Can the US still be entered on a tourist visa after permanent resident status is denied/expired?

11/28/2017 5:57:25 AM

My green card expired and I did not renew it. I entered on an ESTA visa. At the port of entry, they noticed my expired green card and retained me for questioning. I said I did not want to renew it anymore. After looking at me strangely and warning me several times, they accepted the cancellation of the green card and let me through on my ESTA visa ( I am a singapore citizen). I have since travelled on the same ESTA this year also , with no problems. It is better to surrender the card if you have no use for it, instead of just not taking any action. Keeps the slate clean.

6/19/2017 12:09:24 PM

I returned my Green Card voluntarily after several years living in Europe and filing taxes (1040 forms etc.) but was not allowed to enter the US two years afterwards with an ESTA. I am Western European citizen, not muslim and of Caucasian ethnicity. The reason for my refusal according to DHS was that they will forever consider me a potential illegal immigrant alien because “nobody returns a green card voluntarily”. Interesting…

11/19/2015 3:22:32 AM

To provide an update and back up the answer provided by littleadv here:

My wife completed the I-407 form, went to an interview (scheduled) with the US embassy here in Korea, and relinquished her permanent residence status. The official gave her back a signed copy of the form showing that she had given up her status. A short time later, we applied for an ESTA so she could visit the US and it was approved. When it came time to actually visit the US, the customs and immigration officer reviewed her papers and admitted her without trouble.

I realize this is anecdotal, but it does confirm that, under normal circumstances (i.e. no criminal history, overstays of past visas, or other irregularities), former PR holders can re-enter the US as tourists (and even get an ESTA).

(Note to mods: My apologies again for the cross-posting of the question. It did seem to generate a fair amount of interest on both sites and presumably can be useful to both travelers and expats. I will avoid any future cross-posting on either site.)

1/24/2015 5:59:13 AM

There’s no specific rule saying you can’t enter the US on a tourist visa after your PR status or other visa expires. However, that’s not to say it won’t raise questions. They’re probably going to have what happened on their records, and they’ll want an explanation of why she’s visiting, how she’ll support herself, and evidence that she plans on leaving again.

Why? Because lots of people who have their PR status or visas cancelled, try to over stay or re-enter on other ‘visas’ to pretend to be tourists, so they can keep on working. They don’t want that to happen, so will need evidence.

However, given all this hassle with visas, marriage, and visits, it’s complicated enough that you may want to consider meeting with an immigration consultant / lawyer for more information, to increase your chances of ‘ticking the boxes’ ie – doing the right thing. There’s only so much advice you can take from a guy on the internet 😉

Credit:stackoverflow.com‘

About me

Hello,My name is Aparna Patel,I’m a Travel Blogger and Photographer who travel the world full-time with my hubby.I like to share my travel experience.

Search Posts

Latest posts

Popular posts