Long time absence - what will happen at the airport?

cutipie721

Registered Users (C)
Here's my background: My mom and I got our green card in 2003. I was a dependent of my mom then. We activated the GC / entered the US in September 2003. I stayed to work since then, but my mom left US to continue working. She re-entered the US in Feb 2004, stayed for one month, left again, and never came back.

Now she's retired and is ready to come back. Yea... I know, it's a big booboo, it's just a matter of luck whether she gets caught or not. She will not seek help from her local US consulate, and she came up with this "ingenious" idea of LYING :eek: to the immigration officer at the port-of-entry, telling him/her that she was only out for 2 weeks if asked. She is under the impression that the officers will be easier on mid-age women, and she has friends who have done this lying business before without getting into troubles.

Disclaimer: I strongly disagree with lying to anyone, especially to officers, but moms are moms, they never listen, and I'm just saying what happened, not to encourage anyone here to try.

Anyway, so she's getting ready to fly here in several months. I'd like to know what would happen to her and her green card if she gets caught at the airport.
1) Do they take away her GC and deport her immediately?
2) Do they take away her GC but let her in, so that she gets a chance to fight back.
3) What rights do those officers have? Can they put her to jail immediately for lying?

More importantly, since I got my GC because I was a dependent of my mom, will my GC get revoked also?

Thanks in advance.
 
Lying can be a real issue in this country, especially to the government. I think post 911, the POE officers do get more information about each individual's records. Your mom's friend was able to get away since the system probably hasn't been deployed yet.

One thing for sure is that you do not get affected by your mom's decision, even if she gets caught.
 
More importantly, since I got my GC because I was a dependent of my mom, will my GC get revoked also?

Thanks in advance.

This can be answered.
If you maintain the GC terms as per CIS guide lines,you will be fine.
Green cards are individual cards and will not be revoked unless there is a fraud involved in sponsoring/applying the G.card application or you lied in your application or GC interview.
Reg. your mom,any penal action by CIS is possible right from revoking,denying admission and putting on a flight back or ...
depending on the data in their computer.
So if you want to take rsik it is up to you or contact a lawyer before hand.
(in likely case of arrest,if atall).
 
Thanks for the replies guys :)

There're only so many things you can do for an arrogant mom backed up by her own friends who treats her kids like forever-2-year-olds. :mad:

Anyway, let's see what happens.
 
Thanks for the replies guys :)

There're only so many things you can do for an arrogant mom backed up by her own friends who treats her kids like forever-2-year-olds. :mad:

Anyway, let's see what happens.
Your mom lost her permanent resident status years ago (when she doesn't have PR intent, bye bye status).

Very very likely that she will get in trouble for trying to say "2 weeks" for duration of trip. Her GC (the card) would, most likely, get impounded at POE.

Update here on what actually happened once she tries to enter :)
 
She can be detained immediately for lying to the immigration officer (provided of course, that they have the information available to know that she is lying. Which they most probably will have at the airport where they have computers, but maybe not at some rural locations along the Canadian or Mexican border). She would face not just the possibility of jail time, but also a multiyear bar from ever re-entering.

If you travel with her, you could be seen as an accomplice as they will believe that you also knew she was lying. But if you don't travel with her, I don't see why they would or could revoke your card.
 
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Your mom lost her permanent resident status years ago (when she doesn't have PR intent, bye bye status).

Very very likely that she will get in trouble for trying to say "2 weeks" for duration of trip. Her GC (the card) would, most likely, get impounded at POE.

Update here on what actually happened once she tries to enter :)

I will. She's planning to come in mid-October, so we'll find out the truth in 3 months.
 
She can be detained immediately for lying to the immigration officer (provided of course, that they have the information available to know that she is lying. Which they most probably will have at the airport where they have computers, but maybe not at some rural locations along the Canadian or Mexican border). She would face not just the possibility of jail time, but also a multiyear bar from ever re-entering.

