living in Ireland 5yrs,havent seen immig officer since

[persie11]

I'm Irish, my wife is american, we moved back to my hometown in 2007 with our 2 american born kids, we have 2 more irish born since. We met the immigration officer shortly after we arrived, signed forms and whatnot and her passport was stamped and she got a stamp4 GNIB card.

She has not been back since and we have had no contact from them. We are in the middle of setting up a business and would like to get her status sorted before we go any further.

I know we screwed up big time for not going back in each year but I'm afraid to go in to them now fearing the worst.

Does any1 have any experience of this kid of situation?

Thanks

[agniukas]

Your should write into the department of justice requesting tor egularise your spouse's status.
You have 2 options:
1. spouse of irish national section
http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Pages/WP07000024

2. Zambrano, on the basis that your children are irish citizen (if that is the case).
http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Pages/Th ... ch,%202011

Or you can try both and see which one comes first.
Seeing that you have the irish children together, chances of a deportation are very slim.
However, prepare to wait several months for the decision from the department. Without the decision letter from the department, Immigration officer will not be able to give your spouse permission to reside.

[Irisheddy]

I don't think your wife has anything to worry about. It is not as if she is undocumented. Spouse of an Irish national section are very helpful and understanding.

[Monifé]

I am not fully aware of the visa rules regarding American's. If I was to assume that they need to renew their permission to remain every year, then your wife would currently be undocumented. To regularise her status, you would have to apply to spouse of Irish national unit as Agniukas stated. Applications can take between 9 and 12 months. Having passed through the same process with my husband recently, it took us just over 9 months to receive a decision.

Another option I believe you may have (which would be quicker), is for your wife to return to the US and then come back to Ireland. Then proceed to the immigration officer of your local garda station with marriage certificate and passports and get hers stamped with stamp 4. Although, the entry and exit stamps may be checked and the question of why she didn't renew her status may be asked.

I would imagine the department would be quite understanding in your position as American's have a good name in Ireland and your wife has strong roots here. If I were you, my first step would be to write to the spouse of Irish national unit explaining the situation and providing orginals and copies of both your passports, birth certs, marriage cert, childrens birth certs and proof of residence and finances.