Us Immigration Green Card

Question:

We need to either get a new stamp, or get her green card. She has been back to the states in between, so her green card shouldn't have expired. Does anyone have any ideas? A phone number we can call...everytime we call the American Embassy in London we can't get an actual human to talk to. Should the embassy be able to take care of this? If so we'll just make the train ride to london and take care of it.

Answer:

I have a complicated question (or at least to me it is), but hopefully someone can help us out.

My wife is a british citizen living in the US on a green card through her parents. When we got married, she sent it off to get the name updated. This has been over a year ago, and we have called to inquire about it and they say they are back logged. This is part of the problem, but the main problem is that we are currently living in the UK and are not planning on comming back to the states until this december (1 1/2 years out of the country). She got a I-551 stamp in her Visa a year ago which takes the place of her green card. This expired last month.

The US consulate might be able to help you; they usually would give you a letter that would authorize her return to the US and then obtain the new Green Card. You also MIGHT be able to just travel to the US and throw yourself at the mercy of the immigration officers at the airport. They would probably make you pay a fine and give you a new I-551 stamp, as long as she can show that she resides in the US.

However, in this case, there is a good chance are that instead, either the consulate or BCBP would revoke the Green Card. You will need to show that you indeed do plan on residing in the US, and I would recommend that you plan on moving back immediately rather than waiting until December. Unfortunately, it is a persistent myth that visiting the US every couple of months is enough to maintain your Green Card; she needs to actually maintain a residence there. The intent to move back this December, combined with her parents being there, might be enough here, but in all honesty, I'm not qualified to answer that.

So my first recommendation would be to first find an immigration attorney (there are some that practice US immigration law in London) and ask for advice before taking any further steps.

...I think we'll look into an immigration attorny. We finally got a hold of someone about her green card status and they said it would be completed by the end of August. Hopefully it will come through and our only problem will be with her being out of the country for more than a year.

The letter that Ingo is referring to in his excellent piece is called a boarding letter, also known as a "bag and baggage" letter. It is generally used in situations where there is an emergency need for someone to return to the U.S. and where regular entry documentation is not available through no fault of the person involved. Generally, it is issued in duplicate: one copy for the transportation carrier and one for the border officials.

I quite agree with Ingo that there are potential abandonment issues, and legal advice should be sought first.