Can I renew my permanent residence even though I have been out of the country?

[miduque92]

my green card expired January 2010, I have not renewed it due to the fact I have been in mexico since 2005,since i was underage, I could not go back.
I have investigated and I know that only the card itself expires, and it can be renewed online, but if I want to renew it, can I do so although I have not been in the united states for several years?
What can I do?

 

[newacct]

The card expiring is irrelevant -- you could be a permanent resident with an expired card; and you could be not a permanent resident even if you had a non-expired card. What is important is your status.

The key issue is that you have been out of the country for a long time. You have pretty much abandoned your permanent resident status. Usually, you'll get no questions if you've been out for less than 6 months, and you can be out without a Re-entry permit for 1 year, and with a Re-entry permit you can be out for 2 years. But 8 years? There's no way that you are still a permanent resident.

 

[raevsky]

How old are you?

 

[Jackolantern]

my green card expired January 2010, I have not renewed it due to the fact I have been in mexico since 2005,since i was underage, I could not go back.
I have investigated and I know that only the card itself expires, and it can be renewed online, but if I want to renew it, can I do so although I have not been in the united states for several years?
What can I do?

Even if this was 2009, a year before your card expired, you couldn't use it because your status expired as a result of being outside the US for such a long time.

 

[raevsky]

I have not renewed it due to the fact I have been in mexico since 2005,since i was underage, I could not go back

How old are you?

If you are under 16 or just turned 16, you might have very good chances to get a returning resident visa (SB-1). If you are at least 17, your chances to get it are pretty low.