green card renewal attorneys

What Does it Mean to Have a Green Card?

When you have a green card, it means that you are a legal permanent resident of the United States. There are two types of green cards. One is a conditional green card. The other one is a non-conditional green card or a permanent green card. The difference being that the conditional green card is good for two years, whereas the permanent green card, or legal permanent resident card, is good for ten years.

If you’re here on a green card and you want to travel outside the United States, are there rules or what are the rules about traveling abroad?

If you’re going to be spending a considerable amount of time outside of the United States, certainly there are rules to be mindful of, especially if you’re thinking about spending more than six months outside of the United States.

If you are going to be spending less than six months outside of the United States, generally speaking, you should be fine upon your return. However, if you spend more than six months but less than one year outside of the United States, then that raises a rebuttable presumption that you have abandoned your legal permanent residence. That’s an important presumption, but nonetheless, it’s rebuttable. What that means is that you can come back with evidence to show why you should not be deemed to have abandoned your permanent residence in the United States. I was in Greece because I needed to sell my property. I was in Italy because I had to undergo surgery. The reasons are countless. Now, if you are going to be spending more than one year outside of the United States, the presumption is that you’ve abandoned your residence, permanent residence in the United States, that presumption is no longer rebuttable. Legally, your green card is dead.

People here on a green card, by and large, are hoping to become naturalized citizens. So, if they’re here on a green card and they travel abroad, does that have any impact on that?

It does. In order to become a naturalized citizen, you have to meet certain criteria. Those criteria can be affected by how much time you spend outside of the United States. Most notably, you have to meet the continuous residence criteria and the physical presence criteria in order to become a naturalized citizen. If you spend a certain amount of time outside of the United States, your continuous residence and your physical presence can be affected as a matter of course.

I think what I hear you saying is that if you’re here on a green card and you travel abroad and you want to become a citizen, traveling abroad could have a serious impact on that. Is that right?

Absolutely. Any time that you spend outside of the United States can impact your future application for US. Citizenship, specifically as it relates to physical presence. Let’s assume that you file for citizenship tomorrow. Well, the law says that in the last five years, you better have spent half of that time in the United States. So, in other words, 60 months, at least 30 months in the United States. That’s what we mean when we say physical presence. But in addition to that, there’s also the continuous residence requirement. In other words, during this time during the five years, you have to have been continuously residing in the United States. And going back to what we were talking about earlier, any time spent outside of the United States based on exactly how long can affect that determination.

If you’re here on a green card and you travel abroad, how do you avoid jeopardizing your green card?

Good question. So, if you know that you’re going to be spending a considerable amount of time outside of the United States, then you would be well advised to obtain a reentry permit. And the way that you do that is you file form I 131 with US. Citizenship and Immigration Services. What that does is it allows you to remain outside of the United States for up to two years and allow you to return without jeopardizing your legal, permanent residence in the United States. Now, the time that you spend outside of the United States does not count towards the citizenship calculus, the amount of time that you’re supposed to be in the United States. But importantly, it protects your green card from being revoked.