Mother green card - Expat assignment

[rocker1160]

Hi,

Me, my wife and children have US citizenship. My mother however has a green card which is 2 years old. I am planning for an expat assignment in the next 3 months to Europe for 2 years. Do my mother have to stay in US for at least 6 months in those 2 years to retain her green card? Or can she apply for permission to take absence in US for those 2 years? Also how does it play when she applies for her citizenship. Does she need 5 more years of stay once she comes back? Or can these 2 years be considered as a part of the 5 year stay requirement?

Thanks in advance for your answers and insights.

Regards.

 

[Jackolantern]

Hi,

Me, my wife and children have US citizenship. My mother however has a green card which is 2 years old. I am planning for an expat assignment in the next 3 months to Europe for 2 years. Do my mother have to stay in US for at least 6 months in those 2 years to retain her green card? Or can she apply for permission to take absence in US for those 2 years? Also how does it play when she applies for her citizenship. Does she need 5 more years of stay once she comes back? Or can these 2 years be considered as a part of the 5 year stay requirement?

She can apply for a reentry permit to stay abroad up to 2 years and preserve her green card. However, the reentry permit does not preserve continuous residence for citizenship purposes. If she is overseas for more than a year, her residence clock will be reset and at most she will get credited with 364 days of residence. So in order to be eligible for citizenship, she would have to wait at least 4 years and 1 day after returning from the long overseas stay.