For Green Card Holders: Know Your Rights At the Airport

When coming back to the United States from a trip abroad, everyone has to pass through passport control. For green card holders, this is can be a smooth process. However, sometimes green card holders are asked more questions and are required to go through a second screening process. If this happens to you or your family member, it is important that you know your rights.  

If you are a green card holder and you are asked additional questions at the border control, the officer might ask that you go to a separate area for "secondary inspection." If this happens, you could be questioned for a few more minutes or even up to several hours. If this happens, remember the following: 

1. You can ask border control for permission to contact your lawyer. Here is the tricky part: Access to a lawyer is NOT a full right at airport secondary inspection. The officer is allowed to refuse access at the country's border (and airports are considered "the border"). Rules at the border are a little different from other places. That said, you should ask for a lawyer anyway. 
2. You have the right to contact your country's consulate or embassy for assistance. They can help you contact family or a lawyer. 
3. You have the right to refuse signing anything. If you do not understand what a paper says or you do not fully agree to what it says, DO NOT SIGN. Signing something at the border can have severe consequences for your immigration status. 
4. You have a right to ask that any written statements be provided in a language that you can understand. You do not have to struggle to read or understand the English version. 
5. An officer might try to say that you abandoned your legal permanent residence (green card) because you were outside of the country too long. Remember, even if the officer says this, the government must actually prove in immigration court that you abandoned your green card, and the judge must determine that you actually abandoned your status. Therefore, if this comes up, the officer might ask (or even demand) that you sign a form called I-407. Do NOT sign. I-407 is a form you sign when you agree that you have abandoned your green card. Do NOT sign I-407; instead, politely refuse and ask that they set a hearing before an immigration judge. Attending court sounds scary, but in this way, you have the opportunity to present evidence and not just voluntarily give up your green card by signing a form at the border. 
6. As mentioned in point #1 above, rights at the country's border are a little different. The officer is allowed to search your phone, laptop, and any other electronic devices without having a warrant. But, you can protect yourself and limit access to your private information on your devices. Officers are only allowed to search what is available on your phone. Therefore, you can take steps to limit access on your phone such as backing up your pictures and sensitive information on a cloud system and limit the apps that are available on your phone. Click here for a full article that we wrote on this topic and on tips of protecting your privacy at the border. 

For more information on this and other immigration topics, please visit our articles page. 

Najmeh Mahmoudjafari, Esq.
Najmeh is the Founder and Lead Immigration Attorney at ImmigraTrust Law, an immigration law practice in Orange County, California, representing individual and corporate clients in all 50 U.S. States and internationally. Najmeh can be reached at [email protected].

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DISCLAIMER: This article is for general information purposes only. It is not intended and does not constitute legal advice. This article does not create an attorney/client relationship and does not provide an attorney/client privilege. For legal advice about your specific case, please contact an attorney.