my 76 yrs old mother in law is a green card holder, she is now residing in asia for almost3 1/2 yrs. she petitioned her daughters about 10 years ago and still pending. Now, my question is .....what will happen to the pending petition if my mother in law dies(petitioner)...can anybody help? thank you guys

The problem will not only kick in when your mother in law dies (in regards to her petition for her daughters). The problem is already there a long time ago the fact that you said she's "residing in Asia for almost 3 1/2 years." She basically already "abandoned her own status" as a permanent resident (green card holder) making her not an eligible petitioner herself in the process.

Ditto the above, sounds she abandoned her residency a long time ago.

Why is she not resdiding in the US?

1. so even if her petition is underway INS can still cancel or revoked the petition if they found out that my in law is not here in the US.

2. how long can you stay in other country if you are a green card holder and petitioning somebody.

3. can a petition be continue if the petitioner dies?

quote:

Originally posted by gbaja:
1. so even if her petition is underway INS can still cancel or revoked the petition if they found out that my in law is not here in the US.

Probably it would slide through the INS (USCIS) during the I-130 adjudication stage. But never (I mean never) at the NVC processing phase where the petitioner's info will be required for Form I-864.

2. how long can you stay in other country if you are a green card holder and petitioning somebody.

Not more than a year without a re-entry permit - at least two years with re-entry permit, for two reasons: maintaining residency ties with the US and for naturalization purposes. So in principle the petitioner's own status must remain valid, logically, in order to pass on derivative immigration benefits to dependents. Right?

3. can a petition be continue if the petitioner dies?

It depends on the circumstances surrounding the case. Please read this.

quote:

Originally posted by gbaja:
my 76 yrs old mother in law is a green card holder, she is now residing in asia for almost3 1/2 yrs. she petitioned her daughters about 10 years ago and still pending. Now, my question is .....what will happen to the pending petition if my mother in law dies(petitioner)...can anybody help? thank you guys

correct me if I am wrong, your mother in law petitioned her daughter 10 years ago, your mother in law must have had her green card at this time, is her green card still valid?

As I thought you had to renew the green card after 10 years, perhaps she did before moving out of country.

Way back then (1979 - 1988?), some green cards were issued that didn't have expiry dates (that the USCIS is trying to replace now).

The mother-in-law's one may have been issued during that period, who knows? But from all indications that the permanent residency may have already been abandoned, this case is already like water under the bridge now.

her green card was issued in the late 90's and as far as i know it is still valid...is her petition for her daughters still valid? even if she is still in asia and plan to stay there for a year more? thank you very much guys for all your info.

If she has been out of the country over 12 months she abandoned her own residency. I would assume it would invalidate any petitions she filed for anyone else.