What’s Happening

On June 23, 2026, the Supreme Court issued a decision in Blanche v. Lau that will have a significant impact on certain lawful permanent residents (“green card holders” or “LPRs”) with prior criminal histories coming back into the U.S. after traveling abroad.

The old rule

Before the Supreme Court’s decision, green card holders returning from a short trip abroad were generally treated as “returning residents” (e.g., people already living in the U.S.) rather than as “applicants for admission” (e.g., new applicants trying to enter). This distinction mattered significantly, because:

• Returning residents are generally admitted without much scrutiny from CBP, and if any issue arose later, the government had to proceed under the more favorable rules that apply to people already living here (the rules governing deportability).

• Applicants for admission, by contrast, are treated as if arriving at the border for the first time, and are held to a stricter set of rules governing who may enter (the rules governing admissibility).

Even under the old framework, CBP could treat a returning green card holder as an applicant for admission in certain situations including where officers already had “clear and convincing evidence” that the person had committed certain serious crimes, most commonly a Crime Involving Moral Turpitude or “CIMT” (a crime seen as dishonest or immoral, such as fraud) or a drug-related offense. The existence of a pending criminal case alone did not necessarily mean that an LPR would be treated as an applicant for admission. Rather, CBP needed clear and convincing evidence that the individual had committed a qualifying offense at the time of reentry. 

The new rule

The Supreme Court held that CBP officers are not required to possess “clear and convincing evidence” of relevant criminal activity at the time of a green card holder’s reentry before treating that individual as an applicant for admission rather than a returning resident. Instead, the government may present its full evidence later, during separate immigration court proceedings before an immigration judge, rather than needing it upfront at the airport or border crossing.