By Monica Ganjoo
Question: If a legal permanent resident has remained out of the United States for more than six months but less than one year, does it mean that he/she has abandoned his/her green card?
Answer: Not necessarily. You can present your green card at the port of entry after a temporary absence abroad that does not exceed one year. However, if a legal permanent resident stays out of the United States for over one year, he/she may not use that green card to enter the United States with.
Question: If the legal permanent resident has been out of the United States more than a year, and he cannot use his green card at the port of entry to enter the United States, does it mean that he is no longer a legal permanent resident?
Answer: Not necessarily. There is a difference between the validity of a green card as a travel document and the continued viability of the legal permanent resident’s claim to resident status. Whether someone has abandoned his legal permanent resident depends on “intent” rather than the amount of time he has spent outside of the United States.
Question: What is the meaning of “temporary visit abroad”?
Answer: California is governed by the Ninth Circuit. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal’s interpretation is: A trip is “temporary visit abroad” if (a) it is for a relatively short period, fixed by some early event; or (b) the trip will terminate upon the occurrence of an event that has a reasonable possibility of occurring within a relatively short period of time – if as in (b) the length of visit is contingent upon the occurrence of an event and is not fixed in time and if the event does not occur within a relatively short period of time, the visit will be considered “temporary visit abroad” only if the alien has a continuous, uninterrupted intention to return to the United States during the visit (Singh v. Reno, 113 F.3d 1512).
Question: What are the main factors that determine if someone has abandoned his legal permanent resident status or not?
Answer: The main thing to look at is the person’s “intent.” The factors that determine “intent” are: family ties in the United States, property holdings, jobs in the United States, duration of residence in the United States, and the person’s family ties, property, and business ties in the foreign country that he was visiting.
Question: If a legal permanent resident has been outside of the United States for less than a year, it is possible that she can still be found to have abandoned her legal permanent residence status?
Answer: Yes, even though her green card is still valid at the port of entry, the Border Patrol Officer can still find that she has abandoned her legal permanent resident status. The Officer may find that if she does not have strong ties in the United States (such as family, residence, employment, etc.), then she does not necessarily need a green card. It may be better for this person to obtain a visa at the United States Consulate abroad if they just want to “visit” the United States.
Question: If a Re-entry Permit is obtained, can a legal permanent resident remain out of the United States for a long period of time?
Answer: Possibly. One must understand that having a Re-entry Permit does not prevent a Border Patrol Officer from finding that the person has abandoned his legal permanent resident status. Having this permit only prevents the officer from relying solely on the duration of the person’s absence to determine abandonment. The officer may still investigate the absence, not as a reflection of the person’s intent, but to find out if the activities outside of the United States could make the person inadmissible.
Question: How does a person obtain a Re-entry Permit?
Answer: The Department of Homeland Security issues Re-entry Permits. The legal permanent resident will have to report to have his fingerprints taken. However, after the completion of the fingerprints, he may leave the United States before the approval of the Re-entry Permit.
Question: If a legal permanent resident did not obtain a Re-entry Permit, and stayed out of the United States for more than a year, is it too late?
Answer: Not necessarily. This person can apply for a Special Immigrant Visa
(SB-1) at a United States Consulate. Under 22 CFR Section 42.22, a legal permanent resident shall be classifiable as a special immigrant under INA (a)(27)(A) if the consular officer is satisfied that: (1) The alien had the status of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence at the time of departure from the United States; (2) The alien departed from the United States with the intention of returning and has not abandoned that intention; and (3) The alien is returning to the United States form a temporary visit abroad and, if the stay abroad was protracted, this was caused by reasons beyond the alien’s control and for which the alien was not responsible. Further, the person must prove that he/she had a definite reason for traveling abroad temporarily, that the visit abroad had a termination date that was relatively short, and that the person had a home and a job in the United States.
For more information, call Attorney Monica Ganjoo for a consultation.
Ganjoo Law Offices currently offer a consultation with Attorney Monica Ganjoo in San Francisco or San Jose for $25. The Staff of Ganjoo Law Offices speak a total of six different languages. For a $25 consultation with Monica Ganjoo, call one of her offices below:
870 Market Street, Suite 340
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 495-3710
111 W. St. John Street, Suite 513
San Jose, CA 95113
(408) 975-0500
Question: If a legal permanent resident has remained out of the United States for more than six months but less than one year, does it mean that he/she has abandoned his/her green card?
