How to Retaining Green card and details about Re-entry Permit - Immigration Forum Discussions about Visa Issues Green Card Diversity Visa Help Immigration Laws H-1B Fiance Visa

Mike · 11-02-2005, 05:14 PM

Retaining Greencard
You have gone through lengthy procedures and lot of effort to get your green card and now you would like to maintain it. This document describes the legal ways to maintain your permanent residence (greencard) in USA. It also describes how to avoid common mistakes. It describes some precautions to take.

It is very important to understand that you have been given greencard (permanent resident card) to stay here in USA permanently. That means, you must stay primarily in United States. You can travel outside United States for less than 6 months in a given year without having any problem in general. Absences abroad of more than six months but less than one (1) year create a reasonable presumption that you intended to abandon your residence. You must never abandon the intention of continuing to stay permanently in the United States. Once, you abandon that intention(such as by intending to reside permanently in some other country), you loose the right to keep your greencard. Please note that simply returning to the U.S. once a year for several weeks to use the Green card is not enough. In practice, USCIS may not catch you, but if they do, they can place you in exclusion proceedings (first step in canceling a greencard when a greencard holder is trying to enter the United States) when they do suspect that you are actually not living in the United States.

Get Re-entry Permit

Don’t leave the United States for an extended period of time or move to another country to live there permanently.

If you are planning to stay outside United States for more than 1 year but less than 2 years, you must get Re-entry Permit before leaving United States. This is an indication that the USCIS has accepted your explanation that your intention is to stay abroad for 1-2 years as a temporary matter. But if you repeatedly keep applying for re-entry permit, USCIS may deny your application as they would determine that you do not intend to keep your permanent residence in US.

File Form N-470, Application to Preserve Residence for Naturalization Purposes. Form N-470 lets you keep your residence status for naturalization purposes under certain circumstances.

File US Resident Tax Return
You should always file US resident tax return (Federal Form 1040) and also file any other application state, city or local taxes. You should NOT file non-resident return, Form 1040NR; even if all of your salary and wages were earned outside the US. Green card holders are considered residents of the US for income tax purposes, meaning that they have to file a US income tax return on their worldwide income, regardless of whether they are in the US or in another country. Claiming the benefits of a green card holder as a resident and taking advantage of the tax laws as a non-resident alien are in conflict, and that can invalidate your green card.

This does not necessarily mean that you must actually pay U.S. income taxes, it only means that you must file a resident tax return and declare your worldwide income on that return, even if most of this income is exempt from taxation. You will pay income tax only once on one income as number of countries have tax treaties with US. US residents are allowed to take advantage of the foreign earned income exclusion rules if they are nationals (citizens) of a country with an income tax treaty with a non-discrimination article. The non-discrimination article allows the exclusion of up to some income of foreign-source salary and wage income from taxation. This income is reported on the return and then, using Form 2555, the appropriate amount of the foreign earned income exclusion(section 911) is calculated and deducted on page one of the tax return. The non-discrimination does not allow the US to place a more burdensome US requirement on foreign nationals of the treaty country, who are also US tax residents, than the IRS places on US citizens.

This is a complex matter and you should consult your CPA who is aware of tax laws of both United States and the country you will be staying while on re-entry permit. You should keep copies of all tax returns you have filed as a resident, and bring these copies with you when entering the United States.

Keep your social security card in safe place and carry it with you when you return to United States.
After getting greencard, if you have not already received your social security card without any restriction( that permits you to work for any employee in United States), get the social security card before leaving United States. If you were in United States on non-immigrant visa such as H-1B or H4 and you had social security card that allowed to work with USCIS authorization or did not allow you to work at all, you should reapply to remove that restriction before departing United States. In that case, your SSN will remain same and you should receive your new card within about 10 days.

