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A legal permanent resident (LPR) of the
United States (US) has permission to stay in the US on a permanent
basis with almost unrestricted work authorization. However, unlike a
US citizen, an LPR can lose his or her immigration status,
intentionally or unintentionally.
Below is a discussion of common ways
that an LPR can lose his or her immigration status:
-
Becoming a US citizen
-
Relinquishing permanent residence
-
Finding of
abandonment
-
Finding of inadmissibility or removability
1. US
Citizenship
An LPR who is sworn in as a US citizen
automatically loses his or her permanent resident status.
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2.
Relinquishing LPR Status
An LPR may voluntarily give up his or
her permanent resident status by signing a form before a US consular
officer or immigration officer that affirmatively states that the
LPR is giving up his or her permanent resident status.
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3. Abandonment
Although an LPR only needs his or her
green card to reenter the US after an absence of less than one year,
a green card alone is not enough to indicate the intent to remain a
resident of the US.
A green card holder who has been absent
from the US frequently or for an extended period of time may be
questioned at the port of entry and asked to prove that he or she
has not abandoned permanent residence status. If an immigration
officer finds that the LPR has moved to another country with the
intent to live there permanently, the LPR may be found to have
abandoned his or her permanent resident status.
In assessing the Intent, the immigration
officer may consider the following questions:
-
Did the LPR intend to reside
permanently in the US, both during the time the LPR lived in the
US and any time that the LPR was outside the US?
-
What proof does the LPR have that he
or she intends to reside permanently in the US?
-
How much time has the LPR spent in
the US after becoming a permanent resident?
Absences from the US of more than six
month may raise a rebuttable presumption that the LPR intended to
abandon his or her permanent resident status. Absences from the US
of more than one year may result in the invalidation of permanent
resident status unless the LPR holds a valid re-entry permit or
returning resident visa. (An LPR may be given permission to remain
outside of the United States for more than 2 years if he or she is
issued a reentry permit prior to the trip.)
Other factors immigration officers may
consider when making a finding of abandonment include are
noncompliance with tax regulations (i.e. filing as a nonresident, or
failing to file taxes while living outside the US), and
noncompliance with selective service requirements.
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4.
Inadmissibility or
Removability
More seriously, an LPR may lose his or
her status if found inadmissible or removable (deportable) from the
US. Some circumstances that would lead to such a finding include
(but are not limited to):
-
engaging in illegal activity outside
the US;
-
departing from the United States
while under legal process seeking removal of the alien from the
US;
-
attempting to enter the US at a time
or place other than as designated by immigration officers or not
admitted to the US after inspection and authorization by an
immigration officer;
-
committing an offense identified in
INA § 212(a)(2), unless the alien was granted relief for those
offenses. Offenses include (but are not limited to) criminal
offenses that involve controlled substances, firearms, alien
smuggling, and domestic abuse.
With increasing focus on immigration
enforcement and information sharing between US government agencies,
an LPR who has committed a criminal violation is more likely to be
detected. Two common ways of being detected are when an LPR is
seeking to be readmitted into the US after a trip, and when an LPR
is arrested.
Due to the serious
immigration consequences of criminal
activities, an LPR who has committed a crime, or has been
convicted of any crimes, should seek out reliable legal assistance
as soon as possible.
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