Permanent Resident or Citizen?

Question

What exactly is the the difference beween a green card holder (permanent resident) and a citizen besides of course the benefit of voting

Answer 1

A permanent resident pays all taxes and is obligated to obey the laws of the country he/she resides in.

Drawbacks:

1 - Not the same benefits when it comes to estate tax. This is important if the resident is the beneficiary on a life policy, etc. The US gvmt will take half in estate tax, whereas a citizen will have up to 1.5 mil excluded (whatever the number is this year).

2 - Cannot hold public office or vote.

3 - Does not qualify for SSI or medicaid (according to the 96 Immigration act and welfare reform act).

4 - In certain states does not qualify for medicare or any other state level benefits (i.e. Colorado, Alabama). Some states have specific restrictions, some states have no restrictions.

5 - cannot be convicted of a felony. That will lead to immediate deportation after the sentence for the crime is served.

6 - must be of sound moral character. A perm resident cannot be a prostitute, for ex. That is reason for deportation.

7 - Cannot leave the country for more than 6 months or have residency revoked.

8 - Can legally be discriminated against in terms of employment. Public law allows an employer to give preferential hiring treatment to citizens, even if the resident is better qualified.

9 - Is not allowed to contract for health insurance through a company located in their home country. (This one really gets my goat).

10 - Will have his/her worldwide income taxed, even though he/she isn't a citizen. (As if the domestic taxes weren't enough.. suck more money out of them, afterall, they can't vote, so they can be screwed and they can't do anything about it type thing).

I'm sure there are a few more, but those are the ones that come to mind rightaway.

Answer 2

A citizen is someone who was born here, or has gone through all the proper channels, submitted the applications, had the interviews with immigration officers, passed the tests of reading/writing/speaking english and civics/American History, and after all that, they get a certificate of naturalization at their naturalization ceremony which is presided over by a judge in the courhouse.

A permanent resident is someone who has received their green card but haven't lived here long enough to submit the application for naturalization. Or they have submitted their application but are still waiting for all the paperwork to go through. A LEGAL immigrant is a permanent resident up until the time that they take the oath of allegiance at the naturalization ceremony.

Also, a permanent resident can still be deported if they break the law. It's harder to revoke citizenship after the immigrant has taken the oath of allegiance, which is why some of the applications take so long to process. Citizenship and Immigration Services wants to make sure they're not letting in drug dealers, criminals, and terrorists.

Answer 3

A permanent resident can have his residency revoked if he breaks certain laws. He does not have to apply for a new visa every so many months or years, but he can only remain in the country with the permission of the government. If he works, he pays more taxes because he usually has to pay taxes in his country of citizenship, as well as in his country of residence.

I might be wrong about this, but I"m pretty sure a permanent resident cannot spend more than a limited amount of time outside the country each year or his/her residency status will be revoked.

Answer 4

My husband is a permanent resident. It means that he has the right to permanently reside here, but not the right to vote, because he is still a citizen of Mexico. He has the right to live her in the US because I am a US citizen. In 2 years he will have the option to become a citizen of the US. If he chooses to, he can be citizen of both countries, and will have to pass the citizenship test.

Answer 5

Example:

A person of Filipino citizenship is a green card holder (permanent resident) in the United States of America. Pays both countries income taxes.

Answer 6

Permanent resident has all the rights as a citizen exept for voting.

Answer 7

You win the DV lottery and you get a Green Card. Then you apply for permanent residence and in 5 years you can apply for citizenship.

Answer 8

Voting (although some local and state governments do not require citizenship), serving on juries, holding some highly sensitive jobs, and simply being considered to be an American citizen (Meaning that if you travel abroad, the American embassy would be responsible for your safety) are the main benefits.

Answer 9

besides voting rights, permanent residents can't leave the u.s. for more than a year; otherwise lost their green cards. they can't apply visa for fiance, only citizens can. it takes at least twice as long to apply for their relatives to come to u.s. some governments jobs require applicants to be citizens.

the only upside for not being a citizen is when they go back to visit their own country they don't need visa, citizens have to apply for visa :) americans can just get approve for any kinds of visa almost instantly where other people have to wait for months/years to get their u.s. visa

Answer 10

Citizen: born in the usa!