Permanent resident visas are in reality not “permanent” in nature. A ‘green card’ is still subject to revocation by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security if there are grounds to rescind its issuance. In fact, in certain cases, green card holders risk facing deportation charges. What steps may be taken should this happen?
Agnes has a U.S. citizen daughter who petitioned her 10 years ago. Since receiving her green card, Agnes has been in the United States a total of less than a year. She has been visiting the United States for less than one month a year. However, her US stays are not accurately reflected in her travel documents. Agnes regularly pays an “agent” who backdates the arrival and departure stamp on her passport with fake dates to make it appear that she had shorter stays in the Philippines and longer stays in the United States.
Early this year, Agnes underwent secondary inspection as she was entering the United States through thru LAX airport. She admitted before the CBP (Customs and Border Protection) inspector that the date stamps on her passport were fake. The CBP officer prepared a sworn statement and Agnes was asked to sign the document.
After admitting the wrong doing, Agnes was expecting to be allowed to enter the United States without any further problems. She did not realize that the CBP inspector would take her green card away from her. In addition, Agnes was subsequently issued a Notice to Appear before an immigration judge for her removal/deportation proceedings. Though she was allowed to enter the United States she was merely paroled on a temporary visa in order to face her removal/deportation proceedings.
Agnes would now like to abandon her green card and return to the Philippines right away. What are the consequences should she decide to simply depart from the United States? Will she be able to return to the United States again if her daughter re-petitions her?
USE IT OR LOSE IT
A permanent resident is issued a green card in order that one will be permitted to live and work in the United States. Hundreds of thousands of petitions are filed by Filipino nationals on behalf of their children or siblings and it a decade or more for some petitions before the visas are available. The usual situation is for green card holders to reside and work in the United States. Eventually, a green card holder may apply for U.S. citizenship after meeting the residency requirement. There are also a significant number of green card holders who are not staying in the United States. Some may have valid reasons for staying outside the United States like individuals who are continuing their studies abroad, or, have temporary job assignments outside the US. Some individuals, however, simply do not want to give up their green card despite the fact that they really do not have a good reason to keep it. If the latter happens, it would be best to abandon the green card and obtain the appropriate visitors visa.
Misrepresenting a material fact before an immigration officer in seeking admission to the United States is a valid basis to rescind the immigrant visa. The “fake” stamps representing the travel dates of a green card holder is considered fraud and will subject the individual to suffer serious consequences of removal.
In the case of Agnes, she will have to appear before the immigration court and face her removal charges. If she wants to maintain her status as a green card holder, she will have to explore the different waivers that may be available and appropriate for her specific case. She needs to seek professional legal assistance to avail and present the waivers that may be available to her. Only if the immigration judge exercises his favorable discretion in ruling on the waiver may Agnes be able to keep her green card.
On the other hand, if Agnes wants to give up her green card, she can file the abandonment of status application. The Customs and Border Protection may grant this abandonment application and is considered a voluntary relinquishment of Agnes’ green card status. But worse than simply getting an abandonment application approved, the U.S. government counsel may also argue in court to obtain a removal order against Agnes. This means that if the immigration judge issues a removal order, Agnes will not be able to return to the United States for at least 10 years. This is the serious consequence of a removal order.
In either case of filing waiver applications or abandonment applications, the individual in removal proceedings will have to put up with immigration court backlogs. In most jurisdictions, the backlog of cases in immigration court ranges from1 to 3 years. This means that unless the individual accepts a removal order without contesting it, the individual in proceedings may have to wait a couple of years before the removal case is resolved. During the pendency of the case, the individual in proceedings will have to stay in the United States.
As mentioned, there is a 10-year bar in returning to the United States after a removal order is issued against an individual. After the 10-year period has passed, a former green card holder (like Agnes in this case) will still need a waiver of the fraud she committed in presenting fake travel stamps on her passport. Whether or not she will be allowed to enter the United States again will depend on how her waiver application will be adjudicated.
Much like a driver’s license, a green card is merely a privilege that may be revoked. Using the green card according to the purpose it was issued is critical to maintaining it. One should avoid committing unlawful acts and fraud as this could definitely have serious consequences on one’s ability to return to the United States.
(Atty. Lourdes Tancinco may be reached at law@tancinco.com, facebook/tancincolaw, tancinco.weareph.com/old or at (02)721 1963)
