
Integrity Legal - Resources 



Contact us: +66 2-266 3698

ResourcesVisa & Immigration LawUS Immigration LawUS Tourist Visa Application Subsequent to Green Card Surrender

US Tourist Visa Application Subsequent to Green Card Surrender

Transcript of the above video:

In another video on this channel we have here, the issue of green card surrender was discussed. This video is going to be sort of an amendment to that video although it's a very specific and narrow subset of circumstances that may pertain to green card surrender and tourist visas and how tourist visa and green card surrender may sort of interact in a legal sense with respect to immigration law. It should be noted that a green card surrender is generally undertaken by somebody who wishes to abandon their permanent residence. Now to be clear, those looking into the issue of green card surrender are strongly urged to go ahead and consult an immigration attorney from the United States as simply abandoning one’s green card status has tremendous legal consequences with respect to one’s status in the United States.

So this video is simply an overview. It's a discussion of how some of the dynamics of these issues work but for specifics, please contact a legal professional as it is a good idea to get a firm handle on these matters before making irrevocable decisions. That being said, in certain circumstances people will have gone to the United States they'll have stayed their term, they don't wish to return to the United States. They may have been there for relatively short period time, they could have been there for a prolonged period of time; those individuals wish to leave, return to their home country or reside in another country outside the United States and then no longer need their lawful permanent residence. In some cases, you know this will sort of not necessarily happen consciously. It won't be a conscious decision at the point at which the individual or individuals have left the United States, it'll sort of dawn on them later that “Wow, I really don't need my lawful permanent residence.” That being stated, it doesn't necessarily mean that those individuals don't want to return to the United States from time to time to go ahead and undertake you know, enjoyment activities, pleasurable activities, tourism, visiting family, etc. So it should be noted that simply by surrendering one’s green card one does not necessarily you know throw away all notions of ever returning to the United States for any purpose.

It should be noted that green card surrender in connection with U.S. tourist visa applications are somewhat interconnected and the reason they are is pursuant to section 214(b) of the Immigration Nationality Act an individual applying for tourist visa to the United States has to demonstrate that they show strong ties to a country outside the United States and weak ties to the United States. A fuller, in-depth look at section 214-B can be found in another video on this channel. But please note that this is sort of the balancing act that consular officers or the balancing analysis, the consular officers at U.S. embassies abroad and Consulates abroad for that matter, have to analyze in this manner when they're looking at a tourist visa application. So it should be noted that when somebody applies for a tourist visa, the consular officer in question is looking at whether or not essentially they're sort of analyzing. Does this individual pose risk of remaining in the United States after going there on a tourist visa? Do they pose a risk of either remaining there legally or illegally? Okay, if that individual has relatives in the United States that could go ahead and file for immigrant benefits for them, a Consular Officer is going to take that in consideration and it's probably going to weigh against that individual in an otherwise just neutral environment.

With respect to green card surrender, the issue of 214(b) is effectively thrown out the window because what the individual in question who has surrendered their green card is showing or what’s evidence or the overall posture of the case is, this individual no longer needs or no longer wishes to be a resident of the United States and in fact, has been a resident in the United States, has given it up and simply wishes to return periodically. And under those circumstances, and understand this is an overview, this is not case specific, there could be circumstances where this analysis does not apply, understand that, but in a probably a fairly large number of cases, you know prior to green card surrender is going to make it a little bit you know, that balance that's being undertaken when the tourist visa application is adjudicated, that balance is going to go more in favor of approval because the individual has been a resident and gave it up, and therefore, has evidence that they do not intend to reside in the United States and have showed strong ties to the United States and severed them and are showing even stronger ties to their country be it Thailand or any country abroad. They're showing stronger ties wanting to remain abroad in the longer term. So in a way, a green card surrender really alters the analysis under 214-B with respect to tourist visas and for this reason, it is a sort of narrow subset of cases that this may apply to but in certain circumstances a green card surrender may result in the possibility of a future tourist visa approval due to the fact that the issue of one's intentions as far as residents in the United States has already been adjudicated.