If you own real estate in the United States, do not sell it prior to leaving United States. Consider renting your house, condominium etc instead of selling it.
Maintain your main savings account in the United States. Some employers, when assigning an employee overseas, would continue to pay the employee in U.S. dollars, directly depositing the salary into the employee's U.S. account.
Maintain correspondence with all your friends and family in the United States.
Maintain a U.S. Address, even if the address is the home of a friend or relative. Do not have resort or hotel address as a US address. Do not use "care of" for your address, if possible.

Every time you move, you need to tell DHS your new address. You must file AR-11, Alien’s Change of Address Card. There is no fee to file this form. You must file this form within 10 days of your move.

Send Form AR-11 to:
Department of Homeland Security
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Change of Address
P.O. Box 7134
London, KY 40742-7134
Keep all your telephone bills showing various calls to the United States.
Continue to maintain your drivers license and all credit cards. Make sure that the address on your license is the same as that recorded on any immigration documents. Carry your drivers license when entering United States.
If you are male of age 19 to 25, be sure to register with selective service. When you register, tell the government that you are available to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces. The United States does not have a military draft now. LPRs and citizens are not asked to serve in the Armed Forces unless they want to.

You can register at a United States post office or on the Internet. To register for Selective Service on the Internet, visit the Selective Service website: http://www.sss.gov. To speak with someone from the Selective Service, call 1-847-688-6888. This is not a free call.
Keep your greencard valid and current, i.e., renew it before it expires.
Children who reach the age of 14 must file an application to replace their green card unless the prior card will expire before they reach age 16.
Document reasons for long stay abroad. If you are going to stay outside United States because of overseas transfer of by an employer, it is advisable to obtain a written employment contract or letter from your employer, that specifies the terms and length of employment. If the employment will lead to a transfer back to the U.S., or to a U.S. based affiliate of the foreign employer, the contract or statement should include this fact.
Do NOT return to the United States with a spouse and or children who are neither citizens nor green card holders, especially if they will be in the United States only a short time.
Do NOT arrive at a port of entry functioning as a gateway to a resort area.
Do NOT enter the United States on a round-trip ticket which terminates outside the United States.
Do NOT arrive via a chartered air carrier where nearly all passengers are nonimmigrant.
Do NOT return to the United States using any form of non-immigrant visa. For example, if you stay outside the U.S. for longer than one year, without having obtained a reentry permit, do NOT return to the United States on a tourist visa; instead, apply to the U.S. embassy/consulate in your home country for a Special Immigrant Visa.
Even if you take all of the above precautions, there is no guarantee the USCIS will not exclude you from entering the United States for other reasons, e.g., such as for committing a crime involving moral turpitude.

Mike · 11-02-2005, 05:15 PM

Your Rights and Responsibilities
As a lawful permanent resident (LPR), you are expected to respect and be loyal to the United States and to obey our country's laws. Being an LPR also means you have new rights and responsibilities.

Being an LPR is a "privilege" and not a "right". The U.S. government can take away your LPR status under certain conditions. You must maintain your LPR status if you want to live and work in the United States and become a U.S. citizen one day.

What you do now as an LPR(Legal Permanent Resident) can affect your ability to become a U.S. citizen later. The process of becoming a U.S. citizen is called “naturalization.” As an LPR, you have the right to:
Live and work permanently anywhere in the U.S.
Apply to become a U.S. citizen once you are eligible.
Request a visa for your husband or wife and unmarried children to live in the U.S.
Get Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, and Medicare benefits, if you are eligible.
Own property in the U.S.
Apply for a driver’s license in your state or territory.
Leave and return to the U.S. under certain conditions.
Attend public school and college.
Join certain branches of the U.S. Armed Forces.
Purchase or own a firearm, as long as there are no state or local restrictions saying you can’t.
As an LPR, it is your responsibility to:
Obey all federal, state, and local laws.
Pay federal, state, and local income taxes.
Register with the Selective Service (U.S. Armed Forces), if you are a male between ages 18 and 26. See page 11 for instructions.
Maintain your immigration status.
Carry proof of your LPR status at all times.
Give your new address in writing to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) within 10 days of each time you move.
LPRs must have a valid Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551) as proof of their legal status in the United States. Some people call this a “Green Card.” If you have been approved as an LPR and are waiting for your Permanent Resident Card, you must have an I-551 stamp or machine-readable visa in your passport showing you are approved. As an LPR, you must keep proof of your immigration status with you at all times. You must show it to an immigration officer if asked for it. Your card is valid for 10 years and must be renewed before it expires. Your Permanent Resident Card shows that you are allowed to live and work in the United States. You can also use your Permanent Resident Card to re-enter the United States if you were out of the country for less than 6 months. If you are outside the U.S. for more than 6 months, you may have to show additional documentation that you are eligible to re-enter the U.S. as an LPR.You may have to prove to the government that you have not given up your LPR status.

