Definition:
The green card test considers a person to be resident for U.S. federal tax purposes if he or she is a Lawful Permanent Resident of the United States at any time during the calendar year. A person is considered to be a Lawful Permanent Resident of the United States if he or she has been given the privilege, according to the immigration laws, of residing permanently in the United States as an immigrant. A person generally has this status if the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued an alien registration card, Form I-551, also known as a “green card.”
A person will continue to have U.S. resident status, under this test, unless:
- That person voluntarily renounces and abandons this status in writing to the USCIS,
- The immigrant status of that person is administratively terminated by the USCIS, or
- The immigrant status of that person is judicially terminated by a U.S. federal court.
If a person meets the green card test at anytime during the calendar year, but does not meet the substantial presence test for that year, then his or her residency starting date is the first day on which he or she is physically present in the United States as a Lawful Permanent Resident. An alien who has been present in the United States at any time during a calendar year as a Lawful Permanent Resident may choose to be treated as a resident alien for the entire calendar year.