If you travel with her, you could be seen as an accomplice as they will believe that you also knew she was lying. But if you don't travel with her, I don't see why they would or could revoke your card.

She's flying in!! Either through Detroit or Minneapolis or JFK. Definitely not any rural port-of-entry. She's like 1000000% confident that nothing would happen to her, especially for being a mid-age petite woman.

The thing is, my country does not usually stamp our passports when we go back. So theoretically the immigration officers here in the US cannot tell how long she's been away for by just looking for the last stamp on the passport. She thinks that there'll be a long line after her, and she thinks she looks innocent enough that the officers will believe in what she says, just like that.

I won't be traveling with her. I'm a legal, behaving, tax-paying PR of this country. All I can do right now is sit here and watch. :(

I'll keep you guys posted.
 
The thing is, my country does not usually stamp our passports when we go back. So theoretically the immigration officers here in the US cannot tell how long she's been away for by just looking for the last stamp on the passport.

I fail to understand where this belief in passport stamps comes from. While I suppose they are of some value, with the trend to machine readable passports over the past decade they are of little value compared to scanning the passport through a machine and connecting to DHS' databases.

If she left in 2004 by air, then there's a 99% chance that DHS has a record of her departure on that date. There's a lower chance that this data will be made available to the agent at the Port of Entry, but if it's a major airport I'd say the chances are good to excellent.

And if that's the last recorded border crossing she's made, then the officer is naturally going to be suspicious and ask her about. I hope she comes with a good answer, because I cannot think of a reason why a Permanent Resident's entry into the US would NOT be recorded, whether by land or by air. (And before you ask, I don't mean by a passport stamp - I mean an entry in DHS' databases.)

If she thinks that just because there's a lineup behind her that the agent will let her through, she's sorely mistaken. That's the EXACT reason why they have secondary inspection at all Ports of Entry; to take questionable cases aside and go into them in-depth. I've been in a reasonably long queue at the Toronto PFI where I heard an agent say in a rather loud voice "Why don't we go back to the office and find out what's REALLY going on here?" I don't know if that story had a happy ending. I somehow doubt it.

Staying as far away from your mother's scheme is a sound idea.
 
Lying would be really bad. If at all possible, convince your mother not to do so. Now coming to the real issue, it is better for your mother to honestly (if asked) tell the officer the duration of her absense. Remember, the officer can create a lot of problems for her if she is caught lying or misrepresenting. However if she tells them the truth AND claims that her PR status is still intact, she cannot be denied entry. What will happen is she will be given a date to appear infront of an immigration judge to present her case and defend her claim that her PR status is still intact. Since this "attempt" is still a few months away, I would strongly advise your mother to file US returns as a resident for 2004, 2005 and 2006. She should claim her overseas income as part of her global income on those returns. This is her best shot at defending her PR status. In addition, if you maintained a residence in the US, she should use that as her US address.
To summarise, she should not lie. Admit to the absense (if asked) and continue to claim PR status at the POE. I wish her luck!!!

Disclaimer: I strongly disagree with lying to anyone, especially to officers, but moms are moms, they never listen, and I'm just saying what happened, not to encourage anyone here to try.

Anyway, so she's getting ready to fly here in several months. I'd like to know what would happen to her and her green card if she gets caught at the airport.
1) Do they take away her GC and deport her immediately?
2) Do they take away her GC but let her in, so that she gets a chance to fight back.
3) What rights do those officers have? Can they put her to jail immediately for lying?
 
I fail to understand where this belief in passport stamps comes from. While I suppose they are of some value, with the trend to machine readable passports over the past decade they are of little value compared to scanning the passport through a machine and connecting to DHS' databases.

If she left in 2004 by air, then there's a 99% chance that DHS has a record of her departure on that date. There's a lower chance that this data will be made available to the agent at the Port of Entry, but if it's a major airport I'd say the chances are good to excellent.

