Columbus, GA Immigration Law Firms & Lawyers

Significantly more information is needed in order to analyze and respond to your question. In order to apply for citizenship, an applicant first must be a Lawful Permanent Resident (have a "Green Card"). For most people, it is necessary to have a Green Card for five years before becoming eligible to apply for citizenship; for spouses of most U.S. citizens, the period is three years (but note that an application may be filed as early as 90 days before the end of the 5-year or 3-year period). Two DUI convictions generally will not stand in the way of eligibility, even when coupled with another traffic offense. It would be a mistake to pursue an immigration application under these circumstances without working with an immigration attorney who, after learning all of the relevant information about you and your immigration-related history and arrests/convictions, could advise you about eligibilities, options and strategies and could offer legal representation in the application process - which often is more complex than it might appear.

Generally, if a person becomes a Lawful Permanent Resident (gets a "Green Card") and then moves overseas for 10 years, she will be deemed to have abandoned her residence in the U.S. and to have abandoned her Permanent Resident status. At that point she would need to start all over with immigration-related applications. A U.S. citizen over the age of 21 may sponsor a parent for "consular processing" in the immediate relative visa category, and it would be wise for you and your mother to consult with an immigration attorney who, after learning all of the relevant information, could advise about eligibilities, options and strategies, and who then could offer legal representation in the often quite complex application process.

If I am reading your question correctly, you appear to have been out of the U.S. since 1997. If this is true, you will have been deemed to have abandoned your green card and permanent residence status in 1998. You cannot be out the U.S. for more than 1 year. In all likelihood, you will have to have someone petition you for an immigrant visa again, before you will be able to permanently remain in the U.S. I strongly suggest that you or a relative in the U.S. contact an experienced immigration attorney for a face-to-face consultation and give him/her all of the facts surrounding your situation. He/she would then be in a better position to analyze you case and advise you of your options.