Is It SAFE For Green Card Holders To Travel Under Trump?

Now that President Trump is president again, is it safe for green card holders to travel abroad? The last time he was in office, Trump tried to ban travel from 15 different countries and made it harder for non-US citizens to enter the United States.

Now he's promised to go even further with these travel bans and go even further by declaring a national state of emergency and shut down the US border. In fact, by the time that you're watching this, he may have already made this announcement.

So let's talk about what this means for green card holders, whether it's safe to travel, and what may happen during this second Trump administration.

Is it Safe For Green Card Holders to Travel?

Okay, so should green card holders be worried about traveling underneath Trump at this time around? Well, it depends.

It is very likely that Trump will put more focus on non-citizens in their travel back into the United States, especially from those countries with a travel ban. You could also be a target if you spend a lot of time in these countries or if customs and border patrol do not think that you have enough significant ties to the US.

That means that when you come back to the US, you may have to go through a secondary inspection, answer more questions to prove that you have not abandoned your residency, show extra paperwork, or wait for longer processing times through the airport. And how long you have been away also matters.

In general, if you have been outside the US for less than six months, you generally should not have a problem with re-entering the United States. But if you have been away from anywhere between six to twelve months outside of the US, customs may ask you for more proof to make sure that you have not given up your US residency. If you stay outside for more than twelve months, they may even deny you re-entry and force you to abandon your green card.

Usually, you can avoid this problem by applying for a re-entry permit before you depart the US, especially if you know you will be away for more than one year. But this may not even guarantee that you'll be allowed back in. Customs and Border Patrol agents have a lot of power underneath this scenario. If the Trump administration enforces stricter rules, they can still deny you re-entry.

In fact, even if you have been outside of the US for less than twelve months, they could refuse you entry into the United States if you do not have enough ties to the United States.

For example, if you don't have a job, a bank account, a residential lease, or a home address in the US, it may not matter if your trips are less than six months. You may still get flagged, especially underneath this Trump administration.

That's why it is a good idea to put off any trouble that is not strictly necessary until after Trump has been in office for several months so we can see what sort of executive orders are issued that could affect your ability to travel in and out of the United States. This may even save you from getting stranded abroad, and it would give you time to prepare before you travel.

With Trump as president, you will also want to make sure that you have all of your documentation necessary to prove that you have strong ties to the United States in case you face extra scrutiny.

This includes things like:

• U.S. bank account statements
• Property ownership records
• Business ownership records
• Proof of your U.S. mailing address
• Proof that you have family and community connections here
• Tax returns filed as a U.S. resident
• A valid driver's license
• Evidence that your trip is only temporary
• Evidence that you maintain a residence and home here
• A re-entry permit if you do anticipate that your trip will take longer than 12 months.

These are what customs may be looking for when they decide whether or not to admit or deny you entry, and it can make all the difference between you being stuck outside of the US or not. Note that if you are denied entry into the United States, do not let the customs agent bully you or coerce you into signing abandonment of your residency.

There are common tactics that they have to try to pressure and threaten people into signing a form I-407, which officially causes you to give up your permanent residency. But there is no punishment to you for not signing it.

Instead, they would be required to give you a notice to appear, which would then place you in removal proceedings, but that would at least give you an opportunity to challenge whether or not you have abandoned your residency in front of an immigration judge rather than under duress at the airport. So if you find yourself being pressured to sign something and give up your rights, don't fall for their tricks.

If you have anything problematic in your immigration history, such as a criminal record, then it is a good time to speak with an immigration lawyer before you depart the US to understand what consequences you may have, especially now that Trump is president again.

I'll be reporting on his executive orders as soon as these are announced, so be sure to subscribe to my channel and stay tuned. If you are considering becoming a citizen during the Trump presidency, then you need to watch my latest green card versus citizenship video. In it, I explain what life would be like as a green card holder underneath the Trump presidency and whether or not you should become a citizen instead.

I also talk about the benefits of becoming a US citizen, which you will not want to miss. I'll include a link to that video here. Click now and I'll see you there.