Advice on parents' green card situation

[shutterf5]

Hi everyone,

I am looking for help related to my parents' US immigration. Their chronology is as follows.

(a) I came to the US and got my greencard and citizenship in 2017. My parents visited me a few times on a B1/B2 visa.
(b) In 2019, I decided to sponsor my parents for US permanent residence. I filed their I-130. Parents went to the Mumbai consulate and got the DS-260 approved.
(c) They entered the US in April 2019 and got their greencards issued which show they are valid until 2029.
(d) They stayed in the US and traveled to India in September 2019 to take care of some family issues for 2-3 months.
(e) They got stuck in India in the middle of COVID-19. Since they are in their 60-70s, I also suggested they stay in India until COVID situation gets resolved.
(f) Since global pandemic persisted, they changed their travel plans multiple times.
(g) Both got into variety of health issues (heart-related problems as my dad had his open-hearth surgery done few years ago and mother had prolonged diabetes -induced problems). Due to their health issues, they decided to stay in India since 2019.
(h) Their healths have improved now. They now want to travel to the US this summer. But we understand they have not met the greencard residency requirements since 2019.

We are now in a limbo — what is the best course of action for them to be able to travel. If possible, I want their US permanent residence to continue as they plan to stay in the US in the future. But if it is not possible, should they apply for a visitor B1/B2 visa and travel intermittently for six month stays.

We do not know what is their best course of action given their greencard ambiguity. Any guidance or tips on this matter will be super helpful. Thanks in advance.

Regards,
Reya

 

[BelRed]

There is a visa called Returning Resident Visas for LPR who have stayed out of US for longer than one year or beyond the time permitted by re-entry permit.

Returning Resident Visas

travel.state.gov

I never had to use this visa but heard about it.
This might be the course for you.
If you apply for B1/B2 visa there might be conflict of intent, since your parents had/has immigrant status and B1/B2 is non-immigrant visa.

 

[newacct]

Another option is for your parents to fly to the US on their unexpired green card, and try to enter with evidence of how they intended to return but couldn't return earlier due to various reasons. The immigration officers at entry might let them in. If asked to sign I-407 to voluntarily relinquish their permanent residency, they should refuse. The immigration officers cannot immediately send them back. In the worst case, they can give your parents a Notice to Appear for removal proceedings in immigration court, where your parents can again make their case that they didn't abandon residency to the immigration judge.

 

[SusieQQQ]

Another option is for your parents to fly to the US on their unexpired green card, and try to enter with evidence of how they intended to return but couldn't return earlier due to various reasons. The immigration officers at entry might let them in. If asked to sign I-407 to voluntarily relinquish their permanent residency, they should refuse. The immigration officers cannot immediately send them back. In the worst case, they can give your parents a Notice to Appear for removal proceedings in immigration court, where your parents can again make their case that they didn't abandon residency to the immigration judge.

I think this is probably the best option to get them back, although it might cause them a bit of stress on the way in. I would suggest they book one-way tickets (so it doesn’t look as if they are just trying to use their green cards to visit.)

Returning resident/SB1 visas are notorious for a high refusal rate.