How to find out whether Green Card is still valid

[Greengo]

Hello,

Mister XY immigrates into USA and gets his Green Card which is valid for ten years and which after these 10 years can be renewed.

After getting his Green Card he leaves USA and lives abroad for four years.

During these four years he enters USA successfully with his Green Card two times and he stays in USA just for a few weeks during the two stays. He didn't get any problems entering USA with his Green Card because he has not been questioned at PoE.

After four years of having a Green Card he returns to USA and stays there for two years.

Then he leaves USA again and stays abroad for two years.

Now he wants to return to USA with his Green Card again. This time, however, he intends to stay in USA forever.

As it would be his first post-9/11 trip to USA, he has fears that the officers at the PoE could find out that he has not lived in USA in the past years. He didn't even file taxes because he did not work in any country of this world.

His friend who was in exactly the same situation did the same and he could enter USA without any problems and without being questioned.

Mister XY wants to find out whether something is written in PoE-officer's computer about him and his Green Card before he returns into USA.
If it is clean, then he will risk entering USA with his Green Card because he has a valid US Driver's License, bank account in USA, Shopping Cards etc.
Where and how can he find out whether his Green Card is still valid? Should he hire a private detective?

What will happen if he gets caught? Will he be allowed to enter USA as a tourist if not as a permanent resident? He has citizenship of a country where people don't need to apply for a tourist visa, that means, they can enter USA with their just passport.

I have told him that this is risky, but he says that he loves America and he wants to live there forever now. (He used to be a student until recently. Therefore he stayed abroad most of the time since he got his Green Card.)

Could anyone of you answer the one question raised here in this posting? Thank you.

[notxer]

Why don't you consult a competent immigration attorney?

[SWaiting]

Unless and untill Mr XY travelled out of the US with a re-entry permit, his/hers GC is invalid now...

If it is indeed invalid, than If the status is checked at the embassy they will confiscate it or it will be taken away at the airport at arrival....

[Deserter03]

Could you post the actual timelines of your friend's visits to the US after getting his GC, i.e. the approximate months/years involved ?

I can then better respond based on my knowledge and experience. I have been in a somewhat similar situation.

[Tata2003]

He wont have any problems entering US again,he also can work using his CG.The only thing he should worry about,and I think he should consult a lawyer,is that if he did not filed his taxes for the past years and he wishes to become a citizen in the future...then that will be a problem.

This is a personal opnion only.Please contact a good lawyer.

[Tata2003]

Better be save than be sorry.
That is why I told you to contact a good lawyer.
A friend of mine had no problems entering US after 5 years living and working in his original country.But,each case is a different case!

[Tata2003]

I agree with you.

[xyz2375]

First off, I simply don't understand why you people struggle for years and put up with all the stress to get a green card, and then after you get it, you misuse it and want to live in some other country. Doesn't that defeat the entire purpose of getting a green card to begin with. If you wanted to live in your birth country, you should have just stayed there to begin with.

[sadiq]

Circumstances (i.e. family problems/isues) may have forced one to return home. Who are we to judge without all the facts.

If you want to try and "get away" with it, driving from Canada and showing your green card is probably the best bet. If the immigration officer doesn't check the computer or ask how long you were gone (happened in one case for me a few months ago), you're in. If they do, it raises a flag and could open a can of worms. You're basically playing Russian roulette.

rgds
sadiq

[imminfo338]

If the immigration officer doesn't check the computer or ask how long you were gone (happened in one case for me a few months ago),

Even if the immigration officier check the computer, are you sure they know how long you were gone if you had last departed by driving across the land crossing?

[imminfo338]

But the point is they seldom do so unless if the person appears to be nervous. So that comes back to the issue of whether they are able to know if you departed by driving across the border.