Permanent residence not abandoned despite being outside the US for 2.5+ years - BIA

Many people with US permanent residence (green cards) want to know how long they can stay outside the US without abandoning their permanent residence. The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) recently made a very interesting decision in a case involving this issue. They ultimately considered that a person had not abandoned his permanent residence despite being outside the US for over 2.5 years.

In this BIA case, the foreign national (Mr. X) returned to the US in 2000, having been outside the US for 2 years and 9 months. On re-entering the US, Mr. X explained that he had left the US to care for his sick grandmother. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claimed that Mr. X did not leave to care for a family member and that he intended to abandon his lawful permanent resident status.

The BIA considered case history on this issue, including Katebi v. Ashcroft, 396 F.3d 463 (1st Cir. 2005). In Katebi, the court stated that "when an alien has a colorable claim to [permanent] resident status, the DHS has the burden to prove that the alien is not eligible for admission by clear, convincing, and unequivocal evidence."

The BIA, citing Katebi stated that

a permanent resident returns from a temporary visit abroad only when (a) the permanent resident's visit is for a period relatively short, fixed by some early event, or (b) the permanent resident's visit will terminate upon the occurrence of an event having a reasonable possibility of occurring within a relatively short period of time.

Ultimately, the issue is one of intent, and not, as the Immigration Judge's opinion suggests, whether the absence from the United States was "necessary" in the first place...... In other words, a returning resident does not necessarily abandon his status if he extends his trip beyond a relatively short period; the key remains whether his activities are consistent with an intent to return to the United States as soon as practicable....

Factors to be considered in evaluating the alien's intent include the alien's family ties, property holdings, and business affiliations within the United States, and the alien's family, property, and business ties in the foreign country.

In the instant case, Mr. X took no steps to establish significant ties in Hong Kong that would show that he intended to live there permanently. Instead, he apparently spent his time caring for an elderly relative and helping his sister, who was going through a divorce while caring for two small children. The BIA notes that Mr. X "did not have traditional employment in Hong Kong, did not have significant income there or open a bank account, and did not attempt to secure housing for himself." In addition, Mr. X had lived in the US for about 12 years after becoming a permanent resident, and had considerable family ties in the US.


Despite the above decision, which is non-precedent, we still urge all permanent residents who will spend 6+ months outside the US to get re-entry permits to be safe. See prior posts on this issue: http://martinvisalaw.blogspot.com/search/label/reentry%20permit.