Maintaining Your U.S. Permanent Resident Status

At Sakhniuk Immigration Law, Attorney Oksana Sakhniuk and her team help you preserve your green card rights, renew when needed, and handle reentry or complex issues with confidence. If you plan to travel abroad for an extended period, a reentry permit can protect your status. When your card is expiring, we handle green card renewal (Form I-90) as well as green card replacement for lost or stolen cards. Contact our office today to ensure your permanent residence is fully protected.

You may be found to have abandoned your permanent resident status if you:

• Move to another country intending to live there permanently.
• Remain outside of the United States for more than 1 year without obtaining a reentry permit or returning resident visa. However, in determining whether your status has been abandoned, any length of absence from the United States may be considered, even if less than 1 year.
• Remain outside of the United States for more than 2 years after issuance of a reentry permit without obtaining a returning resident visa. However, in determining whether your status has been abandoned any length of absence from the United States may be considered, even if less than 1 year.
• Fail to file income tax returns while living outside of the United States for any period.
• Declare yourself a "nonimmigrant" on your tax returns.

If USCIS determines that you have abandoned your permanent resident status in the U.S., they will start the process of cancelling your green card by placing you in a removal proceeding. The intent to maintain permanent legal status in the U.S. is the key factor that USCIS considers whether an alien has abandoned permanent residence in the U.S.

USCIS usually looks at several factors to decide whether a person had intent to maintain permanent legal status in the U.S.: family ties, the length of the absence from the U.S., location of the house, filing taxes, and so on.

Many permanent residents think that returning to the U.S. once within 6 months is enough to maintain permanent resident status in the U.S. This is a widespread misconception that the majority believes in. However, travelling to the U.S. only a few times per year triggers the question whether the permanent resident still maintains the intention to remain a permanent resident in the U.S. and retain the U.S. as the country of permanent residence. Therefore, if you are planning to stay abroad for an extended period of time, you should take preliminary measures aimed at preserving your permanent resident status before departure.

Taking the following steps might help you establish strong ties with the U.S. and keep a green card:

• I. File Tax Returns
  Always file as a U.S. resident reporting worldwide income. Failure to file, or filing as a non-resident, signals intentional abandonment of your green card.
• II. Keep Family in the U.S.
  Keeping your spouse, children, or parents in the U.S. while you work abroad is strong evidence of your intent to maintain permanent residence.
• III. Employment Abroad
  Obtain a written statement from your foreign employer confirming the temporary nature of the assignment or your planned return to a U.S. subsidiary.
• IV. U.S. Mailing Address
  Maintain a U.S. mailing address (your own, or a trusted friend or relative's) to receive official correspondence and demonstrate ties.
• V. Driver's License
  Keep your U.S. driver's license current and renew it on schedule.
• VI. Bank Account in the U.S.
  Actively use your U.S. bank account and credit cards. Regular statements showing consistent use are concrete proof of ongoing U.S. ties.
• VII. Professional and Social Memberships
  Maintain memberships in U.S. professional associations or community groups through dues, conference attendance, or journal subscriptions.

It is advisable to maintain as many ties with the U.S. as possible while you are outside the U.S. If you are planning to stay abroad for a prolonged period of time, you have to be ready to provide an immigration officer with convincing evidence that you did not abandon your permanent resident status. Regardless of the circumstances, all reasons for your absence from the U.S. have to be well documented.