Persons who obtain their green cards while in the United States do not need to do any additional paperwork to obtain permanent residency. However, those who successfully complete an application for permanent residence at a U.S. consulate abroad (i.e., “consular process” abroad) do not obtain a green card immediately. These people are issued an immigrant visa at the consulate, not a green card. The immigrant visa must be used within six months to enter the U.S. Once the person enters the U.S., he/she can then claim the green card. If those who “consular process” do not act in time, the immigrant visa will expire and the right to a green card will be lost.
Once you receive a green card, you must “maintain” it by being careful not to commit any crimes that may lead to deportation or bar you from returning to the U.S. should you travel abroad. Also, you should not abandon the U.S. as your permanent residence. “Residence” for immigration purposes refers to where you intend to make your home at the time you depart the U.S. When you leave the U.S., if you do not plan to make your home somewhere outside of the U.S., then you are still considered a U.S. resident. Sometimes, however, Immigration will try to determine what your intentions were by looking at the things you did and said at the time you departed the U.S. For instance, if you stay outside the U.S. for more than a year, and do not obtain a reentry permit before leaving the U.S., Immigration will probably decide that you have abandoned your green card.
In general, anyone who tries to enter the U.S. as a permanent resident must either have a visa or a visa substitute, such as a green card. If you are away longer than a year, you may not be able to use your green card to get back in. Even if you do return before one year, you may be subject to “deferred inspection”. Deferred inspection is a requirement that you check in with the Immigration Office closest to your home in the U.S., so that Immigration can decide whether or not you have given up your green card. It is best to come back to the U.S. within six months in order to avoid this procedure.
Even if you entered the U.S. at least once a year, you may lose your green card. The rule is, do not leave the U.S. at any time with the intention of making some other country your permanent home. If you do, and Immigration has access to evidence that your intent was to make your home in another country, you will lose your green card.
Intent is the key, not time away from the country. As such, remaining outside the U.S. for more than one year does not mean you have automatically given up your green card. If your absence was intended from the start to be only temporary, be sure to take documents and other proof with you on your trip that show you have strong ties to the U.S.. Be sure to meet with an experienced immigration attorney before you leave the U.S. in order to determine which documents and proof you will need, and for assistance in obtaining a reentry permit, if necessary.
Reentry permits are for people who hold green cards and who will stay outside the U.S. for more than one year. With a reentry permit, Immigration will allow a green card holder to stay away from the U.S. for up to two years. The reentry permit is applied for before leaving the U.S. It cannot be renewed and must be applied for while the green card holder is still inside the U.S.
If you stay outside the U.S. for more than one year, you must apply to a U.S. consulate abroad for a special immigrant visa as a returning resident, if you do not have a reentry permit. To get the special immigrant visa, you must prove to the consular officer that your absence from the U.S. has been temporary and you never planned to abandon your U.S. residence. You must have a very good reason for failing to return to the U.S. within one year, and must document this reason very thoroughly, or you will lose your green card.
About
the author: Kathleen Lord-Black is a U.S. immigration lawyer. Her offices
are located in Vancouver, British Columbia. She has served as Immigration
Consultant for the San Francisco Public Defenders Office, 2005 Chair of the
Immigration Section of the Barristers Club of the Bar Association of San
Francisco, and former Congressional liaison for U.S. Representative Farr. Ms.
Lord-Black is an active member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the American Chamber of Commerce in Vancouver,
and the American Civil Liberties Union. Her articles regularly appear in the
Bay Area Arabic-language newspaper, Alra’i Alarabi. Ms. Lord-Black can be
reached via email at kathleen@kathleenlord.com; and by telephone at (360) 329-2436 (U.S.) and (604) 352-2006 (Canada). www.immigration-etats-unis.com
