Top 10 Ways You Can LOSE Your Green Card!

What are the top 10 ways that a permanent resident can lose their green card?

If you find yourself in any one of these 10 situations, there may be a good chance that USCIS will take away your green card, which would mean that you're no longer allowed to live in the United States legally or work here.

Not only that, any family members who have received their green card through yours are also going to be at risk of losing their green card status. And all of you may be put into removal proceedings together. So it is important for you to be aware of these situations and the behaviors that may lead to it.

So what are the top 10 ways to lose your green card status?

First Way

Let's talk about one of the most common ways, which is by staying out of the United States for too long. As a green card holder, you are allowed to travel internationally and you are allowed to leave the United States. But if you do stay away from the United States for too long, then you will be at risk of losing your LPR status.

Generally speaking, as long as your trips are under six months, you don't have any reason to worry. But if your trips outside of the US last for more than six months and under 12 months, then you may face additional scrutiny by Customs and Border Patrol when you try to return to the United States.

They will likely ask you questions about the purpose of your trip, the duration of your trip, your employment status, and your ties to the United States.

And in addition, they may even open up more inquiries into any past criminal activity, all because you left the US for more than 180 days without returning. But if your trip ends up going beyond 12 months, then you may automatically lose your residency status.

One of the ways to avoid this is by applying for something called a re-entry permit while you are still inside the United States before any trips that are anticipated to last longer than one year. The whole point of legal permanent residence is to show that you are living permanently inside the United States and that you consider the United States your actual home.

So any behaviors that may cause immigration officials to doubt whether the United States is in fact your home may put your green card at risk. A good rule of thumb is to try to aim for nine to 10 months out of each year on US soil. And if you think that there's any chance that you will be outside of the US for more than six months, I recommend applying for a re-entry permit before you leave the United States.

Second Way

A similar way that you may end up losing your residence is if you cannot show enough ties to the US. It's possible to lose your permanent residence status if you cannot show that you have enough ties to the United States, even where your trips never go over six months out of the US.

Some examples of ties that immigration does want to see are:

-Residential ties: Such as having a fixed place of residence inside the United States

-Financial ties: Such as maintaining an active US bank account

-Professional ties: Such as having a job and receiving a regular paycheck inside the United States

-Family ties: Including showing that your children are enrolled in the US schools

If you can't show enough of these, then USCIS may in fact question whether or not you are a resident and they may potentially try to take away your green card.

Third Way

The next way that you may lose your green card status is if you have certain criminal convictions. USCIS is not going to revoke your green card status over simple things such as driving or traffic infractions. And you can even file certain waivers to get certain crimes pardoned, such as if you had engaged your prostitution or even had a minor theft charge.

Typically, these waivers are requested at the green card level when you are filing your I-485. But just because you have a green card does not mean that you are 100% scot-free. If you commit certain crimes after getting your green card, then you may be at risk of losing your green card status.

Some examples of serious crimes in the eyes of USCIS include:

-Murder

-Rape

-Kidnapping

-Sexual assault

-Any drug charges

-Most violent crimes

-Theft or fraud

-Robbery

-Carrying a concealed weapon

-Felony hit and run

And injuring somebody while driving underneath the influence of alcohol or drugs, just to name a few.

In most cases, having one or more of these may make it impossible to obtain immigration relief, especially if you happen to be convicted of something considered an aggravated felony. If you do get convicted of having committed an aggravated felony, you will definitely be placed into removal proceedings.

So if you are a green card holder finding yourself facing any of these charges, it is time to speak with a criminal defense attorney as well as an immigration lawyer.

Fourth Way

Another way that you could lose your green card status is if you fail to pay taxes. This is a situation that may come up when you are trying to renew your green card or file for citizenship and may prevent you from doing either.

So make sure you file the IRS Form 1040 every single year and declare all of your income. As we have discussed in other videos, green card holders are required to pay US taxes on all worldwide income. So you must report earnings made in foreign countries as well. Failure to do so can put your green card at risk.

And if you try to engage in tax evasion of $10,000 or more, that can also be considered an aggravated felony and could even get you deported.

Fifth Way

The next way that you might lose your green card status is if you falsely claim to be a US citizen. This is considered one of the most serious immigration violations out there and can not only result in your green card being taken away, but in you facing imminent deportation.

