Related videos:
A citizen of Dominican origin, who has been a permanent resident in the United States for eight years, was warned this past weekend upon returning to the country through Fort Lauderdale Airport that she could lose her Green Card due to the frequency and duration of her trips to her country of origin.
According to the woman in statements to the journalist from Univision, Javier Díaz was detained by agents from the Customs and Border Protection (CBP), who took her to the feared "cuartico" while traveling with her underage daughter.
“They took me 'to the little room'. They pressured me, the girl was crying. They asked me what I was going to do. That I have to submit the residency or that I need to request a permit,” said the immigrant.
"They told me I was using the residency like a visa, that this is not correct: They told me a lot of things, and the girl was crying and scared. She said to me, 'Mommy, we are trapped'", she added.
During the interrogation, one of the officers, after verifying that the woman had spent two months in the Dominican Republic, warned her:
"You live in Miami or in Santo Domingo, but not in both places."
What does the immigration law say?
According to U.S. immigration legislation, a permanent resident cannot remain outside the country for more than six consecutive months without it being presumed that they are possibly abandoning their legal status.
In an interview with Univision, immigration attorney José Guerrero explained that, beyond the exact time frame, authorities have the discretion to evaluate each case based on various factors: the purpose of the trip, duration, frequency, and the connections the person has with the United States.
“A resident must reside permanently within the U.S. It cannot be used as a visa,” emphasized Guerrero.
“A person who spends a lot of time away, like five months for example, returns for a week and then leaves for another five months, that person may have problems and could have their residency revoked,” he stated.
What options are available to avoid problems?
The lawyer also reminded that permanent residents can apply for a re-entry permit if they plan to be out of the country for more than six months, thereby preventing their frequent departure from being interpreted as abandonment of residency.
In the specific case of the Dominican citizen alerted by CBP, her travel pattern involves spending two months in the United States and two months in the Dominican Republic, which represents a frequency of movement that could raise concerns among immigration authorities.
Filed under: