Holding a green card is no longer the immigration safety net it once was. Under Donald Trump administration’s intensifying enforcement push, lawful permanent residents (people who have done everything by the book) are now finding themselves stranded at US borders. They are reportedly denied reentry after trips abroad or accused of abandoning the very residency status they legally hold.
Immigration enforcement agencies have been increasingly targeting green card holders returning from overseas travel, with some refused entry outright.
The most common grounds cited: abandonment of US residence, or having stayed abroad for more than a year.
The rules themselves have not changed, but the scrutiny has sharpened considerably.
A Permanent Resident Card becomes invalid for reentry after an absence of one year or more. What catches many off guard is that even shorter absences can trigger problems. If authorities determine that a green card holder has effectively taken up residence in another country, their US status can be deemed abandoned regardless of how long they were gone.
The safeguard against this is a re-entry permit, obtained before departure using Form I-131.
Filing must happen while the applicant is physically in the US, at least 60 days before travel.
Once approved — and the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) can finalise it while the holder is already abroad, provided biometrics have been captured — the permit covers absences of up to two years and serves as proof that the holder never intended to walk away from their US residency.
Permits are valid for two years from issuance.
Those who skip this step and remain outside the US for a year or more without a permit risk being referred to an immigration judge to determine whether their status has been forfeited.
The stakes are equally high for green card holders working toward citizenship.
Naturalisation requires five years of continuous US residence following permanent resident admission. Additionally, it mandates three months in the filing state or district.
An absence exceeding six months (anything over 180 days, according to reports) is presumed to break that continuity.
Applicants can challenge the presumption but must produce evidence that their ties to the US remained intact throughout.
For now, immigration attorneys are urging green card holders to travel cautiously, keep US ties well-documented, and treat the reentry permit not as a bureaucratic formality, but as essential protection in a markedly less forgiving enforcement climate.
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