Left the US for nearly a decade with Physical Green Card

[dnareop451]

Hello, i would first like to say that i am new to this website, and the concept/process of green/card/immigration in general, so please bare with me.

I recieved a "Permenant Resident Card" (ie: green card) in 1999, however only stayed in the US for several months. I mostly lived in Canada, under my parents. A decade later, i went through highschool, then university. During that time, i realized that my parents basiclly were not following the standard procedure with a US green card and leaving the country for extended periods.. in fact they did nothing about it at all. Their assumption was that i were to finish school and desired to work int he states i would magiclly be able to with my green card. Well after doing some research that is clearly wrong. They never went through the process of a re-entry permit or consulted immigration officials about our extended absence from the country.

Its now 2008, and my green card expires in feburary 2009. The good news is that it hasnt expired yet. The bad news is that im still living in Canada(with a canadian citizenship ofcourse) for the past decade and i want to apply to US jobs. I recently recieved a phone interview from an aerospace and defense company, and the screening questions they asked were

- "Do i have work eligibility in the US?"
- "Do you require continued sponsorship to work/live in the US in the future?"

Well since i never recieved notification of my greencard status being revoked (for violating the re-entry permit rule) i couldnt give them a straight answer. For the 2nd question, after doing some reading online, the only way full-fill the requirement of not needing sponsorship is to become a US citizen or have worked for 10 years in the US with green card status (i dont see why this rule exists.. if i have worked in the US for 10 years would that not make me a US citizen after 5 years?). I'm assuming the 2nd question basiclly asked if i was a US citizen or not.

What are my options? The first thing i could do is renew my greencard and start looking for work in the US, however what are the chances of that with my decade long absence? I have some pretty good reasons, mainly that i was under-age at the time and i wanted to persue my education in Canada because of lower tuition. As for jobs that require me to answer "continued sponsorship" or not, i guess i should avoid those until im a permenant US citizen.

[nelsona]

You need to talk to a lawyer.

The 'expiry date' on your card has little if anything to do with your GC status. It was merely put there to encourage (now force) people to get a new card periodically. Getting a new card is not renewing your status, it's simply getting a new card. You need to be in status to get card renewed.

The fact that you have been living outside US for more than 2 years makes it next to impossible that your Permanent resident (ie. Green card) status is still valid.

The stuff you read about '10 years' is merely a guideline. To work in US without sponsorship means US citizen or Green card holder (or in some cases EAD).

Before even attempting to (a) get a job in US or even (b) crossing the border, you need to talk to an immig lawyer to find out your options.

My guess is that you will need to start the GC process all over again, starting with H1 (or TN if Cdn), PERM, etc.

[mmed]

Originally Posted by dnareop451

Hello, i would first like to say that i am new to this website, and the concept/process of green/card/immigration in general, so please bare with me.

I recieved a "Permenant Resident Card" (ie: green card) in 1999, however only stayed in the US for several months. I mostly lived in Canada, under my parents. A decade later, i went through highschool, then university. During that time, i realized that my parents basiclly were not following the standard procedure with a US green card and leaving the country for extended periods.. in fact they did nothing about it at all. Their assumption was that i were to finish school and desired to work int he states i would magiclly be able to with my green card. Well after doing some research that is clearly wrong. They never went through the process of a re-entry permit or consulted immigration officials about our extended absence from the country.

Its now 2008, and my green card expires in feburary 2009. The good news is that it hasnt expired yet. The bad news is that im still living in Canada(with a canadian citizenship ofcourse) for the past decade and i want to apply to US jobs. I recently recieved a phone interview from an aerospace and defense company, and the screening questions they asked were

- "Do i have work eligibility in the US?"
- "Do you require continued sponsorship to work/live in the US in the future?"

Well since i never recieved notification of my greencard status being revoked (for violating the re-entry permit rule) i couldnt give them a straight answer. For the 2nd question, after doing some reading online, the only way full-fill the requirement of not needing sponsorship is to become a US citizen or have worked for 10 years in the US with green card status (i dont see why this rule exists.. if i have worked in the US for 10 years would that not make me a US citizen after 5 years?). I'm assuming the 2nd question basiclly asked if i was a US citizen or not.

What are my options? The first thing i could do is renew my greencard and start looking for work in the US, however what are the chances of that with my decade long absence? I have some pretty good reasons, mainly that i was under-age at the time and i wanted to persue my education in Canada because of lower tuition. As for jobs that require me to answer "continued sponsorship" or not, i guess i should avoid those until im a permenant US citizen.

The card is invalid.

[TheRealCanadian]

Originally Posted by dnareop451

For the 2nd question, after doing some reading online, the only way full-fill the requirement of not needing sponsorship is to become a US citizen or have worked for 10 years in the US with green card status (i dont see why this rule exists.. if i have worked in the US for 10 years would that not make me a US citizen after 5 years?). I'm assuming the 2nd question basiclly asked if i was a US citizen or not.

You are confusing this with the Affadavit of Support required in family-based immigration. If they ask you "do you require sponsorship", they are NOT asking if you are a US citizen - they are asking if you need a work visa.

[harvydonald]

I think you may still have hope..depending on how old you are. Please see a good immigration lawyer immediately.
Check out

http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/87545.pdf

In several cases, it can be proved that parents have separate intentions than children, and since you were a minor when you left for canada...it can be proved that your stay abroad was for reasons beyond your control. I'm no expert...so talk to a good immigration attorney and take action before your physical card expires.

[Jackolantern]

After going through high school and university without trying to preserve/regain your permanent resident status, there's no way it's going to happen now. You let years pass as an adult without trying (unless you're a genius who finished university as a minor).

But you can work in the US by obtaining TN status. All you need is a job offer in certain occupations, with supporting documentation from your employer, and you can apply for it yourself (the employer doesn't have to do any real "sponsorship" process).

Anyway, consult a lawyer who might be able to find some remote loophole or precedent that would enable you to keep your green card status.