Can a Green Card Holder Be Deported?

What Can Put Permanent Residence at Risk?

A Notice to Appear lists both factual allegations and the legal grounds on which the government seeks removal. Those grounds define what must be proved. For a criminal matter, the immigration consequences come from the particular offense, court record, sentence, and relevant dates, rather than simply whether someone calls the case a felony or misdemeanor.

• Certain criminal convictions or conduct

  Drug offenses, certain theft or fraud crimes, firearms offenses, domestic violence, and other offenses can have immigration consequences. Whether a particular case qualifies depends on the law involved, the court record, the sentence, and relevant dates. Some conduct-based grounds, such as certain protection-order violations, do not require a separate criminal conviction.

• Problems with the original immigration benefit

  The government may allege that you were not eligible when you entered or received permanent residence, including because of fraud or a material misrepresentation. A later allegation is not itself proof; your original application and supporting records matter.

• Other grounds affecting immigration status

  Examples include a false claim to U.S. citizenship, certain security grounds, or termination of conditional residence. These are not all criminal-conviction cases. Each allegation must be evaluated under the specific law and any applicable exception.

The statutory grounds appear in 8 U.S.C. 1227. A state’s label for an offense is not a substitute for this analysis.

Travel Can Change the Legal Questions

A permanent resident returning from a temporary trip is generally not treated as applying for admission again, but the law has exceptions. They include a continuous absence of more than 180 days, abandonment of residence, and certain criminal matters. A shorter trip is not a guarantee that no exception applies.

If CBP allows you to return on immigration parole, you are physically in the country but have not been formally admitted through that entry. In Blanche v. Lau, decided in 2026, the Supreme Court held that a border officer did not need clear and convincing evidence of a qualifying offense at the border before treating the returning resident as an applicant for admission. A later conviction could establish that the offense occurred before the return. If you traveled while a criminal case was pending, keep the entry documents and the later court decisions; their sequence can affect the grounds the government uses.

A long absence can also raise a question about whether you kept the United States as your permanent home. Trip length is relevant, but it is not the only evidence of abandonment. Records of why you traveled, where you worked, your home, and your family life can help explain the circumstances. Before another trip, resolve any uncertainty about a criminal case, an immigration charge, or how you were admitted or paroled on your last return.

Ask whether DHS is treating you as already admitted or as applying for admission, and why. The returning-resident rules identify the exceptions, and the court’s rules on proof explain who must establish the relevant facts.

Challenging the Charge and Asking to Remain

The first issue is whether the immigration charge is legally supported. For a person already admitted to the United States who is charged as deportable, DHS generally must prove deportability by clear and convincing evidence. A defense can challenge the government’s reading of a criminal statute, its account of the immigration history, or the evidence supporting the charge. The rules differ when DHS treats a returning resident as applying for admission.

If a removal ground is established, relief may still allow you to keep your residence. Cancellation of removal for permanent residents, for example, generally requires at least five years as a lawful permanent resident, seven years of continuous residence after admission in any status, and no aggravated-felony conviction. Service of a qualifying Notice to Appear or commission of certain offenses can stop the residence clock. Other eligibility limits apply, and the judge must also decide that the case merits approval. A waiver or another form of protection has different requirements, so a family relationship alone does not establish which option is available.

Keep attending hearings and meeting deadlines while your options are reviewed. If you missed a hearing, check whether there is already an in absentia removal order. If you are detained, your request for release is separate from defending your residence.

What to Bring to a Consultation

The records below help explain how you obtained residence and what has happened since. If the concern began with an arrest, a notice, or a trip, bring the documents from that event as well as the earlier history. Mention upcoming hearings, planned travel, or a proposed plea so those dates can be considered first.

• Proof of residence and immigration history

  Bring the green card, A-number, passports, immigration applications and decisions, and records showing when and how you obtained permanent residence.

• Complete criminal-court records

  Include charging documents, certified dispositions, plea documents, sentencing records, and probation records. Bring any dismissal, expungement, or order changing an earlier conviction or sentence.

• Travel and entry records

  Include dates of departure and return, passport stamps, tickets, parole or entry documents, and evidence of your home and ties in the United States.

• Current charges and prior orders

  Bring the Notice to Appear, ICE documents, hearing notices, earlier removal orders, and any appeal or motion. Include documents about a pending request to remove conditions on residence.

Questions About Green Cards and Deportation