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Immigration Corner | Can I renew my green card?

Published:Tuesday | March 11, 2025 | 12:05 AM

Dear Mrs Walker-Huntington,

My green card comes up for renewal in a few months. Can I renew it although I have not really resided in the USA since receiving it? I visit for a day or two every six months, except during the first year of COVID.

I have a US address, a bank account and driver’s licence, and I file my tax returns.

RT

Dear RT,

A green card – permanent residency – is designed for its holders to reside in America. There are times when a green card holder has pressing issues that cause them to be outside of the United States for an extended period and does not permit them to live in America. The US government has a process to facilitate those persons – a Re-Entry Permit – that, if granted, allows permanent residents to remain outside of the US for the length of the permit (one to two years) without jeopardising their residency status.

Someone such as you described, is not maintaining US permanent residence status. The word you used describes what you are doing, “visiting” America. That is not the intent of the green card. At any time during a ‘visit’ to the US with your green card, you could be placed into secondary inspection and urged to surrender the card. If you choose not to surrender the card, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) could issue you a Notice To Appear and place you in removal (deportation) proceedings. The CBP officer and supervisor could also admit you into the US with a warning to apply for a Re-Entry Permit, or tell you to make up your mind on what you intend to do with your US residency.

There are social media posts circulating about not signing the form to surrender the green card on the spot when pressed by CBP – you are free to refuse, but you must be aware of the potential consequence of being placed in deportation. This has always been the US government’s policy; but persons who fall into this category can expect stricter scrutiny at US borders under the current US administration’s programme of extreme vetting.

Many green card holders are of the opinion that doing what you describe satisfies the requirements of permanent residency, but it does not. Notwithstanding your bank account, tax compliance, etc, you have not spent enough time in any given year inside the United States to satisfy that you live in America.

You may apply to renew the green card and it may be granted, but that does not preclude a CBP officer from taking you to secondary inspection and making inquiries about where you actually reside and taking steps as outlined above.

At this time, you need to reflect on what you wish to do with your US status. You can apply for a Re-Entry Permit, move to the United States, or surrender the green card and apply for a US visa. It is not automatic that you will receive a non-immigrant US visa, and you should take that into consideration in your decision-making.

Dahlia A. Walker-Huntington, Esq, is a Jamaican-American attorney who practises immigration law in the United States; and family, criminal and international law in Florida. She is a mediator, former special magistrate and hearing officer in Broward County, Florida. info@walkerhuntington.com