not more than 180 days (6 months)
Generally, being outside the U.S. continuously for not more than 180 days will not result in a loss of permanent resident status.
Even a shorter absences from U.S. can trigger abandonment if upon reentry the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer determines that you intended to live outside the United States. Your failure to file income taxes with the IRS while living outside the U.S. can trigger an abandonment unless you are exempt from filing a tax return.
2. Being Outside the United States continuously for more than 180 but less than 1 year
If you remain outside the U.S. continuously for more than 180 days but less than 1 year, then you will be considered “seeking admission into the United States” for immigration laws.
These individuals would have to establish their admissibility to the satisfaction of the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer. This is done as part of the inspection process. The officer will examine if the traveler who is applying for admission into the United States could be inadmissible under Immigration and Nationality law. So you should be able to first show that you have not abandoned your permanent residency, and that you are admissible into the U.S.
3. Being Outside the United States continuously for one (1) year or more
Generally, living outside the U.S. for 1 year or more will result in a loss of permanent resident status. Your Permanent Resident Card becomes technically invalid for reentry into the United States if you are absent from the United States for 1 year or more.
Your U.S. permanent residence may be considered as abandoned for absences shorter than 1 year if you take up residence in another country.
Your failure to file income taxes with the IRS while living outside the U.S. can trigger an abandonment. If you intent to live outside the U.S. for 1 year or more, your should consider to file a reentry permit before you leave the U.S. and plan to leave U.S. only after the bio-metric appointment is complete. This establishes that you did not intend to abandon status, and it allows you to apply for admission to the United States after traveling abroad for up to 2 years without having to obtain a returning resident visa. Reentry permits are normally valid for 2 years from the date of issuance. Retry permit in of itself does NOT preserve your green card, you still have to maintain the green card status.
Obtaining a re-entry permit from USCIS before you leave, or a returning resident visa (SB-1) from a U.S. consulate while abroad, may assist you in showing that you intended only a temporary absence.
A former green card holder who has lost permanent resident status and wants to return to the United States as an immigrant must obtain a new immigrant visa.
A former immigrant who has lost permanent resident status and wants to return to the United States as an immigrant must obtain a new immigrant visa. In most cases, this means that the intending immigrant must re-apply. A U.S. relative (spouse, parent, offspring or sibling) may file an I-130 immigrant petition and the intending immigrant can apply through consular processing once the visa petition is approved and a visa is immediately available.
In some cases, the former permanent resident may apply for a returning resident visa. An application for returning resident status requires evidence of the applicant’s continuing, unbroken ties to the United States, that the stay outside the United States was truly beyond the applicant’s control and that the intent of the applicant was to always return to the United States. Evidence may consist of continuous compliance with U.S. tax law, ownership of property and assets in the United States and maintenance of U.S. licenses and memberships. Having U.S. relatives, attending school overseas or stating an intent to return is generally insufficient. It’s best to seek the assistance of an immigration attorney when requesting a returning resident visa.
4. You give up your Green Card status
You can file the Form I-407 to voluntarily abandoned your status as a lawful permanent resident of the United States.
5. Fraud and Willful Misrepresentation
An applicant may be found inadmissible if he or she obtains an immigration benefit under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) either through:
- Fraud; or
- Willful misrepresentation.
6. Criminal Convictions
There are certain types of criminal offenses (typically violent crimes, drug-related crimes, terrorism, crimes of moral turpitude or multiple crimes, etc.) that are more likely to put a permanent resident in removal proceedings.
7. Failing to Remove Conditions on Residence
A lawful permanent resident on a conditional basis, based on marriage or a lawful permanent resident on a conditional basis, based on a qualifying investment may require you to remove the condition on your green card.
USCIS can terminate your conditional status as provided by the law or in the event of fraud.
You may be able to seek review of the termination of your status in a removal proceeding before an immigration judge.
Removal Proceedings
You will lose your permanent resident status if an immigration judge issues a final removal order against you.
Abandoning Permanent Resident Status
You may also lose your permanent resident status by intentionally abandoning it. You may be found to have abandoned your status if you:
- Move to another country, intending to live there permanently.
- Remain outside of the United States for an extended period of time, unless you intended this to be a temporary absence, as shown by:
- The reason for your trip;
- How long you intended to be absent from the United States;
- Any other circumstances of your absence; and
- Any events that may have prolonged your absence.
- Note: Obtaining a re-entry permit from USCIS before you leave, or a returning resident visa (SB-1) from a U.S. consulate while abroad, may assist you in showing that you intended only a temporary absence.
- Fail to file income tax returns while living outside of the United States for any period.
- Give your new address to USCIS within 10 days of each time you mov
- Declare yourself a “nonimmigrant” on your U.S. tax returns.
As a non-citizen, you are also required to report change in address to USCIS within 10 days of each time you move.
Reporting Loss of Permanent Resident Status
Internal Revenue Code section 6039G(d)(3) requires the Department of Homeland Security to inform the Internal Revenue Service if you lose permanent resident status because you:
- Have been ordered removed from the United States; or
- Chose to abandon your status and surrender your Green Card.
Continuous Residence Requirement for the Naturalization
Absences from the United States of six months or more may disrupt the continuous residency required for naturalization. If your absence is one year or longer and you wish to preserve your continuous residency in the United States for naturalization purposes, you may file an Application to Preserve Residence for Naturalization Purposes on Form N-470.
Absence of More than 6 Months (but Less than 1 Year)
An absence of more than 6 months (more than 180 days) but less than 1 year (less than 365 days) during the period for which continuous residence is required (also called “the statutory period”) is presumed to break the continuity of such residence. This includes any absence that takes place during the statutory period before the applicant files the naturalization application and any absence between the filing of the application and the applicant’s admission to citizenship. An applicant’s intent is not relevant in determining the location of his or her residence. The length of the period of absence from the United States is the defining factor in determining whether the applicant is presumed to have disrupted the continuity of his or her residence.
However, an applicant may overcome the presumption of a break in the continuity of residence by providing evidence to establish that the applicant did not disrupt the continuity of his or her residence. Such evidence may include, but is not limited to, documentation that during the absence:
- The applicant did not terminate his or her employment in the United States or obtain employment while abroad;
- The applicant’s immediate family members remained in the United States; and
- The applicant retained full access to or continued to own or lease a home in the United States.
Application to Preserve Residence for Naturalization Purposes
If you are a lawful permanent resident who must leave the United States for a period of one year or longer for “Certain employment purposes” includes working for the following, then you will have to apply to Preserve Residence for Naturalization Purposes:
- The U.S. government.
- An entity that is currently recognized by USCIS as an American institution of research.
- An American firm or corporation (or a subsidiary of that firm or corporation) where you engage in developing the foreign trade and commerce of the United States.
- An American firm or corporation engaged in the development of foreign trade and commerce of the United States, where you protect the property rights outside the United States of that American firm or corporation.
- A public international organization of which the United States is a member by treaty or statute.
- A denomination or mission that has a bona fide organization in the United States in which you perform ministerial or priestly functions or your sole role is a clergyman or clergywoman, missionary, brother, nun, or sister.
——————————————————————————————————–
Do contact us at (+1) 202 600 7742, or email us at info@adhikarilaw.com, if you want to learn more about this topic or in general or about our legal services.