Overstayed outside US (3+ years), come back to visit?

[chencho]

Hi all,

My mother was in the US for quite some time and eventually I petitioned her Green Card as at the time, was what she wanted. Turns out she had some family issues a few years ago and ended up going back to her home country with no intentions to come back. Now she wants to come simply for a visit and was wondering how she should proceed. She thinks that by visiting the consulate and explaining the true story and asking for a visitor visa would be best but we are not sure how they treat cases like her.

Is she out of luck?

Thank you.