Can CBP refuse to admit LPR holders at pre-clearance? Is it a proper "port of entry" in that way?

[Thomas Cruise 0]

As I understand, CBP cannot refuse entry to someone holding a valid greencard if they think they have abandoned their LPR due to long stay outside the US and must admit them (whether parole or detention) with a notice to appear before an immigration judge. They do however try to persuade people to sign on voluntary withdrawal forms. What I want to know is that does the same policy apply at a pre-clearance facility? Does the CBP have to abide by the same rules as on a port of entry on US soil or can they simply deny the greencard holder from boarding if they think they have abandoned their LPR?

 

[SteveInBostonI130 3,465]

There are only a few actual pre-clearance facilities.  I believe 16 worldwide.  Those are manned by CBP personel and operate as if going through US POE.

 

If you are talking about the clearance checks at the airport before boarding a plane to the US, that is handled by airline personnell and they abide by different rules, mainly to avoid a risk that the traveller will be turned back at the US border and the airline has to foot the bill to fly them back.  They can deny boarding if they believe a visa is missing or invalid, if the traveller is subject to travel bans, or if a GC or passport is expired.  They do not have any knowledge of the LPR status of the passenger - if they have a valid GC, that is typically all that is required to board.

[Thomas Cruise 0]

42 minutes ago, SteveInBostonI130 said:

There are only a few actual pre-clearance facilities.  I believe 16 worldwide.  Those are manned by CBP personel and operate as if going through US POE.

 

If you are talking about the clearance checks at the airport before boarding a plane to the US, that is handled by airline personnell and they abide by different rules, mainly to avoid a risk that the traveller will be turned back at the US border and the airline has to foot the bill to fly them back.  They can deny boarding if they believe a visa is missing or invalid, if the traveller is subject to travel bans, or if a GC or passport is expired.  They do not have any knowledge of the LPR status of the passenger - if they have a valid GC, that is typically all that is required to board.

I am talking about the US pre-clearance facilities manned by CBP, (I have asked about CBP's actions which obviously implies I am not talking about any other clearance checks) and only taking about the one specific scenario where CBP assumes that LPR has been abandoned because of long stay outside the US.

[arken 4,197]

I'd assume the policy is the same. They are technically the POEs. There is no subsequent POE or further questioning after you pass them. It just a plane far away as opposed to few walking steps away thereafter.

[carmel34 3,638]

20 hours ago, Thomas Cruise said:

CBP cannot refuse entry to someone holding a valid greencard if they think they have abandoned their LPR

This is not the case.  CBP can refuse entry to anyone who is not a US citizen.  It is at their discretion and based on the circumstances and their judgment based on your answers to their questions and information they will bring up on their computer system regarding your situation.  If you're doing CBP pre-clearance, and they tell you you have abandoned your LPR status and can't board the flight, you can't say you want to appear before an immigration judge and stay in the US.  So if you are concerned about not getting through CBP pre-clearance because you have been outside the US for a year or more, I suggest that you fly out of an airport that does not have pre-clearance.  Good luck!

[Thomas Cruise 0]

On 7/24/2021 at 5:36 PM, carmel34 said:

This is not the case.  CBP can refuse entry to anyone who is not a US citizen.  It is at their discretion and based on the circumstances and their judgment based on your answers to their questions and information they will bring up on their computer system regarding your situation.  If you're doing CBP pre-clearance, and they tell you you have abandoned your LPR status and can't board the flight, you can't say you want to appear before an immigration judge and stay in the US.  So if you are concerned about not getting through CBP pre-clearance because you have been outside the US for a year or more, I suggest that you fly out of an airport that does not have pre-clearance.  Good luck!

That's contrary to the information available at CBP website, many law websites and also many other discussions on this very website. CBP would have to give a notice to appear before the immigration judge and they can either give parole or keep at detention centre, but in practice  they are not detained but paroled. A quote from the American lawyers association:

 

"If CBP believes that you abandoned your U.S. residence and you refuse to sign a Form I-407, CBP must issue you a Notice to Appear (NTA) before an immigration judge who will determine if you have abandoned your U.S. residence. CBP cannot make this decision on its own."

 

CBP website only talks about LPR who are convicted of a crime, but if it is applicable to those convicted of a crime, then it could also be applicable to those not convicted of a crime. Quote from the CBP website:

 

"Lawful Permanent Resident's (LPR) convicted of certain crimes cannot be denied re-entry into the United States, although they will be referred to an Immigration Hearing to determine deportability."

 

It also states that entry will be denied for subsequent re-entry after deportation order has been made by an immigration judge.

 

The same info is there at many websites and I have also read experiences by many. CBP just tries to coerce people into signing form I-407 which is voluntary abandonment. But all experiences I have read were at US airports.

 

So my question still stands the same, whether the same happens at pre-clearance entry, ie, NTA given or do they have authority to deny boarding. I am not asking about  guessing or hypothetically stating what they can do, only concrete information.

 

Source for the above quote:

https://www.aila.org/File/Related/18110604b.pdf

 

 

Edited July 26, 2021 by Thomas Cruise