Kiwi woman trapped in US for more than six years finally free to come home

Kellie Hendry with her children Lilli (12) and Cameron (10) and her new husband Sid Brown. Photo / Supplied

By Sarah Hall

A New Zealand woman deemed an illegal alien in the United States but unable to leave the country is finally free to come home to visit family.

Kellie Hendry, originally from Christchurch, had two children to an American but wanted to bring them home after the relationship ended. The couple had never married and Kellie's eldest child, Lili, was born in New Zealand.

But the children's father disputed they should be able to leave the country and the US authorities agreed.

But because of a bizarre legal quirk Hendry was deemed an illegal immigrant. She was therefore unable to leave the United States but unable to work to support her children.

The 45-year-old and her children Lili, now 12, and Cameron, 10, ended up living in a homeless shelter in Harlem. They received just $175 a week in food stamps and government handouts.

It was a far cry from Hendry's earlier life in New York. She moved there in 2003 to work as a nanny for a wealthy family on the Upper East side. They would fly her around the world in their private jet before eventually offering her a full-time job at their publishing company.

This week - more than six years after her legal nightmare began - Hendry was finally granted a green card allowing her to legally work and stay in the United States.

"I never thought it would take as long as it did. There is no legal resolution to people caught in an immigration situation like my own."

The only way Hendry finally managed to get the green card was by marrying her new partner Sid Brown. She believes she would still be stuck in legal limbo if she hadn't married.

Hendry said she's "delighted the nightmare is finally over and she can bring her children home to meet their New Zealand family".