Answer: Not necessarily. You can present your green card at the port of entry after a temporary absence abroad that does not exceed one year. However, if a legal permanent resident stays out of the United States for over one year, he/she may not use that green card to enter the United States with.
Question: If the legal permanent resident has been out of the United States more than a year, and he cannot use his green card at the port of entry to enter the United States, does it mean that he is no longer a legal permanent resident?
Answer: Not necessarily. There is a difference between the validity of a green card as a travel document and the continued viability of the legal permanent resident’s claim to resident status. Whether someone has abandoned his legal permanent resident depends on “intent” rather than the amount of time he has spent outside of the United States.
Question: What is the meaning of “temporary visit abroad”?
Answer: California is governed by the Ninth Circuit. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal’s interpretation is: A trip is “temporary visit abroad” if (a) it is for a relatively short period, fixed by some early event; or (b) the trip will terminate upon the occurrence of an event that has a reasonable possibility of occurring within a relatively short period of time – if as in (b) the length of visit is contingent upon the occurrence of an event and is not fixed in time and if the event does not occur within a relatively short period of time, the visit will be considered “temporary visit abroad” only if the alien has a continuous, uninterrupted intention to return to the United States during the visit (Singh v. Reno, 113 F.3d 1512).
Question: What are the main factors that determine if someone has abandoned his legal permanent resident status or not?
Answer: The main thing to look at is the person’s “intent.” The factors that determine “intent” are: family ties in the United States, property holdings, jobs in the United States, duration of residence in the United States, and the person’s family ties, property, and business ties in the foreign country that he was visiting.
Question: If a legal permanent resident has been outside of the United States for less than a year, it is possible that she can still be found to have abandoned her legal permanent residence status?
Answer: Yes, even though her green card is still valid at the port of entry, the Border Patrol Officer can still find that she has abandoned her legal permanent resident status. The Officer may find that if she does not have strong ties in the United States (such as family, residence, employment, etc.), then she does not necessarily need a green card. It may be better for this person to obtain a visa at the United States Consulate abroad if they just want to “visit” the United States.
Question: If a Re-entry Permit is obtained, can a legal permanent resident remain out of the United States for a long period of time?
Answer: Possibly. One must understand that having a Re-entry Permit does not prevent a Border Patrol Officer from finding that the person has abandoned his legal permanent resident status. Having this permit only prevents the officer from relying solely on the duration of the person’s absence to determine abandonment. The officer may still investigate the absence, not as a reflection of the person’s intent, but to find out if the activities outside of the United States could make the person inadmissible.
Question: How does a person obtain a Re-entry Permit?
Answer: The Department of Homeland Security issues Re-entry Permits. The legal permanent resident will have to report to have his fingerprints taken. However, after the completion of the fingerprints, he may leave the United States before the approval of the Re-entry Permit.
Question: If a legal permanent resident did not obtain a Re-entry Permit, and stayed out of the United States for more than a year, is it too late?
Answer: Not necessarily. This person can apply for a Special Immigrant Visa
(SB-1) at a United States Consulate. Under 22 CFR Section 42.22, a legal permanent resident shall be classifiable as a special immigrant under INA (a)(27)(A) if the consular officer is satisfied that: (1) The alien had the status of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence at the time of departure from the United States; (2) The alien departed from the United States with the intention of returning and has not abandoned that intention; and (3) The alien is returning to the United States form a temporary visit abroad and, if the stay abroad was protracted, this was caused by reasons beyond the alien’s control and for which the alien was not responsible. Further, the person must prove that he/she had a definite reason for traveling abroad temporarily, that the visit abroad had a termination date that was relatively short, and that the person had a home and a job in the United States.
For more information, call Attorney Monica Ganjoo for a consultation.
Ganjoo Law Offices currently offer a consultation with Attorney Monica Ganjoo in San Francisco or San Jose for $25. The Staff of Ganjoo Law Offices speak a total of six different languages. For a $25 consultation with Monica Ganjoo, call one of her offices below:
870 Market Street, Suite 340
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 495-3710
111 W. St. John Street, Suite 513
San Jose, CA 95113
(408) 975-0500
No comments:
Post a Comment