Conditional Residents
You may be in the U.S. as a conditional resident (CR). You are a CR if you were married for less than 2 years to your U.S. citizen or LPR spouse on the day your permanent residence status was granted. If you have children, they also may be CRs. Some immigrant investors are also conditional residents.

A CR has the same rights and responsibilities as an LPR. Conditional residents must file either Form I-751 Petition to Remove the Conditions on Residence, or Form I-829 Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions, within 2 years of the date they were granted conditional LPR status. This date is usually the expiration date of your Permanent Resident Card. You may file these forms as soon as 90 days before the 2-year anniversary of when you got your conditional LPR status. If you do not do this, you can lose your immigration status.

If you are a CR and you are married, then you and your spouse must file Form I-751 together so that you can remove the conditions on your LPR status.

Sometimes, you do not have to file Form I-751 with your husband or wife. If you are no longer married to your spouse, or if your spouse has abused you, you can file Form I-751 by yourself. If you are not applying with your spouse, you can file Form I-751 at any time after you are a CR.

Keep copies of all forms you send to USCIS and other government offices. When sending documents, do not send originals. Send copies. Sometimes forms get lost. Keeping copies can help avoid problems.

If you are a victim of domestic abuse, you can find help through the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233 or 1-800-787-3224 (for hearing impaired). Help is available in Spanish and other languages.

The Violence Against Women Act allows abused spouses and children of U.S. citizens and LPRs to “self petition,” or file their own petition to become a lawful permanent resident. See http://uscis.gov/graphics/howdoi/battered.htm or call the National Domestic Violence Hotline for more information.

Consequences of Criminal Behavior for LPRs
The United States is a law-abiding society. LPRs in the United States must obey all laws. If you are an LPR and engage in or are convicted of a crime in the U.S., you could have serious problems. You could be removed from the country, not allowed back into the U.S. If you leave the country, and, in certain circumstances, lose your eligibility for U.S. citizenship.

Examples of crimes that may affect your LPR status include:
A crime defined as an “aggravated felony,” which includes crimes of violence that are felonies with a 1-year prison term.
Murder.
Terrorist activities.
Rape.
Sexual assault on a child.
Trafficking in drugs, firearms, or people.
A crime of “moral turpitude,” which in general is a crime with an intent to steal or defraud; a crime where physical harm is done or threatened; a crime where serious physical harm is caused by reckless behavior; or a crime of sexual misconduct.
There are also serious consequences for you as an LPR if you:
Lie to get immigration benefits for yourself or someone else.
Say you are a U.S. citizen if you are not.
Vote in a federal election or in a local election open only to U.S. citizens.
Are a “habitual drunkard”—someone who is drunk or someone who uses illegal drugs most of the time.
Are married to more than 1 person at the same time.
Fail to support your family or to pay child or spousal support as ordered.
Are arrested for assault or harassing a family member (commit domestic violence), including violating a protection order.
Lie to get public benefits.
Fail to file tax returns when required.
Willfully fail to register for the Selective Service if you are a male between the ages of 18 and 26.
If you have committed or been convicted of a crime, before you apply for another immigration benefit you should consult with a reputable immigration lawyer or a community-based organization that provides legal service to immigrants.