Travel scare for green card holders

[Hassan Raza 3]

This was shared with me today:

 

https://www.shiamuslimfoundation.com/post/smf-emergency-alert-shia-muslim-green-card-holders-advised-to-avoid-international-travel-immediately

 

There's constant info being shared of green card holders (and even citizens) being detained or even having their status revoked for unclear reasons. 

 

If everything done is seemingly legal, is there any reason to worry as long as the I-751 extension deadline has not been crossed yet? 

 

My wife's N400 and removal of conditions on green card are pending. No red flags in our application. 

[Dashinka 25,199]

If you are following the process you should be fine.

 

Good Luck!

[A Polite Parrot 45]

Define legal and illegal. The regime in power is looking for excuses to revoke all kinds of statuses of high profile people and not, for example, Mahmoud Khalil. Is protesting illegal? Is not including UNRWA on your application illegal? Etc.

 

These are not black and white lines. The regime is promoting fear by picking at anything and anyone -- similar to the era of McCarthyism. Instead follow the advice of a good immigration lawyer and trustworthy non profits. If you see your past or current activities as similar to the lives you are reading about, connect with these resources ASAP. Do not sit idle.

 

If you trust the organization in the link you shared, why not speak with them for further guidance?

[hplusj 308]

On 3/24/2025 at 12:09 PM, A Polite Parrot said:

Define legal and illegal. The regime in power is looking for excuses to revoke all kinds of statuses of high profile people and not, for example, Mahmoud Khalil. Is protesting illegal? Is not including UNRWA on your application illegal? Etc.

 

These are not black and white lines. The regime is promoting fear by picking at anything and anyone -- similar to the era of McCarthyism. Instead follow the advice of a good immigration lawyer and trustworthy non profits. If you see your past or current activities as similar to the lives you are reading about, connect with these resources ASAP. Do not sit idle.

 

If you trust the organization in the link you shared, why not speak with them for further guidance?

 

Would like to set the record straight about Mahmoud Khalil and assist with that definition but if this is going to be a political discussion, the thread needs to be moved.

 

If anyone can help with that..

[Boiler 46,574]

Times are weird. This guy is about as far right as you can get but is being defended by the far left.

 

Anyway an odd hill to die on.

[Crazy Cat 42,994]

***Due to the political nature of this subject, it has been moved to the CEHST forum***

[Dashinka 25,199]

On 3/24/2025 at 1:09 PM, A Polite Parrot said:

Define legal and illegal. The regime in power is looking for excuses to revoke all kinds of statuses of high profile people and not, for example, Mahmoud Khalil. Is protesting illegal? Is not including UNRWA on your application illegal? Etc.

 

These are not black and white lines. The regime is promoting fear by picking at anything and anyone -- similar to the era of McCarthyism. Instead follow the advice of a good immigration lawyer and trustworthy non profits. If you see your past or current activities as similar to the lives you are reading about, connect with these resources ASAP. Do not sit idle.

 

If you trust the organization in the link you shared, why not speak with them for further guidance?

In quite a few cases they do not need to look for excuses.  There is a reason all those Yes/No questions are asked on immigration forms.  I could argue that it is the left wing MSM that promoting fear due to their opposition to anything Trump (could be classified as a chronic case of TDS).  People that are law abiding (holding hostages like Khalil and his group did are not law abiding), are fine regardless of the fear being stoked by the elite establishment types and their media allies.

 

[vanhiscers87 28]

I've been interested in Khalil's case from the beginning because I know no matter how his case will turn out, it will be an important legal precedence set for all legal immigrants.

