My mom has been a United States (US) permanent resident since 1987. She moved back to Jamaica about seven years ago to be close to her mother. She will be 62 next year - the age which you can file for early social security benefits. Also, during that time, she and my dad got divorced. He is five years older than my mother and is now collecting his benefits.

My mother went to the embassy and applied for a visa to return to that country. She was told to return next Thursday and should turn in her green card before she could get the visa.

Will this cause any problems in her getting social security benefits for the more than 15 years she worked in America?

Thanks in advance for your response.

Best regards,

I.

Dear I,

Your mother cannot be the holder of a green card and a visitor's visa at the same time.

As a green card holder or permanent resident, she is entitled to live in and travel in and out of the US using her green card.

Unfortunately, since your mother has been in Jamaica for the last seven years, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) may deem her to have abandoned her residency.

To be able to return to the US on her green card, your mother should apply at the embassy in Kingston to return as a returning resident.

Secondary inspection

She will have to complete a form stating her reasons for being in the Jamaica for so long.

She can also just purchase a ticket and try to return to the US. Upon arrival, she may or may not be asked by the customs and border protection officer how long she was outside the country. If she is not asked, she will be allowed back into the country without a problem. If she is asked, she must answer truthfully and her answer could spark secondary inspection. At that time, she may be fined and have to pay a penalty for being outside the country for so long. She could possibly have her green card cancelled for abandoning her residency.

If she does not want to return to live and wishes to obtain a visitor's visa that would allow her to visit and return to Jamaica to reside, she will have to surrender her green card to the Department of Home-land Security (DHS) at the embassy in Kingston. She will then have to apply for a non-immigrant visa from the Department of State at the US Embassy. There is no guarantee that she will receive a non-immigrant visa once the green card is surrendered.

Social security benefits

Your mother will not be able to receive social security benefits or any other government benefits to which she may otherwise be entitled if she surrenders her green card.

If a green card holder retires and leaves that country to live abroad, they must spend at least 31 days in the US to be eligible for social security benefits. See www.ssa.gov/online.

Additionally, the green card holder has to abide by DHS's rule for time in the US. Likewise, a permanent resident is required to file yearly tax returns regardless of where they are living as the US taxes worldwide income of their residents and their citizens.

Your mother was in America for more than the five years required to file for her US citizenship. Had she obtained citizenship, she could be in Jamaica as she wanted without losing her status and benefits.

Your mother does have options and she should weigh them carefully before making a decision.

Dahlia A. Walker-Huntington, is a Jamaican-American attorney who practices law in Florida in the areas of immigration, family, corporate and personal-injury law. She is a mediator, arbitrator and special magistrate in Broward County, Florida. info@walkerhuntington.com.