Form I-407 Voluntary Abandonment of Legal Permanent Residence

The Form I-407 Voluntary Abandonment of Legal Permanent Residence process is relatively simple USCIS Form. The I-407 Form is required to abandon or relinquish a legal permanent resident's  U.S. person status. Merely allowing the green card to lapse or expire does not per se end the person’s U.S. status. The U.S. government wants to keep track of individuals and their U.S. status. And, with foreign accounts compliance at an all-time high, it is important to properly submit the form, analyze "covered expatriate" status, file form 8854 (if required) and exit the U.S. tax system.

Form I-407  (Voluntary Abandonment of Legal Permanent Residence)

The Form I-407 is used to relinquish a Green Card and give up Legal Permanent Residence Status. From the U.S. perspective, the green card is more than just a card. It represents that the person is a U.S. person and has complied with the rules and requirements to be considered a legal permanent resident. With that comes several benefits (of course, tax is not one of them). Therefore, when it is time to hang it up and relinquish the U.S. status, the green card holder must take affirmative action.

Legal Permanent Residence vs. Green Card

The Green Card is a representation of the status. The green card in and of itself does not mean anything. For example, if a Legal Permanent Resident was to misplace or lose their green card -- they do not lose their U.S. status. Conversely, just because the card expires does not mean that Legal Permanent Residence is lost. It may subject the person to potential removal and other issues, but the mere fact that the green card expires, does not mean that the legal permanent resident status expired as well. Rather, a person remains a U.S. person until they have taken affirmative action.

Generally, the process can be completed relatively easily by simply filing the form.

We will review the requirements for filing the form.

The Purpose of USCIS Form I-407 

The Form I-407 is used to formally abandon legal permanent resident status. The form is not a tax form, but is rather an immigration form published by the USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Service).

As provided by USCIS:

Form I-407, Record of Abandonment of Lawful Permanent Resident Status, is designed to provide a simple procedure to record an individual’s abandonment of status as a lawful permanent resident (LPR) of the United States.

Use of Form I-407 also ensures that an individual abandoning his or her LPR status is informed of the right to a hearing before an immigration judge and that the individual has knowingly, willingly, and affirmatively waived that right.

Explanation of the Purpose

The U.S. government want the individual to be sure they want to relinquish their U.S. status. The form is used as an easy way to complete the process (for the green card holder) and protects the government from any claim by the person that they did not “voluntarily” relinquish their status.

Who Files Form I-407?

As further provided by USCIS:

Form I-407 is used by lawful permanent residents who are outside the United States or at a Port of Entry who want to abandon their LPR status. Form I-407 may also be used by individuals who were admitted into the United States as non-immigrants or paroled into the United States after abandoning a prior LPR status, and who now want to record that prior abandonment of LPR status.

Generally, if a parent abandons LPR status, any minor children in that parent’s custody will also have abandoned their LPR status.

If a parent, custodial parent, or legal guardian chooses to file a separate Form I-407 on behalf of a minor child, the parent, custodial parent, or legal guardian must show that he or she has custody of the minor child.

Form I-407 is also used by U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials and U.S. Department of State (DOS) consular officers to record the facts relating to individuals who abandon LPR status during an in-person interview or by correspondence.

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