 

On a personal level, what I don't understand is that if he truly didn't believe in western civilization, why did he choose to study in the U.S. and then marry a U.S. citizen to stay here? I was taught a lot of propaganda about the West from a young age in China too, but I chose not to believe it, and decided to come to America and see for myself. I believe at least half of the people on this forum started their immigration journey with a nonimmigrant visa like student visa or work visa, so we know on the visa application form, they ask if we're part of the Communist Party, or if we ever persecuted someone because of their gender, race, or nationality, etc., so we know what those questions implies: the U.S. government only wants people who believe in their values to come in. If no one can prove what you really think, and you tell them what they want to hear to get the visa, there's not too much wrong about it, but I used to believe that means you will at least give American values a fair try. The fact that so many pro-Palestinian protesters on campus were international students was shocking to me, because back when I was in college as an international student, I've never heard international students put themselves out there like that.

 

I have a friend from Syria, and when we used to work together, I often teased her about her lack of common knowledge, and she would tell me they taught her nothing in school in Syria but to hate Israel. We went on a trip to Tokyo together last year, and we were just chatting in our hotel lobby. She was still trying to convince me that women's life in Saudi Arabia isn't as bad, and she'd happily move there if she could marry someone there, and I was just flabbergasted, so I asked her: "If you prefer to live in the Middle East, then why did you come the U.S. and become a citizen? We planned this trip over dinner spontaneously, and bam, here we are in Japan, what country enabled us to do something like this both finance-wise and document-wise?" Then, she was speechless.

 

The U.S. can certainly learn a lot of things from China, and we all miss something from our home countries, but I think we all have to be honest about why most of us are here: we're here because as many flaws as the U.S. has, we can still build a better life here than we can in our home countries, and in the case of the Middle East, till this day, we have yet to have a muslim country that can give their citizens a life as good AND free as the U.S. can give theirs, so maybe western civilization is doing something right.

Edited Saturday at 07:41 AM by vanhiscers87

[hplusj 308]

17 hours ago, vanhiscers87 said:

I've been interested in Khalil's case from the beginning because I know no matter how his case will turn out, it will be an important legal precedence set for all legal immigrants.

 

On a personal level, what I don't understand is that if he truly didn't believe in western civilization, why did he choose to study in the U.S. and then marry a U.S. citizen to stay here? I was taught a lot of propaganda about the West from a young age in China too, but I chose not to believe it, and decided to come to America and see for myself. I believe at least half of the people on this forum started their immigration journey with a nonimmigrant visa like student visa or work visa, so we know on the visa application form, they ask if we're part of the Communist Party, or if we ever persecuted someone because of their gender, race, or nationality, etc., so we know what those questions implies: the U.S. government only wants people who believe in their values to come in. If no one can prove what you really think, and you tell them what they want to hear to get the visa, there's not too much wrong about it, but I used to believe that means you will at least give American values a fair try. The fact that so many pro-Palestinian protesters on campus were international students was shocking to me, because back when I was in college as an international student, I've never heard international students put themselves out there like that.

 

I have a friend from Syria, and when we used to work together, I often teased her about her lack of common knowledge, and she would tell me they taught her nothing in school in Syria but to hate Israel. We went on a trip to Tokyo together last year, and we were just chatting in our hotel lobby. She was still trying to convince me that women's life in Saudi Arabia isn't as bad, and she'd happily move there if she could marry someone there, and I was just flabbergasted, so I asked her: "If you prefer to live in the Middle East, then why did you come the U.S. and become a citizen? We planned this trip over dinner spontaneously, and bam, here we are in Japan, what country enabled us to do something like this both finance-wise and document-wise?" Then, she was speechless.

 

The U.S. can certainly learn a lot of things from China, and we all miss something from our home countries, but I think we all have to be honest about why most of us are here: we're here because as many flaws as the U.S. has, we can still build a better life here than we can in our home countries, and in the case of the Middle East, till this day, we have yet to have a muslim country that can give their citizens a life as good AND free as the U.S. can give theirs, so maybe western civilization is doing something right.

Fantastic post, and well thought out.  Assimilation does not mean discarding your history or sense of self to be a part of some American collective.  Everyone is entitled to their opinions and sentiments about America, however they are not exempt from legal assessment for their actions that purport to be critical and not in just an innocuous way.  Nor should a blind eye be passed to people entering this country, who clearly have no regard for it.

