Green Card Holders Facing Increased Scrutiny At US Airports: Solicitors Urge ‘Do Not Surrender’

Immigration solicitors are observing a rise in the number of green card holders, including Indians, being subjected to secondary inspection and, in some cases, overnight detention at ports of entry (airports) by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers.

Some individuals are also being 'pressured' into voluntarily relinquishing their green cards, reported Times of India.

Elderly Indians who reside with their children in the US but spend the winter months in India appear to be particularly vulnerable.

A key piece of advice from solicitors: Do not surrender your green card. A green card holder has the right to have their case heard by an immigration judge.

Immigration solicitors warn against surrendering green cards

Under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), a lawful permanent resident (LPR), commonly known as a green card holder, who has been absent from the US for more than 180 days is deemed to be seeking 're-admission' and is therefore subject to grounds of inadmissibility. While the issue of abandonment (relinquishment) of green card status typically arises when an individual has been outside the US for more than a year (365 days), spending the winter months in India is now also drawing increased scrutiny.

Ashwin Sharma, an immigration solicitor based in Florida, told TOI, "I have personally handled cases recently where the CBP has targeted elderly Indian green card holders, particularly grandparents who happen to have spent a bit longer outside the US, and pressured them to sign Form I-407 to 'voluntarily' surrender their lawful permanent resident status (green card). And the moment they have tried to push back, they have been met with threats of detention or 'removal' by the CBP officers who have been emboldened by Trump to see themselves as judge, jury, and executioner."

Kripa Upadhyay, a Seattle-based immigration solicitor, stressed on the importance of not surrendering one's green card.

"Generally, an individual's green card cannot be revoked by the border unless the person 'voluntarily' surrenders (by signing Form I-407). If a green card holder has spent more than 365 days out of the US they are deemed to have 'abandoned' their residence. Even if this is the allegation, the green card holder has the right to challenge this in court but they lose this right if they 'voluntarily' surrender at the airport!"

"Only an immigration judge can take away a green card, so individuals should not sign this form. Unfortunately, people do not realise this because they are afraid, confused, or do not understand what they are signing due to language barriers. This is a particular problem for our elderly green card holders who spend winter months in India and may not have sufficient evidence to prove maintenance of permanent resident status. Through documentation such as ownership of property, tax returns and employment, one can overcome a presumption of abandonment," said Snehal Batra, managing solicitor at NPZ Law Group.

She cited a case where an individual was placed in secondary inspection because, since obtaining lawful permanent residence over six years ago, he had spent a significant amount of time in India.

Although he never exceeded six months (180 days) outside the US, his travel history clearly indicated that he was returning to the US solely to maintain his green card status.

"He was lucky this time and was admitted into the country but warned by CBP to give up his green card if he was not living in the US on a permanent basis," said Batra.

Rajiv S. Khanna, an Arlington-based immigration solicitor, offered a word of caution: "One of the common scenarios that I have provided consultations on is when green card holders are not living in the US. They may visit every few months and consider that to be sufficient. That is legally incorrect. Maintaining a green card requires establishing and maintaining a permanent home in the US. Anything short of that can be grounds for 'lifting the green card' for abandonment."

Jesse Bless, another immigration solicitor, added, "Lawful permanent residents who are outside the US for more than a year (without a re-entry permit) are getting a notice to appear in removal proceedings."

Greg Siskin, co-founder of Siskin Susser, an immigration law firm, recalled, "During the previous Trump administration, there were sky marshals who were passing forms out on planes asking people to surrender their green cards and people were calling and texting from the planes asking what to do. People need to not surrender their cards. But they must be prepared to sit for a while in secondary inspection. It is possible a CBP officer could even detain a person overnight. But a person is entitled to a hearing in front of a judge and most judges are not going to be happy about these cases going in front of them so I suspect CBP will cave in if a person is adamant about not surrendering."