OPINION-US VISA | IMMIGRATION CORNER | Are green card holders at risk under Trump?
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There have been several news reports and viral videos concerning lawful permanent residents (LPR or green card holders) having their green cards taken away or revoked and then being in removal or deportation proceedings. This has caused much anxiety and concern for many green card holders, and they are worried that Trump may come after them.
How is it possible that the US government can take away a person’s green card? What can a green card holder do to defend and protect themselves, because if their green card is taken away, they can be deported.
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By law, it is definitely possible for green card holders to lose their green card or have their status revoked for a number of different reasons. These include:
• Abandonment. This is where a green card holder might typically treat his or her green card as though it was a visitor visa, coming to the US for perhaps a few weeks a year but actually living abroad because of employment and/or family-related issues. Or they like their home country and prefer to live there most of the time. Staying outside the US for over a year without a re-entry permit could also be considered abandonment of their green card, and they could be put in deportation/removal proceedings, where a judge will determine if they have abandoned their green card.
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• Signing a Form I-407, also known as the Record of Abandonment of Lawful Permanent Resident Status. It is used to formally abandon your status as an LPR. There were recent news reports on how an LPR was returning from a trip abroad and, upon arrival in the US, signed a Form I-407 at the airport, effectively resulting in them abandoning their green card. There were a few details provided on the circumstances of that incident, but many green card holders were expressing fear about traveling outside the US, as they might be required or forced to sign an I-407. What may have happened in that situation, and this is only my guess or opinion, is that the green card holder may have been spending most of his or her time outside the US or possibly had spent more than a year outside the US on a single trip, which could result in being considered to have abandoned their green card, and they faced the possibility of being placed in removal proceedings and may have agreed to abandon their lawful permanent resident status and be allowed into the US on parole, with the proviso that thereafter they should obtain a visitor visa. Again, the facts were not clear. Still, signing a Form I-407, regardless of the circumstances, is serious, and I would advise not signing the form until you’ve had the opportunity to speak with an attorney, even if you have to tell the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that you’d rather see a judge and an attorney before signing that form.
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• Obtaining lawful permanent resident status through fraud. If a person was not eligible for a green card, or lied on their applications, this could be grounds for their green card to be revoked and/or having them put in removal proceedings. For example, a person is being petitioned as unmarried by their lawful permanent resident parent. This requires that they remain single up until the time they receive their green card. If they marry before getting a green card, the petition is void. However, if they continue to claim they are single and get the green card, it was obviously obtained through fraud, putting their green card at risk. Similarly, if a person is obtaining a green card through marriage, but they did not terminate a prior marriage and failed to disclose it, or the marriage is fixed, they also obtained a marital green card through fraud.
• Providing material support to terrorist organizations. This particular ground is in the news today, where a Columbia graduate, who obtained his green card through marriage, has been detained and Secretary of State Marco Rubio is revoking his green card. The grounds for revoking his green card appear to be that he concealed or lied about his support of Hamas, a designated terrorist organization. When applying for a visitor visa, student visa or green card, there are questions about whether a person has provided support for a terrorist organization. It is likely he responded “no” to those questions. The US believes he did support Hamas, whether it was handing out Hamas-produced flyers, encouraging or organizing the takeover and vandalizing of college buildings, etc. According to Secretary Rubio, had this person truthfully disclosed this information, he would have never been issued a visa. Therefore, it would be a combination of supporting a terrorist organization and fraud in securing a visa.
• Committing a deportable crime. After a person obtains a green card, they could still be deported if they commit certain crimes, especially aggravated felonies, etc. They may go to jail and, after serving their sentence, can be placed in removal proceedings. Sometimes, they plead guilty and serve no time in jail, but the guilty plea makes them deportable. Many green card holders are “caught” when they return from a trip abroad or when they file for naturalization.
These are some of the ways by which a green card holder could be at risk of being deported or having their green card revoked. If you are a green card holder and you believe your status is at risk, or you want to file for US citizenship but may have issues, I would highly recommend that you consult with an immigration attorney who can evaluate your situation and either resolve the problem or advise you on the best course of action.
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