[gam17]

I have an expired visa from 2007 and was wondering if there's any way I could renew it? I was also supposed to get my citizenship but I was a child then and didn't have my own passport. I was under my mother's passport then but now I'm planning to move to the U.S to start work after taking my board exams. How can I get at least residency so I can work here until I pass my boards?

[lawanwadee]

Don't quite understand your question... expired visa? What country? How about start over and explain everything in details?

[gam17]

Ok well I lived in the U.S when I was younger with my family. We stayed in the country for 5 consecutive years and so we applied for citizenship and we were sent a letter to come in for an interview, but we had to leave the country because my grandmother was sick and my mother had to go take care of her, so we never made it to the interview. I was 16 at the time so I didn't have a choice, I had to leave with my rest of my family. That was in 2002 and we had 5 years left until our green card expires (2007). We never renewed the green card since then and now I just arrived in the U.S under a tourist visa. I want to know how I would go about renewing the green card now. And if at all possible I still qualify for citizenship?

[lawanwadee]

Once you let your green card expired, you are no longer a permanent resident, so forget about citizenship.

What you need to do is to start the process to get your green card again... same manners as you previously did.

[NYcityboy]

Entry to the US with a tourist visa is contradictory to permanent residence. Lawanwadee is telling you that you need to apply for permanent residence again, not just file for another card.

What was the basis for the first permanent residence? Family petition?

[gam17]

I'm only here on a tourist visa because I had to come here to take my boards exam and didn't have time to go through the whole green card renewal process. Besides that the embassy told me I can't renew my green card from my home country and have to come here to do so (which doesn't really make a lot of sense?). We were initially here on an immigrant visa and got residency a little later since we never left the country the whole time we lived here. I don't know what the basis for permanent residency was honestly.

[NYcityboy]

Factually difficult case. Abandonment of PR typically starts at 6 months, but can be refuted with enough ties to the US (filing taxes, owning real estate, bank accounts, credit cards, owning businesses, etc.)

In your case, your family has not been here for 8 years. Too long for any CONOFF to believe you intended to be a US permanent resident. If so, you should have filed at AMCON for returning resident visa, but you got a visitor visa instead. Again, this is more evidence that you abandoned.

You will need to qualify for PR if you want PR. Was it a family-based petition previously?

[gam17]

Hmm.. yes it was. But my family doesn't want residency only I do.

[NYcityboy]

It sounds like you need to find a way, like everyone else, to get permanent residence. Good luck.