President Trump has signed an executive order requiring that persons seeking admission to the United States be “vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible.” That includes searching travelers’ mobile phones, other electronic devices, and social media posts. Also, the administration has recently detained a number of green card holders as it cracks down on immigration and ramps up deportations, raising questions about what rights and protections a green card affords to millions of people across the United States.
Our law firm is providing consultations to green card holders (i.e., lawful permanent residents or LPRs) to help assess and reduce the level of risk of potential international travel. Schedule a consultation.
This article gives a few examples of immigration authorities’ increased scrutiny of LPRs. It ends with a checklist of steps for assessing and minimizing the risk of international travel.
A Few Examples
1. Mahmoud Khalil is a former graduate student at Columbia University who led protests against Israel’s conduct in its war with Hamas. He has not been charged with any crime. He was arrested in March in New York and remains in detention despite having a green card and being married to a U.S. citizen. Potential grounds for deportation include:
- The Immigration and Nationality Act allows deportation of foreign nationals deemed by the Secretary of State to be a “foreign policy” risk to the U.S. The government has put forth no evidence that Khalil has provided material support to Hamas, so the activities which allegedly make him a “foreign policy” risk may be protest activities normally protected by the free speech guarantee of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
- The government may deport a foreign national who was “inadmissible at the time of his adjustment,” meaning ineligible for permanent resident status when it was granted. The government alleges Khalil made misrepresentations in his application by failing to disclose prior employment with the British Embassy in Beirut and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, as well as failing to disclose membership in an organization called Columbia University Apartheid Divest. To prove this charge, the government would need to show that Khalil did make such misrepresentations, that it was willful, and that his misrepresentations about employment and organization membership tended to shut off a line of inquiry (by the USCIS officer considering his application for permanent resident status) which might well have resulted in a proper determination of ineligibility.
- If it “appears” to USCIS that a person “was not in fact eligible for the adjustment of status made in his or her case,” USCIS should commence rescission proceedings by serving upon them a Notice of Intent to Rescind (NOIR) informing them of the allegations upon which USCIS intends to rescind the adjustment and providing an opportunity to respond within 30 days. A NOIR can only be served within 5 years of the date of adjustment. Rescission proceedings are not available if the person was issued an immigrant visa instead of adjusting.
2. Fabian Schmidt is a German national who lives in New Hampshire. Schmidt, who is also a green card holder, was detained at Logan International Airport in Boston after returning from a weeklong trip to Germany to visit his father, his family has said. Reportedly, he has several misdemeanor arrests, including one in which Schmidt was charged in 2015 with possession of marijuana. Those charges were dropped. And in 2016 he was charged with a DUI. According to his family, Schmidt has struggled with drug and alcohol addiction in the past. Potential grounds for removal include, for example:
- Controlled substances conviction: For immigration purposes, a person can be considered to have been convicted even if the charges were dropped. Specifically, if a guilty finding was withheld, but the judge has ordered some kind of punishment (e.g., probation, completion of a drug rehabilitation program), this may in certain situations still count as a “conviction.” There is no statute of limitations under the immigration laws and you may be stopped for convictions that occurred many years ago.
- DUI: Certain aggravating factors can make driving under the influence of alcohol a “crime of moral turpitude” or “aggravated felony” which is the basis for removal from the United States:
- Repeat DUI offenses
- DUIs resulting in injury or death
- DUIs combined with other criminal activities, such as drug possession or driving with a suspended license.
- Drug or alcohol abuse or addiction: A person with a current substance-use disorder may be ineligible for admission to the U.S. Once a determination if made that a person has had a substance-use disorder, they bear the burden of proving that the disorder is in “sustained remission.”
3. There have been multiple press reports that U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at ports of entry have been increasing scrutiny of LPRs who have spent significant periods abroad. This has included but not been limited to elderly permanent residents with U.S. citizen children and grandchildren. CBP officers have informed LPRs that it appears their long stays abroad have amounted to abandonment of their status. According to some reports, CBP officers explained that it would be preferable to sign a Form I-407, Record of Abandonment of Lawful Permanent Resident Status, because otherwise the individual would be referred to immigration court for a removal hearing and may be detained while awaiting the hearing.
Checklist to Assess and Minimize the Risk of International Travel
This is a checklist of issues to address in order to evaluate and minimize the risks of international travel for an LPR. We invite you to schedule a consultation with our law firm to review this checklist.
Key Points:
1. Valid entry document: A person seeking admission as a returning resident needs a valid entry document. This may include, for example, an unexpired Form I-551, Permanent Resident Card, if the person has been outside the U.S. for not more than one year, or a Reentry Permit. See What Documents Can a Lawful Permanent Resident Use to Enter the U.S.?
- Are you stuck outside the U.S. without a valid entry document? See Best Practices for Protecting Your Permanent Resident Status for more about:
- Form I-131A, Application for Travel Document (Carrier Documentation)
- Application for an SB1 returning resident visa
- Form I-193, Application for Waiver of Visa
- Plan for the future:
- Do you need to file a Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card?
- Do you need to file Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence?
- Should you apply for a Reentry Permit? See Guide to Reentry Permits.
