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ResourcesVisa & Immigration LawUS Immigration LawWhat Do I Do If My Green Card Expires While I'm Abroad?

What Do I Do If My Green Card Expires While I'm Abroad?

Transcript of the above video:

In this video today we are discussing Green Card expiration while an individual is abroad, while a lawful permanent resident is outside the United States. 

Unfortunately, I have seen this happen much more frequently with COVID or I should say the government response to COVID worldwide. It is a situation that many can find themselves in that really can lead to a lot of real problems. What are we talking about? Well you have got your Green Card, your I-551. It is your card, that is your resident card and you are abroad and it expires. What happens? Well it is going to be real difficult to get on a plane notwithstanding the fact that legally speaking, you may actually be a resident of the United States still but your Green Card has expired. Now there is more than one way to rectify this depending on the circumstances of your case. That is why it is probably a good idea to contact a legal professional. I know people watching these videos don't like to hear that as just the catch-all remedy. It is good advice because depending on your situation, you need to talk to somebody who knows how to deal with this and has dealt with these. Some of these situations can be very, very obscure in a factual context and the remedies and the mechanisms for remedy can be very discreet. It can be things that really very few people deal with. For example, one option may be the SB-1 Returning Resident Visa. Again, this is going to be fact dependent. I do not know a lot of Immigration Attorneys even that deal with a lot of SB-1s. We deal with a couple at most a year, it does happen. This year we have dealt with more since we have had folks that just unintentionally got stuck abroad. The SB-1 is something of an oddity when it comes to visas, especially Immigrant Visas to the United States and there is a specific way in which to handle them. So when you are looking at that option, you really need to get some expert advice on that. Meanwhile, there may be other remedies things like depending on circumstances getting a new visa foil issued possibly; again that may depend on your set of circumstances. Again if you have a re-entry permit that is still valid that can have a major impact on the analysis of this. 

So long story short, it is probably possible to rectify your situation but the best advice is to contact a legal professional to gain some insight and guidance and then proceed from there.