Validity of green card if you rarely enter US
May 4th 2006, 1:34 pm
#1
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Validity of green card if you rarely enter US
Extremely long story as short as possible...my parents applied for green cards for themselves and their 3 kids back in 1989/1990. We all then emigrated to England.
Flash forward 14 years, and they finally got approval, however 2 of the 3 kids had turned 21, so had aged off the application. My parents went ahead and got their green cards, along with my younger brother (who was 18 at the time). My parents then emigrated to the US, and my brother started at a British university (after landing to make the green card official).
My brother is now 25, married to a girl in the UK, and hasn't entered the US for even a holiday in a few years, let alone to live. At what point will the immigration officers decide that his green card is invalid/not used/whatever? I understand that a green card is effectively a "use it or lose it" affair. If he tries to enter the US for a vacation (since he has no intention of living there...certainly not in the near future), could he be turned away, or would they just scrap his green card (he's a Canadian citizen...he's eligible for British citizenship, but hasn't gone down that route yet).
Flash forward 14 years, and they finally got approval, however 2 of the 3 kids had turned 21, so had aged off the application. My parents went ahead and got their green cards, along with my younger brother (who was 18 at the time). My parents then emigrated to the US, and my brother started at a British university (after landing to make the green card official).
My brother is now 25, married to a girl in the UK, and hasn't entered the US for even a holiday in a few years, let alone to live. At what point will the immigration officers decide that his green card is invalid/not used/whatever? I understand that a green card is effectively a "use it or lose it" affair. If he tries to enter the US for a vacation (since he has no intention of living there...certainly not in the near future), could he be turned away, or would they just scrap his green card (he's a Canadian citizen...he's eligible for British citizenship, but hasn't gone down that route yet).
May 4th 2006, 1:56 pm
#2
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Re: Validity of green card if you rarely enter US
Originally Posted by cov-canuck
Extremely long story as short as possible...my parents applied for green cards for themselves and their 3 kids back in 1989/1990. We all then emigrated to England.
Flash forward 14 years, and they finally got approval, however 2 of the 3 kids had turned 21, so had aged off the application. My parents went ahead and got their green cards, along with my younger brother (who was 18 at the time). My parents then emigrated to the US, and my brother started at a British university (after landing to make the green card official).
My brother is now 25, married to a girl in the UK, and hasn't entered the US for even a holiday in a few years, let alone to live. At what point will the immigration officers decide that his green card is invalid/not used/whatever? I understand that a green card is effectively a "use it or lose it" affair. If he tries to enter the US for a vacation (since he has no intention of living there...certainly not in the near future), could he be turned away, or would they just scrap his green card (he's a Canadian citizen...he's eligible for British citizenship, but hasn't gone down that route yet).
Flash forward 14 years, and they finally got approval, however 2 of the 3 kids had turned 21, so had aged off the application. My parents went ahead and got their green cards, along with my younger brother (who was 18 at the time). My parents then emigrated to the US, and my brother started at a British university (after landing to make the green card official).
My brother is now 25, married to a girl in the UK, and hasn't entered the US for even a holiday in a few years, let alone to live. At what point will the immigration officers decide that his green card is invalid/not used/whatever? I understand that a green card is effectively a "use it or lose it" affair. If he tries to enter the US for a vacation (since he has no intention of living there...certainly not in the near future), could he be turned away, or would they just scrap his green card (he's a Canadian citizen...he's eligible for British citizenship, but hasn't gone down that route yet).
As a Canadian, he doesn't need a visa to visit the US. At the POE, he may be asked to execute an I-407 to expressly abandon the green card.
May 4th 2006, 2:33 pm
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Re: Validity of green card if you rarely enter US
Originally Posted by Folinskyinla
Hi:
As a Canadian, he doesn't need a visa to visit the US. At the POE, he may be asked to execute an I-407 to expressly abandon the green card.
As a Canadian, he doesn't need a visa to visit the US. At the POE, he may be asked to execute an I-407 to expressly abandon the green card.
May 4th 2006, 3:34 pm
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Re: Validity of green card if you rarely enter US
I would just like to add my congrats for Micky Adamas turning the season around and hopefully a top 6 next year and a return to our rightful place.
On the other matter, presumably he has done nothing to maintain his US Resdiency, filed no taxes etc etc.
On the other matter, presumably he has done nothing to maintain his US Resdiency, filed no taxes etc etc.
May 4th 2006, 3:44 pm
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Re: Validity of green card if you rarely enter US
Originally Posted by cov-canuck
At least he'd be allowed in as a Canadian! His wife is British through-and-through, and would most likely never even consider the idea of moving elsewhere, and he's happy in the UK with her, so I don't think he'd mind voluntarily giving up the green card. At the end of the day, it kind of fell into his lap at a time that wasn't right for him...which I'm sure makes people who are fighting to get into the US grit their teeth!
