Legal Question in Immigration Law in California

Good Afternoon:

I am sorry that such an unfortunate situation has happened to your son. What country is he originally from?

You may have to re-apply for his green card, if he has abandoned his green card. Abandonment occurs if a legal permanent resident spends a year or more outside of the US without returning to the US at all during that time.

However, before I discuss your son's possible options, I would need to examine his documents to find out the exact reason they revoked his green card, when he became a permanent resident of the U.S., how long he has been out of the U.S. and his immigration history.

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Note: The above response is provided for information purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice, nor to create an attorney-client relationship, which can only be established through payment of consideration.

When you write that his alien registration card was "revoked", I'm not sure what actually occurred. More details about what happened are needed to know where to go from here. There might be more than one alternative.

I disagree with Ellaine Loreto's statement: "Abandonment occurs if a legal permanent resident spends a year or more outside of the US without returning to the US at all during that time." That's not the case. The presumption is that after a years' departure, residence is broken, but that doesn't mean it can't be repaired. It can be. In fact, a re-entry permit is specifically given by the government to allow departures up to two years and longer if extended. So they understand that sometimes a permanent resident needs to be gone for more than a year or two or four or some other number. A lot depends on his intentions on departure and changes that occur thereafter. If he intended to return upon departure and ended up being delayed temporarily, then that's one thing, but it's another thing to not really care what happens when you leave permanent residence behind and forget about it until a distinct moment in the future. That could be a problem. If he didn't plan to return to the U.S. before he left and afterward, then you may need to re-apply. He might also qualify another way, but a closer examination is needed for that.

I would be happy to help you out if you contact me offline. Check me out at http://www.yardum-hunter.com, phone at 818 609 1953 or email me at [email protected]. Until then, please don't rely on this as legal advice.

Alice M. Yardum-Hunter, Attorney at Law, Certified Specialist, Immigration & Nationality Law, State Bar of CA, Bd. of Legal Specialization

A �Super Lawyer� 2004 � 2009, Los Angeles Magazine