GC process abandoned 5 years ago - What now?

B

BerlinSuperstar

New Member
Hi everyone

I have a pretty straightforward question.
My German wife started the GC process in Florida in 2001. About 6 months into it we had to leave the US due to a family emergency.
She did not contact INS and did not apply for a re-entry permit or AP. We have not been back to the States since then.
I assume that her I-485 was denied due to abandonment.

Anyway, we would now like to return to the US permanently.

Would she simply have to start the entire process from the beginning, starting again with the I-130? Or could her case "resumed"?
Could her future application be denied due to previous abandonment?
Is she now permanently barred from legal residence in the US?

Any advice would be appreciated. :)
 
On what based that she applied her GC? From you(assuming you're the husband(USC)?

If that the case, she can always reapplied.
 
Thanks Mike. Yeah I am a US citizen.

I'm currently filling out the I-130 for my wife (again :p ) and I'm stuck on a few questions, maybe somebody can help?
"Has your relative ever been under immigration proceedings?"
If the answer is yes (as it is in my case), the options are the following:
"Removal", "Exclusion/Deportation", "Recission" or "Judicial Proceedings".

Would I choose "Recission" since we abandoned the process 5 years ago?
Or "Removal" since my wife um..removed herself from the US?
:rolleyes:

The other question is:
"Have you ever before filed a petition for this or any other alien?"
My answer would be yes. And then it asks for the Result..
Would the result be "abandoned" or "denied due to abandonment"? Or just "denied"?
 
When your wife left the US her AOS application was considered abandoned by INS. Personally I don't believe your wife has ever been under any immigration proceedings. Simply abandoning an application doesn't qualify for this IMHO. Probably best to seek legal advice on this however.

For your second case, I would put "abandoned". USCIS will understand what you mean by this. Again, this is just advice, I haven't been through this myself.
 
I share dr_lha's opinion.
I would answer "NO" to the first question.
I would put "YES" for the second question, and "Abandoned due to family emergency" - for the result.
 
I just received an email from USCIS regarding my original question:

"You will have to file a new immigration application for your wife. In order
to determine whether or not she has a five bar, we would have to see the immigrant file of your wife. As soon as you can file the application, we will order the immigrant file and a decision will be made pertaining to the bar"

What exactly is a "five bar"?
 
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