When it comes to the notions about green card acquiring and processing, there are some common misconceptions that people struggle with. If you are working to get a green card, having your facts straightened can solve a lot of the complications. If you listen to some of the myths that seem to good to be true, it is possibly better to get it fact checked first.
To help you with that, let us walk you through some of the common misconceptions about green cards, shall we?
It is an easy process
The very first and the most common myth and misconception that people have is thinking that the process of acquiring a green card is easy. There are a few ways in which you can get a green card, marrying an American citizen, due to employment reasons and the green card lottery. The process of acquiring a green card is anything but easy because the USCIS only issues a few every year and the competition for those few is a lot more than what you would generally expect.
Twice a travel to US is enough
One of the common misconceptions that people have is thinking that getting a green card just means you can travel back and forth. The main objective of a green card is to provide with permanent residency to the immigrant. If one wants to keep that, it is necessary that they stay there permanently and not travel back and forth. If any of the Legal Permanent Resident does that, the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has complete authority to revoke their residency and take the green card back.
You need a lawyer
I mean, yeah, you can get a lawyer to get everything sorted out for yourself but it is not mandatory. You will easily get all the necessary information about the process available at the USCIS website. You don’t necessarily need an immigration attorney if you know your way through the process. Instead, just read through all the available information and blindly follow through the process that they want.
You need to surrender it at the airport
Another common issue that many think of is that you need to surrender the green card at the airport. If you are forced by an airport authority to surrender your green card when you are a legal permanent resident in the United States, you don’t have to do that without any kind of hearing. It is true that the green card holder doesn’t necessarily have the same rights as the US citizen but they have the right to have a hearing before finalizing anything.
Green card lasts forever
One of the other myths that need to be broken is the fact that green card lasts forever. Trust me, they don’t. Every single one of the green cards comes with an expiration date. You need to apply for a new green card before the other one is about to expire. But, know for a fact that not every single one of the green cards come with the same kind of life span and can vary from person to person. The green cards issued through marriage are valid for 3 years while the one via family sponsorships are valid for 10 years.
Holders of green card can’t be deported
If you didn’t know this, it is better that you do now. It is important to note that only the US citizens can’t be deported as since the green card holders aren’t US citizens, they have the risks of getting deported. Committing a crime or fraud can get them revoked from their green card status but in such cases, it is necessary that the permanent resident does seek the necessary immigration attorney to take their case over.
Same right as US citizens
Last but not the least in the misconceptions about green card is thinking that they have the same rights as the US citizens. That isn’t the truth. They aren’t allowed to vote and do not have the right to permanent residency as well. It is also necessary for the individual to spend 6 consecutive months in the US to keep their green card valid.
These are some of the common misconceptions about green cards that people have. If you are one of them, it is definitely time to bring forth changes to your thinking and know what the actual fact states.
