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".