How long before a US bank acknowledges an overseas bank that a check has cleared?

Question

I currently live abroad and work with US firms paying me in private checks drawn from US banks. A few days after depositing each check, my bank pays me for it. However, I was told by my bank that a check can actually clear in the US bank from a few days after being sent to the US bank, to up to 5 years from issue(!!!), this means that a check can bounce even a few years after issue, in which case the sum i was paid would be taken out of my account, plus %interest. Can it be that international banking is so inefficient that my bank doesn't get acknowledged that the check was cleared, and the check can "stay in limbo" for years? Should i really worry for years, or a few months after depositing - i should be safe?
(To all those who answered my prev Q: Thanks! Your answers helped me ask my bank the right questions, and limit the unknown to this question only.)

Answer 1

I don't know how long it takes for the check to get to the US bank. I also don't know how long a bounced check would take to get back to the overseas bank. I do know that the US bank will clear or bounce the check within 2 days after they receive it. Can you employer verify that the checks have cleared? I doubt I would want to work for a company if I was worried that their payroll checks would bounce.

Answer 2

From my experance...it can take 6 months!