Will abandoning a lease prevent reentry to the US?
August 16, 2020 10:06 AM Subscribe
A graduate student I work with is a Chinese national who has been living and studying in the United States for the past several months. She was recently evacuated by the Chinese government, abandoning her apartment in the middle of her lease. Her landlords are refusing to allow her to cancel her lease. She cannot afford to pay for this apartment she's no longer living in, but she's afraid that if she simply abandons the lease without paying, this will be recorded as a black mark against her and she may be denied reentry to the US in the future. Is this possible?
Against the backdrop of poorly-controlled COVID spread in the US, domestic social and political unrest, and deteriorating relations with the Chinese government, this student was contacted by her consulate and, with very short notice, given an opportunity to be evacuated back to China, which she took. As far as I know she has no immediate plans to try to come back to the US. However, as she is pursuing an academic career, being able to reenter the US temporarily for conferences or even more permanently for future jobs could be important for her, assuming there is some sort of return to normalcy in the future, and I think she is afraid of closing these doors for herself. I'd like to try to provide her with some kind of information on (1) the implications of abandoning her lease without paying it for her ability to reenter the US for short-term visits like professional conferences, and (2) the implications of doing so on her ability to reenter the US in the future for longer-term work, including its impact on getting relevant visas and finding housing.
The "correct" answer here is certainly "consult with an immigration attorney," and I have given that recommendation already. However this may not be an option for her immediately. If anyone has either published references or practical experience that can speak to the question of whether, in general, it is likely that abandoning a lease without paying it will have implications for travel or work visas in the U.S. for a Chinese national, I'd love to be able to pass that along to her.
Against the backdrop of poorly-controlled COVID spread in the US, domestic social and political unrest, and deteriorating relations with the Chinese government, this student was contacted by her consulate and, with very short notice, given an opportunity to be evacuated back to China, which she took. As far as I know she has no immediate plans to try to come back to the US. However, as she is pursuing an academic career, being able to reenter the US temporarily for conferences or even more permanently for future jobs could be important for her, assuming there is some sort of return to normalcy in the future, and I think she is afraid of closing these doors for herself. I'd like to try to provide her with some kind of information on (1) the implications of abandoning her lease without paying it for her ability to reenter the US for short-term visits like professional conferences, and (2) the implications of doing so on her ability to reenter the US in the future for longer-term work, including its impact on getting relevant visas and finding housing.
The "correct" answer here is certainly "consult with an immigration attorney," and I have given that recommendation already. However this may not be an option for her immediately. If anyone has either published references or practical experience that can speak to the question of whether, in general, it is likely that abandoning a lease without paying it will have implications for travel or work visas in the U.S. for a Chinese national, I'd love to be able to pass that along to her.
I am not a lawyer, and you've already acknowledge the right answer is to talk to one.
As a non-lawyer, I'd be surprised if she had any issue returning to the US. Customs and Border Protection does limit entry into the USA for criminal issues, but not civil issues. Abandoning a lease would be a civil issue - and a fairly minor one at that. In most states, the landlord has a "duty to mitigate" the lease abandonment by immediately looking for a new tenant. She would only potentially be liable for the rent due until a new tenant is found. Unless she entered into the lease for some fraudulent reason (a crime), the abandonment is a civil issue, not criminal.
Note, when/if she returns to the US, she may still have a hard time finding a place to rent and/or obtaining credit. Beyond her limited credit history, she will have to disclose the abandonment in the future if a landlord asks.
posted by saeculorum at 10:41 AM on August 16, 2020 [3 favorites]
As a non-lawyer, I'd be surprised if she had any issue returning to the US. Customs and Border Protection does limit entry into the USA for criminal issues, but not civil issues. Abandoning a lease would be a civil issue - and a fairly minor one at that. In most states, the landlord has a "duty to mitigate" the lease abandonment by immediately looking for a new tenant. She would only potentially be liable for the rent due until a new tenant is found. Unless she entered into the lease for some fraudulent reason (a crime), the abandonment is a civil issue, not criminal.
Note, when/if she returns to the US, she may still have a hard time finding a place to rent and/or obtaining credit. Beyond her limited credit history, she will have to disclose the abandonment in the future if a landlord asks.
posted by saeculorum at 10:41 AM on August 16, 2020 [3 favorites]
Check the lease details and the local laws.. I believe many places have laws saying if your living/job situation changes and you can't live there anymore, that's a valid reason to break the lease. Not that many landlords would know or care about the law. If it exists, they'll still try to get paid.
And many places have laws saying if you break the lease you're only liable until a new tenant moves in... but again, many landlords try to ignore that. And of course any cost of removal of personal stuff that was left behind would come out of the security deposit.
Not a lawyer, check the local tenant laws.
posted by never.was.and.never.will.be. at 11:37 AM on August 16, 2020 [1 favorite]
And many places have laws saying if you break the lease you're only liable until a new tenant moves in... but again, many landlords try to ignore that. And of course any cost of removal of personal stuff that was left behind would come out of the security deposit.
