US Citizenship or Green Card

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Jan 13th 2014, 12:23 pm

#46

MarylandNed

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Re: US Citizenship or Green Card

Quote:

Originally Posted by beowulf

I have been told that as a permanent resident, should I be arrested I will be deported.

Simply being arrested is not cause for deportation. See here for more information:
http://www.nolo.com/legal-encycloped...e-removed.html

Quote:

Originally Posted by beowulf

On the other hand as a citizen, should I commit a felony in the US then I would not be allowed to leave the US. Is that correct?

Not quite true. Most convicted felons (who are USC's) can obtain a US passport. However, some can have their existing US passport revoked/restricted or can be refused a US passport e.g. those convicted of treason, international drug trafficking, distribution of a controlled substance, etc. Even if a US passport can be obtained, it's up to the destination country as to whether someone is allowed to enter. For example, it would be very difficult for a convicted felon to enter Canada (unless they also hold Canadian citizenship).

It's true that US citizens are expected to enter/leave the US on US passports. If you are a dual UK/US citizen and you can't obtain a US passport because you are a convicted felon, then there is really nothing to stop you from using your UK passport to leave the US (although technically you would be breaking the law by not using a US passport; also you shouldn't leave the country if you have been specifically ordered by a court not to do so). Even if you return to the US on a UK passport, you cannot be denied entry to the US if you can prove that you are a US citizen - although you might be in trouble for not entering on the US passport they refused to give you!

Last edited by MarylandNed; Jan 13th 2014 at 12:45 pm.

Jan 14th 2014, 2:32 am

#47

JAJ

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Posts: 34,649

Re: US Citizenship or Green Card

Quote:

Originally Posted by beowulf

I have been told that as a permanent resident, should I be arrested I will be deported. On the other hand as a citizen, should I commit a felony in the US then I would not be allowed to leave the US. Is that correct? Not that I am thinking of commiting a felony you understand, but we all know that mistakes can happen and I would hate to be prevented from ever leaving the country!

You'd normally have to be convicted of a crime, as distinct from arrested, for deportation proceedings to occur. Generally the time in prison will be the same (for citizen and non-citizen). The difference is that once the prison sentence is finished, a non-citizen will then be deported, if the offence warrants deportation.

In fact, being a non-citizen in the prison system could make you less likely to be eligible for parole or time in a low or minimum security prison due to the perceived flight risk. Also less likely to get bail while awaiting trial.

In theory, as a non-citizen you are entitled to get consular assistance from your country of citizenship (which you can't get once you're a U.S. citizen) but in reality, this is not likely to be worth very much.