Forms

Form I-407

Also called I-407, Record of Abandonment of Lawful Permanent Resident Status.

Form I-407, Record of Abandonment of Lawful Permanent Resident Status, is the voluntary filing by which a permanent resident records that they have given up that status, and signing it waives the right to have an immigration judge decide whether the status was in fact abandoned.

What it decides

The form and its instructions carry edition date 09/25/24. It is used by permanent residents who are outside the United States or at a port of entry, and by people already back inside the country as nonimmigrants or parolees who want to record an abandonment that already happened. It costs nothing: Form G-1055, edition 05/29/26, shows $0. The form states in terms that submission is voluntary and that US law does not require anyone to sign it. Signing waives a hearing before an immigration judge, where the person could be represented at no cost to the government, challenge and present evidence, appeal, and require DHS to prove abandonment by clear, unequivocal and convincing evidence. 8 CFR 1.2 provides that permanent resident status terminates on entry of a final administrative order of exclusion, deportation or removal, which is what that hearing decides. Filing also carries a tax consequence: USCIS passes the name and filing date to the IRS under Internal Revenue Code section 6039G(d)(3), and an expatriation tax may follow.

Governed by Form I-407 and its instructions, edition 09/25/24, for the voluntariness note, the waiver, the five rights and the categories of filer; INA 103(a)(3) is the authority named in the form's privacy notice. USCIS Form I-407 page, last updated 06/05/2026, for the filing address and the IRS referral. 8 CFR 1.2, definition of lawfully admitted for permanent residence. USCIS Maintaining Permanent Residence page, last updated 09/12/2025, for Internal Revenue Code section 6039G(d)(3). Form G-1055, edition 05/29/26, for the $0 fee; the form page itself states no dollar amount. Neither the form, the instructions nor the page provides for an appeal or a motion, so nothing here should be said about either.

Where this is explained properly

Pages here that go into form i-407 rather than mentioning it.

Maintaining Residency: Avoiding Green Card Abandonment

Related terms

Abandonment of residenceAbandonment of residence is the loss of lawful permanent resident status that follows from conduct showing the holder no longer intends to make the United States a permanent home, most often moving abroad for good, staying out on what is no longer a temporary visit, or claiming nonresident status on a US tax return.
Form I-551Form I-551, the Permanent Resident Card or green card, is the document 8 CFR 264.1(b) lists as evidence of alien registration for a lawful permanent resident, and an EB-5 investor's first one is issued with a two year expiry because the residence it evidences is conditional.
Reentry permitA reentry permit is the travel document, applied for on Form I-131 and issued as Form I-327, that lets a permanent or conditional permanent resident spend up to two years outside the United States and apply for admission on return without a returning resident visa.
Exit tax and expatriationThe exit tax is the mark to market charge under 26 U.S.C. 877A that treats all property of a covered expatriate as sold at fair market value on the day before they give up US citizenship or long-term US permanent residence.
Lawful permanent residentA lawful permanent resident is a person lawfully accorded the privilege of residing permanently in the United States as an immigrant under 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(20), and it is the status an EB-5 case delivers: conditional for the first two years, then unconditional once Form I-829 is approved.

Checked against primary sources on 10 August 2026. Back to the glossary