The USA has begun tightening exit monitoring and journey scrutiny, triggering contemporary anxiousness amongst inexperienced card holders who spend lengthy intervals exterior the nation.
A couple of months in the past, the Trump administration issued a transparent warning: authorized everlasting residents who reside overseas or stay exterior the US for greater than six months could possibly be considered as having “deserted” their residency – risking lack of standing.
The message has unsettled many immigrants who steadily journey in and overseas.
Waiting for 2026, the administration is predicted to harden immigration insurance policies additional. Authorized immigration ranges are set to shrink, deportations are projected to rise, and hiring H-1B staff might develop into harder and costlier.
The Nationwide Basis for American Coverage estimates that projected authorized immigration has already been lower by greater than 600,000 throughout the president’s second time period.
On the similar time, US Customs and Border Safety (CBP) has stepped up exit monitoring.
Utilizing biometrics and different expertise, officers at the moment are carefully recording when non-citizens go away the US and the way lengthy they keep away. This has made the sooner warning really feel rapid and actual for inexperienced card holders.
The impression is seen alongside the US–Mexico border. In Tijuana, simply throughout from San Diego, many US residents and inexperienced card holders had moved to benefit from decrease rents.
Now, many are returning to the US out of concern that prolonged stays in Mexico might jeopardize their residency.
Dulce Belén Reynoso Reyes, president of the Mexican Affiliation of Actual Property Brokers in Tijuana, instructed The Border Report that occupancy has dropped as Individuals transfer again north, pushing rents down in Baja.
She stated residents really feel pressured to depart regardless of a lot increased rents within the US, pushed by concern of shedding authorized standing.
Inexperienced card journey guidelines: what lengthy stays overseas imply
Below present coverage, an extended keep overseas doesn’t mechanically cancel a inexperienced card. Nevertheless it now triggers nearer scrutiny at reentry.
If a inexperienced card holder stays exterior the US for greater than 180 days, they might not be handled as a routine “returning resident.”
As a substitute, CBP can course of them as looking for “new admission,” permitting officers to ask detailed questions on the place the individual actually lives and whether or not the US stays their everlasting house.
Since mid-2025, stories of secondary inspections at US airports have elevated. Officers are checking whether or not vacationers proceed to file US taxes, preserve a house within the US, and maintain a US-based job or enterprise.
Legally, staying exterior the US for a couple of 12 months with out a reentry allow continues to be the purpose at which abandonment is presumed.
What should you should keep overseas longer than a 12 months?
For individuals who count on prolonged journey, specialists advise planning forward. Making use of for a reentry allow earlier than leaving the US is broadly seen because the most secure choice. The allow helps exhibit intent to keep up everlasting residency.
In line with US Citizenship and Immigration Companies (USCIS), residents who plan to be away for greater than a 12 months ought to apply for a reentry allow (Kind I-131) earlier than departure.
Whereas it doesn’t assure entry on return, it strengthens the case that the person intends to proceed residing completely in america.
With exit monitoring tightening and enforcement rising, many inexperienced card holders are selecting warning; reducing journeys brief or shifting again; to guard their standing.