 

The rights to speech and assembly are necessary protections but they don't exist in a laissez-faire umbrella of no policy whatsoever.  If you are a citizen OR a LPR, you are expected to assemble lawfully, and as such you won't be restricted.  The right to assemble should not infringe of the rights of others, and unfortunately when you occupy buildings, you are doing just that.  When you commit unlawful acts in this country as an LPR, you can expect the privilege of being here to be revoked.

 

Khalil's I-485 is also clearly rife with misrepresentation.  UNRWA has argued that he was an unpaid intern and therefore there was no need to list it in his previous employment; however, it is inarguable that UNRWA qualifies as an "organization, association, fund, foundation, party, club, society, or similar group in the United States or in any other location in the world including any military service", and so omitting it from question 1 of Section 8 is already a fraudulent application.  I fail to see how one can be employed or interning at UNRWA without being a member of it.

 

Additionally, see question 71: Have you EVER lied about, concealed, or misrepresented any information on an application or petition to obtain a visa, other documentation required for entry into the United States, admission to the United States, or any other kind of immigration benefit?

 

Include with the following, prefaced on the application with "do you intend to:"

46.c. Engage in any activity whose purpose includes opposing,
controlling, or overthrowing the U.S. Government by
force, violence, or other unlawful means while in the
United States?  
46.d. Engage in any activity that could endanger the welfare,
safety, or security of the United States?
46.e. Engage in any other unlawful activity?

 

Also:
47. Are you engaged in or, upon your entry into the United
States, do you intend to engage in any activity that could
have potentially serious adverse foreign policy
consequences for the United States?

 

And then there's question 48 through 50 but that's a whole other ball of wax, given your interpretation of UNRWA and/or the activist groups he's been engaged with for protests here.

 

I'm sorry but the evidence is overwhelming.  The only reason there's any kind of in-depth coverage of this issue is because of its connections to Columbia University.  The institutional capture in this country is an embarrassment.  You don't get to harass or disrupt university functions, public or private, and decry the unfairness of it all as if you're the victim.  I am so tired of the privileged in this country, citizen or not, acting like we have some moral authority over global events.  We have our own society to stabilize and maintain. 

 

As I might've chanted in my own anti-Iraq war protests back in the day, your atrocities aren't our responsibilities.  How completely backwards activism has become.

 

Also great job derailing the conversation @A Polite Parrot I'm sure OP really appreciates that. 🙄

Edited Sunday at 12:43 AM by hplusj

[Sam Burns 168]

20 hours ago, hplusj said:

I fail to see how one can be employed or interning at UNRWA without being a member of it.

Does that include all the cleaners?

[hplusj 308]

6 hours ago, Sam Burns said:

Does that include all the cleaners?

Yes, in fact it does.  Particularly if they come to America and instigate unlawfulness in defense of particular foreign policies.  I don't care if his internship was serving coffee, cleaning toilets, or handling sensitive documents.  It is pertinent information to an immigration application whether it is employment and/or membership.  

 

You might be trying to make a point but it comes across as rather smug and demeaning, namely to cleaners.  Just FYI.  

Edited Monday at 03:30 AM by hplusj

[Lee Thacket 75]

On 3/30/2025 at 4:20 PM, Sam Burns said:

Does that include all the cleaners?

 

Yes, if they have given material support to terrorism, but I was not aware that the UNWRA was a terrorist organisation.

 

Mahmoud Khalil worked for the British government for four years so I assume he was vetted before and during his employment.

 

I have just been looking at part 9, question 1 of form I-485. I listed three organisations, but wonder if I should have put more given how widely the question. Does forgetting to put an organisation you were briefly involved with twenty years ago mean you can be deported?

[Boiler 46,574]

UNWRA is associated with terrorist organisation and they employ them

 

I do not see how he could have answered the DS questions truthfully 

[TBoneTX 46,676]

1 hour ago, Lee Thacket said:

forgetting to put an organisation you were briefly involved with twenty years ago

You can bring this up proactively at the interview.  USCIS thrives on the truth.