Can A Green Card Be Revoked Upon Divorce?
Green Cards and Divorce
In theory, a green card that has been awarded to someone in a legitimate and genuine marriage should not be revoked because of a divorce but there are situations where a divorce may pose a threat to a person’s green card status.
Even though there are many, many situations where a foreigner and a citizen or permanent resident fall in love and get married and go through getting the foreigner a marriage green card- there are many people who get married solely for the green card.
Even though the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recognizes that even when a couple is genuinely in love and committed to each other, the relationship can fall apart. But because there are many people who get married to try to get a green card, the USCIS has become skeptical and scrutinizes every application.
The USCIS is constantly on the lookout for fraudulent marriages and even though yours may have been 100% legitimate, depending on what your phase is in the green card application process, a divorce may cause them to take a second or third look at your case. This may or may not cause you problems. If your divorce shines a light that makes your marriage look like it was initiated for illegitimate reasons, it may cause you to have problems with your green card.
Once a person has a green card, it is actually quite difficult to revoke but it is not impossible to do. It is important to keep in mind though that even though the physical green card needs to be renewed every ten years like a driver’s license, the individual’s status as a lawful permanent resident does not expire even if an individual’s documentation of this (their green card) is no longer current.
The following are the more common reasons that an individual might lose their green card:
Abandonment
A person can lose their lawful permanent resident status by intentionally abandoning it. The USCIS may consider a green card holder to have done this if they
– Move to another country to live permanently or for an indefinite period of time
– Remain outside of the U.S. for more than 183 days, without organizing for this to be viewed as a temporary absence
– Fail to file their income tax returns while living outside the U.S.
– Declare themselves a “nonimmigrant” on their U.S. tax returns
Criminal Activity
The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) details specific crimes that would subject a non-citizen to be deported, even if they attained permanent resident status through the green card application process.
The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) details specific crimes that would subject a non-citizen to be deported, even if they attained permanent resident status through the green card application process.
Fraud
Fraud, including marriage fraud, can be grounds for deportation. If
a green card holder, lied, deliberately omitted information, or committed any sort of fraud during the application process, it may be grounds for deportation.
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