This article was updated on July 8 at 10:24 AM EST with the latest figures on federally sentenced non-U.S. citizens. It was first published on July 6.
Some green card holders could now face new risks when traveling internationally and trying to re-enter the United States. Over 14 million people in the U.S. have green cards, and hundreds of thousands more are granted this status through employment, family sponsorship, or the green card lottery. More than 129,000 employment-based green card applications were filed in 2024 alone, per data from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Under a new ruling, however, the Supreme Court has made it possible for pending charges to be just enough reason to deny entry, even if they are a legal U.S. resident and hold a green card. An immigration attorney has thus issued a “do not travel” warning to those who have pending charges or allegations. But the true number of impacted green card holders could reveal how far-reaching the Supreme Court’s ruling could go.
Immigration Lawyers Warn U.S. Green Card Holders Not To Travel
Immigration attorney Jacob Saposnik recently took to YouTube with a video titled “Green Card Holders: DO NOT TRAVEL With Pending Charges.” In the video, he shares the warning with green card holders following the Supreme Court’s decision in Blanche v. Lau.
This isn’t Saposnik’s first video sharing the dangers of travel for those with pending charges, and in it, he details what to avoid when coming back into the country.
Saposnik also explains that there has been much historical debate about how to treat green card holders with criminal records.
“And the typical fight was always about if somebody has those convictions in their background, and they are green card holders, how shall we treat them when they enter the United States? Are we treating them as green card holders or as first-time admission, parole, or all the things that could put them in trouble and risk their green card? And this was the whole issue with this Lao case, the most recent Supreme Court decision,” he says in the YouTube video.
But following Blanche v. Lau, that decision just became a lot clearer, albeit murky for those traveling with pending criminal charges. Rather than gaining assured reentry into the U.S., green card holders are now subject to a new statute that may prevent them from coming back at all.
Blanche v. Lau Supreme Court Ruling
The new Supreme Court ruling began with Muk Choi Lau, a Chinese citizen, who was admitted to the United States as a lawful permanent resident in 2007. In 2012, New Jersey charged Lau with trademark counterfeiting. While Lau awaited trial sentencing, he temporarily left the U.S. and went back to China. In June of that same year, he tried to re-enter the U.S. According to U.S. Code Title 8:
“Lawful permanent residents generally must be regarded as already admitted to the country and usually do not have to reapply for admission when they return from temporary overseas travel. Under an exception, the Government may regard a lawful permanent resident as ‘seeking an admission’ (and thus as not already admitted) if he ‘has committed an offense identified in section 1182(a)(2), §1101(a)(13)(C)(v), including a crime involving moral turpitude.”
By definition, “moral turpitude” is defined as “inherently wicked, vile, or contrary to the accepted standards of justice and morality.” Based on the Supreme Court ruling, this means any green card holder with pending charges that fall under this description can be prevented from returning.
In the case of Lau, border patrol officers questioned him at the airport regarding his recent travel. They inquired about his pending criminal case and ultimately confiscated his green card. This left Lau in limbo, with no way to re-enter the U.S., and no way to gain permanent residency. He was essentially treated as someone seeking admission into the U.S. for the very first time, thus invalidating his green card status because of pending criminal charges.
The Supreme Court has made it abundantly clear that all green card holders with pending criminal charges may face the same risks. If a green card holder leaves the country and is caught returning with pending charges, the consequences now include:
- Detention
- Loss of their green card
- In extreme cases, deportation
Additionally, various crimes carry new weight when green card holders are charged with criminal activity. This hinders travel further, preventing many current holders from traveling outside the bounds of the U.S.
According to Alston & Bird, green card holders should be especially wary of the risks regardless of their pending status. The Blanch v. Lau ruling could impact travelers who:
- Have a criminal case still pending.
- Have no conviction at the time of travel.
- Have not admitted the conduct.
- Have a charge that may ultimately be reduced, dismissed, or resolved favorably.
- Have previously traveled without incident.
In light of this court decision, no traveler is excluded from potential scrutiny from the U.S. government regarding their pending charges. Even if a person has not been formally charged or has a high rate of having their case dismissed, they may still have their temporary citizenship rights revoked.
Although Blanch v. Lau primarily affects those with moral turpitude, assault, and controlled substance-related charges, even those with minor misdemeanors should be cautious when leaving the country.
Ultimately, a question remains regarding the scale of the Supreme Court’s recent ruling: how many people with green cards could the rule change affect?
How Many Green Card Holders Have Criminal Charges?
There’s not much public information available on the numbers of green card holders in the U.S. who also have criminal charges, pending or otherwise, or arrests or convictions. So, it’s unclear exactly how many people will be affected by the Supreme Court’s new ruling.
However, there is data available from the United States Sentencing Commission (USSC) on the number of non-U.S. citizens overall (which includes green card holders) who receive federal sentences. This can help reveal a clearer picture, albeit still a potentially inaccurate one due to data specification gaps.
The number of federally sentenced non-U.S. citizens above naturally includes green card holders, but it also includes anyone else who isn’t a U.S. citizen. The known breakdown, per the USSC’s data, includes:
- 92% were classified as “illegal aliens”
- 6% were classified as “legal aliens”
- 1% were classified as “extradited aliens”
- 1% were classified as “unknown status”
It’s likely that green card holders would be included in the “legal aliens” metric, at 6%. But that 6% of “legal aliens” would also include people with valid U.S. visas, not just green card holders. So, it’s not truly possible to distinguish how many of these federal sentences, let alone pending charges, are handed to green card holders alone due to the lack of publicly shared data that specifies the numbers solely for people with green cards.
In any case, travelers with a U.S. green card and pending charges who plan to leave the country are advised to consult immigration counsel before committing to any future plans.
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