Expired passport for green card application?

[Wanda K 0]

I am an elderly woman in her sixties. My daughter will apply for a green card for me as her parent. I overstayed my tourist visa by 7 years. My passport is expired. I have no state ID or drivers licence. Can I file for AOS with my expired passport? What about fingerprints? Will the immigration officers allow me to get finger printed if all I have is an expired passport? Thanks.

[Inky 1,111]

You need a valid government issued photo ID to get into the building to take biometrics. You will likely need to renew your passport.

[Lexlee08 18]

You can check with the closest embassy of your country on how to go about renewing your passport, like what inky said you need a valid passport.

[Kittyfang 6]

Depending on your contry of origin, you might not even need to deal with the embassy. I was able to get my passport by mail. Didn't even have to speak to anyone face to face.

[Wanda K 0]

Thank you all. I have been hoping to get by on my old passport. I have to travel 36 hours to my embassy in Washington DC. I will be taking the bus as I have no valid ID. I live in Arizona. I will have to beg for a new passport from my embassy. They check to see if you are legally here. Again thank you for all your kind, helpful answers. Also thank you for quick response.

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

You can't AOS in country. You will need to return to your home country and will incur a 10 year re-entry ban for which there is no waiver unless your're married to a US Citizen.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

You can't AOS in country. You will need to return to your home country and will incur a 10 year re-entry ban for which there is no waiver unless your're married to a US Citizen.

Not true. Overstays are irrelevant/forgiven for immediate relatives of US citizens, which is a spouse, parent, or unmarried child under 21. This is just like a spousal AOS case.

[Wanda K 0]

Again, thank you everyone. I am going to take your advice and renew my passport, even though it will be a long and painful journey to my embassy. I have a bad hip. But thank you so much everyone.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

Oh . . . the headaches after reading all of this. Only Harpa Timsah's post provided some relief from the pain . . .

Wanda,

It would have been nice had you stated what country you are from. Yes, it matters.

For AOS purposes, your expired passport is all you need. The I.O. wants to see when and how you entered the US the very last time. When I showed my German passport at the AOS interview, it was expired for roughly 10 years but it had B1/B2 visa, my entry stamp from April 1994, and the long expired I-94 in it. That's what they were looking for and that's what they want to see from you.

Your expired passport is also all you need for biometrics, combined with the biometrics appointment letter, of course. Depending on what country you are from (here we go again), you'll be able to get a new passport by mail, or no new passport at all. The Germany consulate, for example, will not issue a new passport unless the applicant has a work permit or student visa, a Green Card, or is a US citizen (aside from being a German citizen, of course), meaning they kind of enforce US immigration policy. Don't ask me why.

Hence, save yourself the trip.

[zooch76 9]

I have to travel 36 hours to my embassy in Washington DC. I will be taking the bus as I have no valid ID. I live in Arizona.

What country are you a citizen of? For many countries you can renew your passport by mail, simply by getting the forms online and sending them in along with your old passport and photos.

Also, while your countries embassy is in DC they may have a consulate in Los Angeles or another large city that is closer to your home and you may be able to work with them instead of the embassy.

I would check both of the above options before getting on a bus to DC!