2. Passport: A returning resident applying for admission to the U.S. is not technically required to hold a passport. But you will probably need a passport from your country of citizenship to travel to a third country. Some countries require that a foreign national have a passport valid for 6 months beyond their planned departure from the country. The U.S. State Department tracks each country’s policy. See Learn About Your Destination.
3. Grounds of inadmissibility: An LPR seeking readmission to the U.S. is subject to the grounds of inadmissibility. These grounds prohibit the admission of certain classes, such as persons who have been convicted of specified crimes, committed certain immigration violations, or have abused or been addicted to alcohol or controlled substances. See Grounds of Inadmissibility under U.S. Immigration Law.
4. Abandonment: Abandonment is one key ground of inadmissibility. You will be ineligible to enter the U.S. if the CBP officer determines that you have abandoned LPR status by staying abroad on a basis that is not “temporary”. To evaluate the risk of being found inadmissible:
- Review your past patterns of staying abroad.
- Document your reasons for staying abroad.
- Document your existing ties to the United States, including tax compliance, and make a plan for how to strengthen those ties.
- Evaluate the strength of your argument that your stay abroad has been temporary. See Best Practices for Protecting Your Permanent Resident Status (Part 3).
- Make a plan, if possible, for how in the future you will stay abroad merely “temporarily.”
- Make a plan, if possible, to avoid being treated as an “arriving alien” in the future, as explained below.
- Consider whether to apply for a reentry permit. See Guide to Reentry Permits.
- Consider whether to file a Form N-470, Application to Preserve Residence for Naturalization Purposes
5. Evaluate whether you may be subject to any of the grounds of deportability. See INA § 237(a).
6. Evaluate whether CBP is likely to treat you as an “arriving alien” or “returning resident.” In short, a person previously granted LPR status will be treated as an “arriving alien” if any of the following are true:
- you have abandoned or relinquished LPR status,
- you have been absent from the United States for a continuous period in excess of 180 days,
- you have engaged in illegal activity after having departed the United States,
- you have departed from the United States while in removal proceedings or extradition proceedings,
- you have “committed” certain criminal offenses covered by INA § 212(a)(2), unless you were granted an immigration waiver, or
- you are attempting to enter without inspection.
If you are an “arriving alien,” the grounds of inadmissibility will apply to you. If not, as an “returning resident” only the grounds of deportability will apply to you. See Are You an “Arriving Alien”?
7. Evaluate any risk that USCIS could rescind your adjustment of status. See 7 USCIS Policy Manual Q.3.
8. Are you interested in applying for naturalization? If yes, will your stay abroad negatively impact your naturalization application? See Guide to Naturalization in the United States (explaining that for most applicants a stay abroad of 180 days straight will create a presumption that they do not meet the “continuous residence” requirement for naturalization).
9. Consider applying for Global Entry, a CBP program that allows expedited clearance for pre-approved, low-risk travelers upon arrival in the United States. At airports, program members proceed to the Global Entry lanes where processing technology will be used to expedite the members by capturing a photo to verify their membership. Once the photo has been captured, the member will receive on-screen instructions and proceed to a CBP officer who will confirm that you have successfully completed the process. This may be a good option for an LPR who travels frequently, is confident in their ability to pass the required Global Entry interview, and wants to minimize future scrutiny by CBP officers.
Entry Procedures:
10. Choose a port of entry
11. Book a ticket
12. Boarding a flight
13. Customs declaration
14. Planning if your family will be carrying over USD 10,000 in U.S. or foreign currency
15. Plan for bringing medications to the U.S. See CBP Knowledge Article, Traveling with Medication (Mar. 31, 2025)
16. Prepare for the possibility that CBP may search your body, your luggage, your electronic devices, and your social media. See Government Searches of Your Social Media, Luggage, and Electronic Devices.
17. Get some sleep, minimize jet lag so you are not too tired and groggy when you go through inspection
18. Strategies for primary inspection, such as which line to wait in, how to answer the officer’s questions, what documents to present, and whether a short legal memorandum in support of your entry may help.
19. Strategies for secondary inspection, such as:
- your right to an interpreter
- how to exercise your right to contact your consulate for assistance
- your ability to contact a lawyer for assistance
- what to do if accused of a crime
- what to do if the officer asks you to sign a sworn statement
Preparing for Potential Problems at the Port of Entry:
20. How CBP determines whether you are an “arriving alien” or “returning resident” and what the consequences are. See above.
21. Preparing for potential CBP actions, such as:
- referral to deferred inspection
- allowing you to withdraw your application for admission
- allowing you to sign Form I-407, Abandonment of Lawful Permanent Resident Status, and be admitted as a nonimmigrant, or
- issuing a notice to appear for removal proceedings in immigration court
22. Preparing for the possibility that you may be detained, including eligibility for:
- release on bond by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or an immigration judge
- parole under section 212(d)(5), or
- conditional parole under section 236(a)(2)
23. Planning for potential strategies if you are referred to Immigration Court for removal proceedings, such as
- obtaining evidence of LPR status
- whether you can work or travel internationally while the proceedings are pending, and
- whether you may qualify for relief from removal
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