And if that's the last recorded border crossing she's made, then the officer is naturally going to be suspicious and ask her about. I hope she comes with a good answer, because I cannot think of a reason why a Permanent Resident's entry into the US would NOT be recorded, whether by land or by air. (And before you ask, I don't mean by a passport stamp - I mean an entry in DHS' databases.)

If she thinks that just because there's a lineup behind her that the agent will let her through, she's sorely mistaken. That's the EXACT reason why they have secondary inspection at all Ports of Entry; to take questionable cases aside and go into them in-depth. I've been in a reasonably long queue at the Toronto PFI where I heard an agent say in a rather loud voice "Why don't we go back to the office and find out what's REALLY going on here?" I don't know if that story had a happy ending. I somehow doubt it.

Staying as far away from your mother's scheme is a sound idea.

To make things even more interesting: My origin allows dual nationality / two passports. So when we first came here, we used Passport #1. We didn't have Passport #2 yet, and she's planning to apply for P#2 soon before she leaves. In other words, she's going to have a brand new passport which shows a different nationality and a completely different passport number.... argh I don't even know what can happen.

If she's not my mom... I seriously don't want to see people like this entering this country with victory.
 
Just make sure she doesn't mention your address as the place where she is staying, or you will get dragged into it too.

Oh boy she's so going to use my address when she enters. But even if they drag me into the case, I think I have sufficient proof to show that I'm a good PR. I'm just praying that they won't kill my GC because I was a dependent of her.
 
Lying would be really bad. If at all possible, convince your mother not to do so.
Sigh.............................................

Now coming to the real issue, it is better for your mother to honestly (if asked) tell the officer the duration of her absense. Remember, the officer can create a lot of problems for her if she is caught lying or misrepresenting. However if she tells them the truth AND claims that her PR status is still intact, she cannot be denied entry. What will happen is she will be given a date to appear infront of an immigration judge to present her case and defend her claim that her PR status is still intact.
Hmm... this sounds more do-able. Let's see how she reacts. This will be my Mission #2

Since this "attempt" is still a few months away, I would strongly advise your mother to file US returns as a resident for 2004, 2005 and 2006. She should claim her overseas income as part of her global income on those returns. This is her best shot at defending her PR status. In addition, if you maintained a residence in the US, she should use that as her US address.
I suppose if my Mission #2 is successful, this will further strengthen it. I don't have her SSN in hand so I'll need her co-operation.
 
Oh boy she's so going to use my address when she enters. But even if they drag me into the case, I think I have sufficient proof to show that I'm a good PR. I'm just praying that they won't kill my GC because I was a dependent of her.
They wouldn't kill your GC because of the dependency relationship, they would do it because you would be immediately suspected of helping her defraud the immigration authorities.

Her passport changing scheme will make things worse. They will see that the passport is new, and where and when it was issued; if she doesn't acknowledge being outside the US at or close to the time of issue, it will be even more obvious.
 
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My husband's aunt and her family have been coming to America for 10+ years to maintain their green card. They just didn't come last year.

Last week, they tried to come and were denied entry. I am not sure if they physically took their green cards or not ( I don't thnk so) but they wouldn't even let them get on the flight from the point of departure.
 
They were denied from getting on the plane at the point of departure? Unless you are talking about Canada or Shannon (Ireland), I don't think ICE denied them. It seems it was the airline. You sure their 10 year old GCs hadn't expired?
 
It was probably the airline - this was in Karachi (travelling via PIA I believe). I don't think their cards were expired, but since they haven't been to America for the past 2 year, I guess they did not let them get thru.

In the past, this has happened to another one of my husband's relatives but she was going thru medical treatment during her stay so she was allowed to enter (but they didn't let her get on the plane as well).

I guess Pakistan is getting strict about enforcing this.
 
This does not make sense. PIA's job is to check if the traveler has the correct documents to seek entry into the US. Their job is not to make the determination to grant or deny entry. Unless that GC was reported fradulent/lost/stolen on some database they used to check authenticity, there has to be more to this.
 
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