Tips for Concerned Green Card Holders Traveling Abroad 

 Posted on May 14, 2025 in Immigration

These are turbulent times for immigrants, with heightened immigration law enforcement, including for green card holders who are lawful permanent residents (LPR). Green card holders have been caught in the web of enforcement, with reports of LPRs being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), or facing questioning and even pressure to give up their green cards. The government’s crackdown on people with valid legal documentation including green cards has understandably left many LPRs and even naturalized American citizens worried – especially about traveling abroad. An experienced Rockville, MD green card attorney can help you understand and protect your rights. 

What Are Your Rights as a Green Card Holder Traveling Internationally?

As a green card holder, you have the right to return to the United States. Customers and Border Protection (CBP) cannot remove an LPRs legal status. That decision can only be made in a legal proceeding by an immigration judge. Likewise, CBP cannot legally deny you entry for refusing to answer questions about your political views, although it is important to exercise caution given the current enforcement climate. 

However, CBP has broad authority at the border to ask you questions and even search your electronic devices without a warrant. Although you generally have the right to reenter the United States without unlocking your phone or providing your password, CBP can ask additional questions, detain you for longer, or confiscate the phone. 

How Can You Protect Yourself as a Green Card Holder?

• Know your rights: Refuse to sign Form I-407 voluntarily abandoning your green card. Instead, clearly state that you do not wish to abandon your permanent residency. 

• Request a hearing: If CBP challenges your legal status and you are detained, request an immigration hearing. Know that if CBP detains you for more than 48 hours, your family can locate you via the ICE detainee locator. While you do not have the right to an attorney during an initial proceeding, you do have the right to an attorney in a removal proceeding. 

• Prepare before travel: If you believe you may face additional scrutiny at the border, try to keep your trips to less than six months and bring proof of your life in the U.S., such as recent pay stubs and lease agreements. 

• Share your travel plans: Before you travel, share your travel plans not only with family and trusted friends but with your immigration attorney. 

Call a Rockville, MD Immigration Law Attorney

If you are a lawful permanent resident, you have worked hard throughout your journey towards American citizenship. As an LPR, and despite the current crackdown, you have rights under the Constitution and under immigration law and an experienced Germantown, MD immigration law attorney can advise you about these. At Salvado Law Offices we are here to represent green card holders who may be concerned about their rights or who may be facing adverse legal action. Call our office at 301-933-1814 for a consultation.