Green Card holder returning to the US

[mv2011 1]

my sister is a green card holder and it expires in 2019 

her 2 kids are American. She currently lives in the Dominican Republic since after having her 2nd child (approx 3 yrs) she has not returned to the US. 

Now she wants to come back and live in the US with her 2 kids but she is scared that Immigration won't let her back in the US. 

Any Advice on what she can do? 

thanks 

 

 

[Roel 7,192]

After 3 years outside of the US she probably doesn't have a valid green card anymore. I doubt that she'd be let through the border. What can she do? Nothing. She abandoned her green card and I assumed never filed for the re entry permit. Of she's married to the US citizen I'd say they can try to file for the spouse visa. About a year long process. 

[Coco8 1,042]

If her husband lives with her and is a US citizen, I believe DR has direct consular filing so a new spousal visa would be very fast (new green card).

 

She should have filed for a reentry permit (up to 3 years) and travelled back a few times to the US. DR is so close!

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

 How old are the children and what is the relationship between your sister and the children's father ?   A reentry permit would have only covered for 2 years not 3.  Has your sister filed taxes and maintained a US address while she was gone ?

[mv2011 1]

8 hours ago, Coco8 said:

If her husband lives with her and is a US citizen, I believe DR has direct consular filing so a new spousal visa would be very fast (new green card).

 

She should have filed for a reentry permit (up to 3 years) and travelled back a few times to the US. DR is so close!

her husband is not a US citizen he has visitor visa,

[mv2011 1]

8 hours ago, NigeriaorBust said:

 How old are the children and what is the relationship between your sister and the children's father ?   A reentry permit would have only covered for 2 years not 3.  Has your sister filed taxes and maintained a US address while she was gone ?

the kids are 3 and 5yrs old , she is separating from her husband, she did not file US taxes since she pretty much lived in DR

did does have a permanent address 

 

Edited August 11, 2017 by mv2011

[Unlockable 7,314]

28 minutes ago, mv2011 said:

the kids are 3 and 5yrs old , she is separating from her husband, she did not file US taxes since she pretty much lived in DR

did does have a permanent address 

 

It is a tough call but more than likely her permanent resident status is no longer valid. Had she been out of the US a shorter time, like a year, it may not have been that much of a problem. Being a permanent resident requires the person to live in the US.

 

What makes it worse is her husband is not an eligible relative to file for plus they are separated.

 

So the question is how did she initially gain her permanent residency?

[Crazy Cat 41,891]

Just now, NuestraUnion said:

So the question is how did she initially gain her permanent residency?

Great question, NuestraUnion.  That is the $64,000 question, in fact!!

[Going through 5,671]

I'm guessing the GC was initially gained through an ex-spouse.

[Going through 5,671]

10 hours ago, mv2011 said:

Now she wants to come back and live in the US with her 2 kids but she is scared that Immigration won't let her back in the US. 

If she attempts to gain entry using her green card, it is an almost 100% possibility that she will be denied entry at the border since she hasn't set foot on US soil in over 3 years, and possible that the border officer will confiscate her physical green card.

[Going through 5,671]

Question...if the husband currently in the US only has a visitor's visa...did he overstay, or is his visa still valid?  Do the US citizen children live with him in the US, or with the sister in DR?  Is the husband presently in the US, or no?

 

The reason I ask this, is because if the children are minors and living in the US with him not having legal status himself, you may be running into even more problems since he can be deported at any time, and the mother cannot even re-enter the country legally at this point. 

 

Some more information about the entire situation may be helpful in getting thorough advice here.

Edited August 11, 2017 by Going through

[Coco8 1,042]

1 hour ago, mv2011 said:

she did not file US taxes since she pretty much lived in DR

did does have a permanent address 

 

Permanent residents are required to send taxes not matter where they are. It is called "permanent resident" because your permanent address should remain in the US, even if you decide to live one or 2 years abroad (with the proper paperwork).

[Crazy Cat 41,891]

11 hours ago, mv2011 said:

Now she wants to come back and live in the US with her 2 kids but she is scared that Immigration won't let her back in the US.

I think that is a very valid concern.  I'm no expert, but it seems to me that her chances of returning to live in US right now are almost 0%.

[Boiler 45,536]

She can apply for an SB1 returning residents visa evidencing how she has maintained the US as her permanent residence.

[Going through 5,671]

1 minute ago, Boiler said:

She can apply for an SB1 returning residents visa evidencing how she has maintained the US as her permanent residence.

Just a note along with this---OP, if your sister is going to apply for this, she must also prove that the 3 years she spent physically residing out of the USA was out of her control.