Overstay U S

[newtjj]

My wife overstayed her permanent resident card in the U S. We now live in Thailand and wish to take vacation to U S to see family. Reason for over stay was my fathers death. All of this was before we were married. Anyone have any ideas what to do or if there is even a problem ? I can give more details if need be. Thanks

[NanLaew]

When was this overstay? How long was it? Was it a case of just checking in, boarding and flying out after the green card had expired?

[newtjj]

Her resident card expired 11/13/09. We departed the U S on 3 feb 2010.

[NanLaew]

So over 60 days overstay and relatively recent.

My understanding is that a resident card holder uses the US citizen immigration lines when arriving in the US. Did she get a stamp with a 'leave-by' date on her last US entry?

What paperwork, if any, did she surrender to the airline on check-in for the departure last February? US visitors and visa holders fill-in an arrival card, the stub of which is surrendered via the airline on departure. Do resident permit holders do the same or is their entry 'paperless', like a full resident? Is she still traveling on the same passport?

I am not sure how US Immigration tracks the exits of their resident and green card holders, hence these questions.

The Immigration databases are better integrated these days but unless there was some other way that the Immigration system actually knows she overstayed, I can't see there being any record of her late departure.

However, my experience as a resident alien in the US, if they do have a record of overstay, she will be flagged for a 'secondary inspection' at the point of arrival. Depending entirely on the disposition of the officer tasked with the interview, she could show proof of why she overstayed and be admitted with a warning. A cursory secondary check where they just verify who you are and how long she will be staying; all verbal, never asked for printed itinerary. Or, she could get a harder question/answer session, allowed to enter on the provision that a visa be acquired next time (assuming the green card has been invalidated). All 3 instances happened to me over a 6-month period late 2009, early 2010 based on alleged overstays in 2003/04. Or she could be denied entry and sent back at airlines cost which they may claim back.

I assume that the green card is now expired. Now that you are married, maybe a good time to get her a new passport in her married name. Then she will need to apply for a visa and online ESTA approval.

[taxout]

The Green Card itself has expired, not the right to permanent residency in the US, which the card simply evidences.

Thus the OP's wife has not "overstayed" in the US. However, she failed to timely renew her Green Card. As a result, she couldn't meet the legal requirement that aliens in the US must always carry a valid Green Card or such.

The USCIS site seems to suggest that she should get assistance from a US embassy or consulate before heading back to the US, and not simply show up at the border with an expired Green Card, as that will apparently cause all sorts of problems.

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=8ae33a4107083210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=8ae33a4107083210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD