FAQ: Green card holder staying outside the USA for less than 12 months
Dear Mr. Rajiv Khanna,
This is related to my parents who are outside of US for nearly 350 days on GC.
My parents have obtained Green Card through me in Aug 2014. They left to India in Aug 2014 and returned back on Feb 2015 and left to India on Sep 30 2015.
In their recent visit, they left to India on sep 30 2015. Since then they haven't been able to return back to US until now due to various health reasons. They had to attend to my grand mother who fell ill also had to extend their stay to deal with some property issues which were unanticipated.
Now they are planning to return on Sep 18th.
1.We are worried if this will be considered as overstay.
2. And also, are wondering if there is a legal issue on staying in India for more than 180 days on GC. Should they have reported to someone in India as well?
3. Is there anything called 11 month rule?
4. What do they need to do to avoid any legal issues and face no issues with the GC.
We couldn't apply for re-entry permit as we did not foresee most of the issues that occurred.
Since they have very little time left, could you please advice us?
Brief summary about my family:
1. My family ( husband GC, 2 kids ages 4 and 2 are US citizens) and my brother's family ( he is GC, wife GC, kid 4 yr USC) live in United States.
2. My parents filed taxes for 2015
3. Holds US bank account . Might be in dormant state due to inactivity.
Thank you and appreciate all your help in this regard.