Traveling Abroad As a Permanent Resident

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You finally received your green card in the mail! It’s a momentous occasion in the life of every immigrant: all the anxiety and worries are over and you can relax and enjoy your life in the United States. While there are many rights that a U.S. permanent resident possesses, there are still come pitfalls of which you should be aware. One of them is traveling abroad.

Generally, a permanent resident is free to travel abroad for a brief period of time, so it is perfectly fine to visit relatives in your country or go on vacations. As long as the trip is shorter than a year, most green card holders have nothing to worry about, especially if they have established significant ties to the U.S. The main concern that immigration officers have is whether you intended to make the U.S. your permanent home. That can include renting or owning a house in the U.S., being employed in the U.S., paying U.S. taxes, maintaining a bank account or having a business in the U.S. If you fail to put down roots in the U.S. even a trip shorter than a year can appear problematic to an immigration officer and you may be found to have abandoned your green card. While such instances are relatively rare, you should be aware of such possibility and make sure that you can present evidence that supports the permanent nature of your life in the U.S.

If you know that your trip abroad will last longer than a year, U.S. Immigration and Citizenship Services (“USCIS”) advises that you should obtain a re-entry permit first. The re-entry permit would allow a permanent resident to return to the U.S. after a protracted trip abroad that is no longer than two years. The re-entry permit does not guarantee your entry in the U.S., it only shows your intention to maintain your permanent residency. The re-entry permit can be obtained by filing Form I-131 with USCIS with a filing fee of $360.

If your trip abroad turns out to be longer than two years, you are considered to have abandoned your permanent residency and will have to apply for a returning resident status by filing Form DS-117 with supporting documents at the nearest embassy.

The supporting documents need to show that you (1) were a lawfully admitted permanent resident of the United States at the time of departure; (2) at the time of departure, you had the intention of returning to the United States; (3) while residing abroad, you did not abandon the intention to return to the United States; and (4) are returning from a temporary residence abroad; or if the stay was long-lasting, it was caused by reasons beyond your control.

There are certain factors that assist immigration officers in their decisions. First, in assessing whether the visit was temporary, the officer will look at the duration of the trip. Second, the extent of your ties to the U.S. mentioned above will be a significant concern. As already mentioned, such ties can be family connections, job, property holdings, business or bank account in the U.S. Other examples can include taking only leave of absence in lieu of resignation in social clubs like Kiwanis or Rotary, donating to local charity within your township, or paying local property taxes.

Additionally, your intent in regards to which country you consider your home and the expected length of the trip is important. However, just having intent to eventually return to the U.S. is not enough in and of itself. It has to be coupled with concrete actions of consistently maintaining the permanent bond with the U.S. For instance, living in another country for 11 months of the year and coming to the U.S. for a month is not enough to maintain a green card without some additional ties to the U.S.

One of the other factors to be considered is the purpose for your trip. If the period of absence from the U.S. is extended it still can be viewed as “temporary” if the termination date of that period can be fixed by some early event.

In other words, when you plan a trip, you have to plan to return within a relatively short period of time. If there are some circumstances beyond your control that require the extension of the trip, you can do that, as long as you intend to return to the U.S. as soon as possible.

Each application for returning resident status is considered on a case by case basis and is a factual inquiry. The application has to present a clear picture of why you had to leave the United States and extend your stay abroad and what ties you maintain in the United States.