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Giving Up Green Card

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  1. #21

    Join Date
    Jan 2018
    Location
    Taiwan and HK
    Posts
    6,148
    Quote Originally Posted by johnlang11:
    As a quick follow-up: this is not about paying taxes. The Foreign Income Exclusion covered me completely and in fact, I got a Tax rebate from the IRS for the 2021 tax year, no kidding. It's just the sheer time and effort to go through the whole process again next year; life is short enough already.
    I hear you- I JUST sent off my 2021 US taxes- which DHL said were "overweight" so I think that means more than half a kilo- plus 25,000 HKD for tax preparation (which is more than worth it, my taxes are complex due to investments and rental properties). They barely fit in the DHL cardboard envelope, I think they had to put them into the plastic package.

    Like health insurance, there is an entire industry built around tax paperwork, truly amazing. I can't blame anyone for not wanting to participate in that particular annual nightmare.

  2. #22

    Great to hear from you, MAB. USAsiaTax provided me the mailing envelope with the entire tax return document- DHL cost around $500HK for shipping. I totally agree that it is more than worth the tax accountant fees. That said, I am miffed that a tax group like Chris Chang’s American Pacific Tax would offer to file the FBAR for an additional $2000HK or so, when that can and should be done ourselves.

    Yes, for myself, I was unable to return to the U.S. before Aug. ’22, or within 364 days after initial entry, in large part due to the then, Quarantine, and the fact that I only had around 4 days Annual leave days left by July of this year(I only had 10 for the calendar year of ’22, and used them sparingly for mostly important reasons like accompanying my mother to doctor appointments, consulting the U.S. tax accountant, ha). Also, my main concern in the past was packed places like airports, and let's face it, with a US Federal judge's ruling against Airport mask mandates earlier in 2022, the likelihood of testing positive at HKIA would have been greater, along with a potential stay at Penny's Bay, etc. I think the scrapping of incoming traveler Quarantine may help Green card holders in HK keep their status longer term, though it’s common knowledge that any absences even over 6 months may lead to interrogation by customs officers at Point of Entry. In any case, the Green card should not be considered to be some sort of Super Visa; I’d be interested to know how GC holders who live primarily outside the U.S. longer term manage to keep their status. For me though, that’s a moot point now, unfortunately. A Returning Resident visa is not feasible for me, as you need a very strong reason for being unable to return within the 1 year- the threshold is high and acceptance is low, from the Gov website.

    Last edited by johnlang11; 27-09-2022 at 12:13 AM.

  3. #23

    Giving up green card before 8 hours

    I am thinking of giving up my green card before eight years. As I understand it there is no exit tax before 8 years. What are the requirements for this procedure for giving a green card before this time?


  4. #24

    Hi, Hongkonglove- We just need to fill out the I-407 form and return it along with the physical Green card to the stated USCIS address. That's it, pretty straightforward. Apparently, it takes around 2 months to process- that's why I'm concerned about the time sensitivity here as I want to make sure that the stated I-407 Processing date is within 2022. Otherwise, we may be perpetually filing tax forms. I really hope that if we Voluntary Abandon by this calendar/tax year, we won't need to file another Tax File come 2023 for this calendar year, goodness. Good luck!


  5. #25

    As a follow-up; I presume you have been living outside the U.S. for the past few years? I'm just curious how you managed to keep your Green card status, especially in recent years of Covid, as it's common knowledge that U.S. Border officers generally frown upon extended and frequent absences from the U.S? Apparently, even absences between 6-12 months could lead to a lot of questioning by Border Officers...