Some examples of false claims to US citizenship include:

-Checking off the US citizen box on your Form I-9 for employment

-Registering to vote in US elections

-Applying for federal student loans as a US citizen

-Attempting to obtain a US passport

-Declaring citizenship in order to receive government benefits

-Using somebody else's birth certificate

In addition to getting deported, these can result in a permanent inadmissibility to the United States as well as possible criminal charges. You can even be put into deportation proceedings for unintentionally making a false claim to US citizenship. So be super vigilant when filling out forms.

Sixth Way

Next, if you have a two-year conditional resident card but fail to file the Form I-751 on time or it does not get approved, then you can also lose your green card through US minimum. You may even be put into deportation proceedings. So make sure you file your Form I-751 on time if you are filing jointly with your spouse.

In some situations, even if you're late, you can show that you had an extraordinary circumstance for filing late, such as you or your family member suffering a serious illness, being abroad when the filing window opened, receiving incorrect information from USCIS, or being a victim of domestic abuse.

So if you recently got married and you received a two-year resident card, keep your eye open for your filing window that opens 90 days before the expiration of your card. Keep in mind that if you happen to get divorced or file for the waiver through a true cruelty and battery, then this does not apply to you.

However, anyone who gets their I-751 denied is at risk of being placed into removal proceedings to take away the green card.

Seventh Way

And while we are on the topic of marriage green cards, let's talk about another reason that can cause you to lose your green card status, and that is having a fake marriage. If immigration believes that you entered into your marriage for the sole purpose of immigration benefits, then your I-751 can be denied and you can be placed into removal proceedings.

Examples of marriage fraud include:

-Paying a US citizen just to get married for the green card

-Marrying as a favor without the intention of actually being in a real marriage

-Mail order marriages where at least one of you knows that it's not real

And just like with false claim to US citizenship, should you engage in actual marriage fraud, it can also result in criminal charges.

Eighth Way

Next, you will be putting yourself and your green card in jeopardy if you misrepresent yourself in order to get approved. Misrepresentation is basically when you use any false or misleading information in order to obtain an immigration benefit.

Some examples that can cost your green card include:

-Concealing or lying about past immigration violations or past immigration history

-Hiding previous removal orders

-Providing incorrect alien registration numbers on purpose

In order for your behavior to qualify as a misrepresentation, it must be both intentional and material, which means that you intentionally lied about a certain piece of information in order to get a green card, and that omission or misrepresentation was actually relevant to the approval of your application.

So if you accidentally got some details wrong on your application, then that is usually not something to worry about, but if you intentionally got things confused on your application, then that may be cause for you to lose your green card.

Ninth Way

Next, a surprising and silly and pretty much underused way of losing your green card is if you fail to notify USCIS within 10 days of moving that you have moved.

As a green card holder, you must notify USCIS of any address changes within 10 days, and this does not simply mean notifying the post office, but rather it requires you to fill out an AR-11 change of address form with USCIS.

Historically, this rule has rarely been enforced, but recently USCIS has started to penalize persons who are not following it, so keep this in mind whenever you move.

Tenth Way

And the last way that you can lose your green card is if you voluntarily abandon it.

There are a variety of reasons why an immigrant may decide to voluntarily abandon their residence status, including:

-A desire to avoid US tax obligations

-Making the decision to permanently reside in another country without any intention of returning to the US

-Trying to avoid immigration complications during future US visits

Whatever your reason is, once you have abandoned your green card, there is no getting it back unless you file again through a different means of eligibility. So it's not a decision to make lightly.

And once your abandonment is complete, then you officially revert to the status of a foreign national inside the US, meaning you would need a visitor visa or some other visa in order to visit in and stay in the US. You might think that once you were a citizen, your immigration problems are all over, but unfortunately the US government can still take away US citizenship through a process called denaturalization. So find out how denaturalization can happen and how to avoid this issue.

My name is Moumita Rahman, and in my 14 years of practicing immigration law, I have helped thousands of immigrants all over the United States. You can schedule a case evaluation by calling 212-248-7907. We are based in New York, however, we work with clients all over the United States.

Watch my other video, The Top Four Ways You Can Lose Your US Citizenship. Click to watch and I'll see you there.