As a Brit, his wife can use the VWT method.
I read his question along the lines of whether or not that green card would cause him trouble in entry.
Beleive it or not, it is fairly common for people to give up green cards. I used to do a lot immigrant visa work at the US Embassy in Seoul. As part of the immigration process, the new immigrant had to obtain an "overseas" ROK passport by which they gave up their right to reside in Korea. If emigrant decided to resume residence in Korea, and obtain a new KID card, they had to prove that they had surrendered their US residence. So, it was quite common for parents of Korean emigrants to the US to ulitmately emigrate themselves to be with their son or daugther [usually eldest son], change their minds and return to Korea.
I have a good friend who came from Russia 25 years ago. Her mother later emigrated to the US -- she didn't like it here and has resumed residence in Russia.
An interesting criminal law case came out in January 2005 from the DC Circuit -- "United States v Yakou". Yakou is an Iraqi holding a British passport. He had earlier immigrated to the US but later he said "to hell with the US" -- left and returned only on short visits and after the expiratoin of his I-551, used VWT for those short visits. He no longer paid US income tax. It is alleged that he later engaged in arms trading on behalf of Sadaam Hussien's government which was a big criminal no-no for "United States Persons." He was tricked by the US into making one last visit whereupon he was arrested pursuant to a secret indictment. His defense was "I abandoned my green card so I'm not a 'US person.'" It was the UNITED STATES that said "no abandonment" unless there is a formal abandonment [e.g. an I-407 or a removal order]. The court of appeals disagreed.
Interesting case.
May 4th 2006, 3:59 pm
#6
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Re: Validity of green card if you rarely enter US
Originally Posted by Folinskyinla
Hi:
As a Brit, his wife can use the VWT method.
I read his question along the lines of whether or not that green card would cause him trouble in entry.
Beleive it or not, it is fairly common for people to give up green cards. I used to do a lot immigrant visa work at the US Embassy in Seoul. As part of the immigration process, the new immigrant had to obtain an "overseas" ROK passport by which they gave up their right to reside in Korea. If emigrant decided to resume residence in Korea, and obtain a new KID card, they had to prove that they had surrendered their US residence. So, it was quite common for parents of Korean emigrants to the US to ulitmately emigrate themselves to be with their son or daugther [usually eldest son], change their minds and return to Korea.
I have a good friend who came from Russia 25 years ago. Her mother later emigrated to the US -- she didn't like it here and has resumed residence in Russia.
An interesting criminal law case came out in January 2005 from the DC Circuit -- "United States v Yakou". Yakou is an Iraqi holding a British passport. He had earlier immigrated to the US but later he said "to hell with the US" -- left and returned only on short visits and after the expiratoin of his I-551, used VWT for those short visits. He no longer paid US income tax. It is alleged that he later engaged in arms trading on behalf of Sadaam Hussien's government which was a big criminal no-no for "United States Persons." He was tricked by the US into making one last visit whereupon he was arrested pursuant to a secret indictment. His defense was "I abandoned my green card so I'm not a 'US person.'" It was the UNITED STATES that said "no abandonment" unless there is a formal abandonment [e.g. an I-407 or a removal order]. The court of appeals disagreed.
Interesting case.
As a Brit, his wife can use the VWT method.
I read his question along the lines of whether or not that green card would cause him trouble in entry.
Beleive it or not, it is fairly common for people to give up green cards. I used to do a lot immigrant visa work at the US Embassy in Seoul. As part of the immigration process, the new immigrant had to obtain an "overseas" ROK passport by which they gave up their right to reside in Korea. If emigrant decided to resume residence in Korea, and obtain a new KID card, they had to prove that they had surrendered their US residence. So, it was quite common for parents of Korean emigrants to the US to ulitmately emigrate themselves to be with their son or daugther [usually eldest son], change their minds and return to Korea.
I have a good friend who came from Russia 25 years ago. Her mother later emigrated to the US -- she didn't like it here and has resumed residence in Russia.
An interesting criminal law case came out in January 2005 from the DC Circuit -- "United States v Yakou". Yakou is an Iraqi holding a British passport. He had earlier immigrated to the US but later he said "to hell with the US" -- left and returned only on short visits and after the expiratoin of his I-551, used VWT for those short visits. He no longer paid US income tax. It is alleged that he later engaged in arms trading on behalf of Sadaam Hussien's government which was a big criminal no-no for "United States Persons." He was tricked by the US into making one last visit whereupon he was arrested pursuant to a secret indictment. His defense was "I abandoned my green card so I'm not a 'US person.'" It was the UNITED STATES that said "no abandonment" unless there is a formal abandonment [e.g. an I-407 or a removal order]. The court of appeals disagreed.
Interesting case.
Did he enter with his GC?
