People with a legal permanent residency (green card) can do a lot. By law, they can travel outside the United States, work, or even start a business. But there are a few things that they cannot do.
If you are not a U.S. Citizen, you must not:
- Vote in federal elections;
- Serve on a jury;
- Hold an elected office;
- Hold certain federal jobs (usually those requiring U.S. security clearance)
- Obtain certain licenses (might require citizenship for aviation or maritime licenses);
- Remain outside the U.S. more than 180 days (there will be a presumption that you have abandoned your LPR status); or
- Ever claim to be a U.S. Citizen!
You must:
- Alert the USCIS of any and every physical move. Check out the information here: https://www.uscis.gov/addresschange.
There are reports of legal permanent residents who are in status and have no re-entry bans experiencing difficulty in returning to the United States. For this reason, we recommend that Legal Permanent Residents restrict their travel to necessary trips only, at least under this xenophobic administration.