Not a lawyer, check the local tenant laws.
posted by never.was.and.never.will.be. at 11:37 AM on August 16, 2020 [1 favorite]
I believe many places have laws saying if your living/job situation changes and you can't live there anymore, that's a valid reason to break the lease.
This is not the case in any place in the USA I'm familiar with. Most states have provisions allowing lease break for military service or drastic medical conditions (like being unable to live independently), but neither of those apply to the poster.
posted by saeculorum at 12:10 PM on August 16, 2020 [14 favorites]
This is not the case in any place in the USA I'm familiar with. Most states have provisions allowing lease break for military service or drastic medical conditions (like being unable to live independently), but neither of those apply to the poster.
posted by saeculorum at 12:10 PM on August 16, 2020 [14 favorites]
1. Do not simply walk away. Do not ghost the landlord. They can go to small claims court and get a judgement against her. A civil judgement, if ignored long enough, can eventually lead to contempt of court charges. On another note, it will probably prejudice the landlord against future renters that are foreign students, and make life harder for them.
2. She can come out ok as long as she's willing to put in the work. This includes:
a. Send a notice of termination according to local law, usually by USPS certified mail.
b. Read up on local laws and regulations
c. Hold the landlord up to their legal obligations. They need to mitigate damages by finding a new tenant, and to follow the law in any charges they try to assess.
d. Offer to do an online/video walkthrough to hand over the apartment.
e. Research everything. Document everything. Do not get intimidated. Be polite, be firm, be your own best advocate.
posted by dum spiro spero at 2:01 PM on August 16, 2020 [5 favorites]
2. She can come out ok as long as she's willing to put in the work. This includes:
a. Send a notice of termination according to local law, usually by USPS certified mail.
b. Read up on local laws and regulations
c. Hold the landlord up to their legal obligations. They need to mitigate damages by finding a new tenant, and to follow the law in any charges they try to assess.
d. Offer to do an online/video walkthrough to hand over the apartment.
e. Research everything. Document everything. Do not get intimidated. Be polite, be firm, be your own best advocate.
posted by dum spiro spero at 2:01 PM on August 16, 2020 [5 favorites]
If she is or was a graduate student, either the university's graduate school or international student services office should be a resource for her. Many students right now are dealing with this issue and while you may have to make several calls/emails, I would be shocked if there isn't someone at the university who at least knows who to connect you with.
posted by nakedmolerats at 4:28 PM on August 16, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by nakedmolerats at 4:28 PM on August 16, 2020 [2 favorites]
Check the actual wording of the lease if you haven't already. Some of the leases I've signed have had a provision to cancel the lease with two months notice; in this case (probably not the case unless she just hasn't read the lease carefully and is lucky), she would only owe two months of rent.
Also, many leases (or landlords) will allow you to sublet your apartment if you leave it. Depends on the lease and the local regulations; I think it's common/required in Chicago, for example. She might have to find a sublessee who would pay less than the full rent, and then she'd make up the difference, and generally the landlord has to approve the sublessee.
The landlord might be scared/desperate, so proceed with caution.
posted by amtho at 8:04 PM on August 16, 2020
Also, many leases (or landlords) will allow you to sublet your apartment if you leave it. Depends on the lease and the local regulations; I think it's common/required in Chicago, for example. She might have to find a sublessee who would pay less than the full rent, and then she'd make up the difference, and generally the landlord has to approve the sublessee.
The landlord might be scared/desperate, so proceed with caution.
posted by amtho at 8:04 PM on August 16, 2020
IANAL but I've had a lot of bad landlords. Leases are a civil contract and disputes are managed through a civil court, which usually means small claims. Except you can't file small claims against someone who is out of the state, and filing a real civil suit would be expensive, time consuming, and not very productive for the landlord. Especially for someone out of the country where that court has no authority. Worst case in that scenario is the court might give a judgement saying the student owed the whole amount, but civil judgements would only show up on a search of those records and the only way the landlord could ever hope to collect on it would be if she got a W2 payroll job back in the states or something. Civil judgements don't even show up on a credit check anymore. So I have a hard time imaging how a private dispute, even one that resulted in a court judgement, would prevent her from reentering the country.
And that's if your state doesn't have some sort of law governing this. In mine the landlord the landlord has to make a good faith effort to re-rent the apartment before pursuing a broken lease.
The landlord probably knows this and is bluffing hoping the tenant has rich family who will be unfamiliar with American law. Having someone from the school, the office of a local elected official, a tenants organization, or a tenants lawyer contact the landlord will probably be enough to get them to back off.
posted by bradbane at 11:14 PM on August 16, 2020 [1 favorite]
And that's if your state doesn't have some sort of law governing this. In mine the landlord the landlord has to make a good faith effort to re-rent the apartment before pursuing a broken lease.
The landlord probably knows this and is bluffing hoping the tenant has rich family who will be unfamiliar with American law. Having someone from the school, the office of a local elected official, a tenants organization, or a tenants lawyer contact the landlord will probably be enough to get them to back off.
posted by bradbane at 11:14 PM on August 16, 2020 [1 favorite]
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posted by moiraine at 10:31 AM on August 16, 2020