John Lennon received U.S. permanent residency in 1976.
Lennon had moved to New York with Yoko Ono in 1971, but his immigration status became precarious after U.S. authorities began deportation proceedings. They relied on his 1968 British conviction for cannabis possession. The case unfolded during a period when Lennon was publicly opposing the Vietnam War and criticizing President Richard Nixon, leading his supporters to argue that the deportation effort had political motives.
A federal appeals court blocked the deportation attempt in October 1975. The court held that the British conviction did not make Lennon deportable under the applicable U.S. immigration statute and condemned selective deportation based on secret political grounds. That ruling allowed him to remain while the immigration process continued.
In 1976, the government finally granted Lennon a green card, formally certifying his permanent-resident status. The timing mattered personally: Lennon and Ono had recently welcomed their son Sean, and the legal victory enabled Lennon to settle more securely in the United States. Permanent residency is not the same as citizenship; Lennon remained a British citizen and never became a naturalized U.S. citizen.