POE experience at JFK

aaron13

Registered Users (C)
I flew back to the US via JFK POE as I always do after 4 months of absence. Usually JFK POE is very easy and no questions asked while going through immigration. This time is very different, the officer asked how long I was away and what was the reason for staying away, and asked how much cash do I have with me. These questions sound ordinary for POE, but trust me, they are not at JFK. I travel back from overseas twice a year via JFK and no questions asked during the last 10 entries. Also it looks like everyone is being questioned from what I observed. Does anyone have the same experience? Are we already feeling the Trump effect?
 
I flew back to the US via JFK POE as I always do after 4 months of absence. Usually JFK POE is very easy and no questions asked while going through immigration. This time is very different, the officer asked how long I was away and what was the reason for staying away, and asked how much cash do I have with me. These questions sound ordinary for POE, but trust me, they are not at JFK. I travel back from overseas twice a year via JFK and no questions asked during the last 10 entries. Also it looks like everyone is being questioned from what I observed. Does anyone have the same experience? Are we already feeling the Trump effect?

Hi Aaron13,

This is normal standard protocol and has nothing to do with Trump. Having a green card means you are a LPR and it means that eventually you will settle in the U.S. permanently, besides that every immigration officer is different and will follow their standard procedures. Leaving the country so many times does raise some questions.

This is an extract that i capture from the USCIS website. Here is link: https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/after-green-card-granted/international-travel-permanent-resident

Does travel outside the United States affect my permanent resident status?
Permanent residents are free to travel outside the United States, and temporary or brief travel usually does not affect your permanent resident status. If it is determined, however, that you did not intend to make the United States your permanent home, you will be found to have abandoned your permanent resident status. A general guide used is whether you have been absent from the United States for more than a year. Abandonment may be found to occur in trips of less than a year where it is believed you did not intend to make the United States your permanent residence. While brief trips abroad generally are not problematic, the officer may consider criteria such as whether your intention was to visit abroad only temporarily, whether you maintained U.S. family and community ties, maintained U.S employment, filed U.S. income taxes as a resident, or otherwise established your intention to return to the United States as your permanent home. Other factors that may be considered include whether you maintained a U.S. mailing address, kept U.S. bank accounts and a valid U.S. driver’s license, own property or run a business in the United States, or any other evidence that supports the temporary nature of your absence.

Keep this in mind since things might change in the U.S. from an immigration standpoint and its good to know your obligations as a Green Card Holder.
 
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