Expired green card

[PAT1 0]

Hello,

 

My sister has been married to an US citizen for 16 years and they have 4 american children.

Her husband got a job opportunity in Central Africa. While being in Africa, her premanent green card expired in Feb 2016, her last entry in the US was August 2015.

They are planning on moving back to the US early next year.

I have two questions for you:

1-As a Belgian( Belgium is on of the country participating in the visa waiver program), could my sister travel back to the US on  the visa waiver program?

2- What does she need to do in order to regain her statut?    

 

Thank you in advance

 

Warm Regards,

 

Pat

[Going through 5,671]

11 minutes ago, PAT1 said:

Hello,

 

My sister has been married to an US citizen for 16 years and they have 4 american children.

Her husband got a job opportunity in Central Africa. While being in Africa, her premanent green card expired in Feb 2016, her last entry in the US was August 2015.

They are planning on moving back to the US early next year.

I have two questions for you:

1-As a Belgian( Belgium is on of the country participating in the visa waiver program), could my sister travel back to the US on  the visa waiver program?

2- What does she need to do in order to regain her statut?    

 

Thank you in advance

 

Warm Regards,

 

Pat

It's not so much that her green card expired...but they will determine that she appeared to have abandoned her US residence because along with the GC expiring, she also hasn't set foot in the USA in almost 2 years. 

 

I would think most likely she would have to begin the process all over again....there is a Returning Resident Visa (SB1) but I believe she will not qualify unless she can prove her 2-year absence from the USA was out of her control, and she can prove she never planned on relinquishing her residency in the USA.

 

 

Edited July 24, 2017 by Going through

[geowrian 22,338]

The issue isn't just that the card is expired, but she very likely abandoned her status by living outside of the US for over a year (and without a re-entry permit).

 

The best bet may be to have her relinquish the green card and then she can use VWP to visit the US for up to 90 days. She cannot work in the US, and she must have ties to return home or else she will not be permitted to enter the US. She cannot enter with the intent to stay and adjust status.

 

Her USC husband can petition for her for a new green card. He will need to either immigrate at the same time as her and show intent to establish US domicile, or he can return to the US sooner and establish US domicile first. ETA: 12-14 months from I-130 filing.

[PAT1 0]

2 minutes ago, geowrian said:

The issue isn't just that the card is expired, but she very likely abandoned her status by living outside of the US for over a year (and without a re-entry permit).

 

The best bet may be to have her relinquish the green card and then she can use VWP to visit the US for up to 90 days. She cannot work in the US, and she must have ties to return home or else she will not be permitted to enter the US. She cannot enter with the intent to stay and adjust status.

 

Her USC husband can petition for her for a new green card. He will need to either immigrate at the same time as her and show intent to establish US domicile, or he can return to the US sooner and establish US domicile first. ETA: 12-14 months from I-130 filing.

So IF she enters on the visa waiver she need to leave within 90 days.

No adjustment possible other than the hubby petitioning for her again.

What proof must the husband shown to establish the intention to establish US domicile?

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

9 minutes ago, geowrian said:

The best bet may be to have her relinquish the green card and then she can use VWP to visit the US for up to 90 days. She cannot work in the US, and she must have ties to return home or else she will not be permitted to enter the US. She cannot enter with the intent to stay and adjust status.

I just wanted to stress the "relinquish" part from Geowrian's post, since if she doesn't do that and just tries to use the vwp she will most likely not be let back in. 

Edited July 24, 2017 by Suss&Camm

[geowrian 22,338]

5 minutes ago, PAT1 said:

So IF she enters on the visa waiver she need to leave within 90 days.

No adjustment possible other than the hubby petitioning for her again.

What proof must the husband shown to establish the intention to establish US domicile?

Correct. You cannot enter on VWP with the intent to stay and adjust status in the US (that's visa fraud).

 

There is no fixed list, but things like voting, registering children in US schools, getting/having an active driver's license, lease/mortgage, job, library cards, etc. They want to ensure you are either living in the US or plan to do so. A quick read on the topic is here:

http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/what-is-your-domicile.html

 

2 minutes ago, Suss&Camm said:

I just wanted to stress the "relinquish" part from Geowrian's post, since if she doesn't do that and just tries to use the vwp she will most likely not be let back in. 

Exactly.

Edited July 24, 2017 by geowrian

[Going through 5,671]

6 minutes ago, PAT1 said:

So IF she enters on the visa waiver she need to leave within 90 days.

No adjustment possible other than the hubby petitioning for her again.

What proof must the husband shown to establish the intention to establish US domicile?

No, she has to start from square one again---adjustment of status, conditional resident, then removal of conditions, etc.

 

To show proof of US domicile for the USC husband--- maintaining US bank accounts, active mortgage/lease of house or apartment or land owned, proof of future US employment, filing US taxes, proof of the USC voting record, that sort of thing.

 

Question---did the husband work for the US government abroad?  If so, there is a special allowance for that...

Edited July 24, 2017 by Going through

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

Just now, Going through said:

No, she has to start from square one again---adjustment of status, conditional resident, then removal of conditions, etc.

 

To show proof of US domicile for the USC husband--- maintaining US bank accounts, active mortgage/lease of house or apartment or land owned, proof of future US employment, filing US taxes, proof of the USC voting record, that sort of thing.

She won't have to do removal of conditions -since they have been married more than 2 years.

[geowrian 22,338]

Just now, Going through said:

No, she has to start from square one again---adjustment of status, conditional resident, then removal of conditions, etc.

No conditional residence or ROC needed...they've been married for 16 years.

[Going through 5,671]

1 minute ago, geowrian said:

No conditional residence or ROC needed...they've been married for 16 years.

Missed that part  

[PAT1 0]

7 minutes ago, Suss&Camm said:

I just wanted to stress the "relinquish" part from Geowrian's post, since if she doesn't do that and just tries to use the vwp she will most likely not be let back in. 

Relinquish the green card means return it?  even if it is expired?

[PAT1 0]

4 minutes ago, PAT1 said:

Relinquish the green card means return it?  even if it is expired?

the husband did not work for an US goverment.

 

 

Edited July 24, 2017 by PAT1

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

4 minutes ago, PAT1 said:

Relinquish the green card means return it?  even if it is expired?

The Green Card expiring wouldn't have been a problem had she been IN the US. Her residency doesn't expire with it. It's the long period of time she spent outside the country. Relinquishing it would be to show that she has no intention of attempting to claim residency, and therefore can use the VWP - a resident or someone trying to claim to be cannot. It would look as if she was trying to use the vwp to get around her card, or rather residency being abandoned.

Edited July 24, 2017 by Suss&Camm

[Boiler 46,123]

What has she done to maintain her permanent residency in the US?

[PAT1 0]

2 minutes ago, Suss&Camm said:

The Green Card expiring wouldn't have been a problem had she been IN the US. Her residency doesn't expire with it. It's the long period of time she spent outside the country. Relinquishing it would be to show that she has no intention of attempting to claim residency, and therefore can use the VWP - a resident or someone trying to claim to be cannot. It would look as if she was trying to use the vwp to get around her card, or rather residency being abandoned.

How does she relinquish her green card... how do we do that?