Green Card - Old Green Card

By Debbie McGoldrick

“A FRIEND of mine received a green card five years ago. She lived here for three months, and has been in Ireland ever since. The green card expires in 2009. Does this mean it is still good for use? She is coming back to live here at the end of the summer and is concerned because she’s been gone for so long.” 

SHE’S right to be worried. Though the expiration date on the green card is in 2009, her status as a permanent resident technically lapsed years ago.

An expiration date on a green card signals the time when the holder needs to apply to USCIS for an updated version of the document. It has nothing to do with the person’s status as a permanent resident, which is actually much more important. In other words, a permanent resident living here continuously whose card expires in 2004 doesn’t have to worry if he renews the card in 2005 or even 2006 — unless foreign travel comes into play, in which case it is absolutely necessary to have an updated card.

However, a permanent resident who remains outside the U.S. for more than one year, without obtaining prior USCIS approval, is not entitled to return here using the green card. Permanent residents must maintain their primary place of residence in the U.S.

Given the timeline you’ve provided, it seems as if your friend has been living outside the U.S. since 2000. Therefore, her green card, though it expires in 2009, isn’t valid as a re-entry document, as she’s allowed her status as a permanent resident to lapse. 

If she attempted to re-enter using her green card she’d face questioning about what she’s been doing, and she’d quite possibly be asked to provide evidence of her U.S. residency. That obviously would be a tall order.