Generally the requirement to qualify for a returning resident visa are:
An LPR (Legal Permanent resident) who has remained outside the United States for more than one year may be eligible for returning resident status if the consular officer is satisfied
that:
(1) The alien departed the United States with the intention of returning
to an unrelinquished residence and
(2) The alien’s stay abroad was for reasons beyond the alien’s control
and for which the alien was not responsible.
Now in your case the first condition is interpreted as follows:
'An alien child under the age of 16 years is not considered to possess a
will or intent separate from that of the parents with regard to a
protracted stay abroad. Accordingly, the residence of a child under 16
follows that of the parent(s) unless the consular officer concludes the
parents have a separate intention for the child to return to the United
States for residence.'
Now coming to the second condition I will quote an example:
'In a particular illustrative case of protracted stay abroad by a child, an
alien, born in Bermuda in 1941, was formally adopted at the age of six
months. The adoptive mother and child were admitted for permanent
residence in 1949 but approximately 10 months later the child was
returned to Bermuda because the adoptive mother reportedly was unable
to care for the child properly and work at the same time. The child
remained in Bermuda for six years, most of the time in the custody of a
guardian. The adoptive mother in the United States contributed regularly
to the child's support but never visited the child. When nearly 14 years
of age, the child applied for a special immigrant visa as a returning
resident alien under INA 101(a)(27)(A). The Department determined that
the child's protracted stay abroad was for reasons beyond the alien's
control and, therefore, had not affected the child's status as an alien lawfully admitted for
permanent residence.'
I have done a similar case as well (Nowadays, I am running a American Immigration Consultancy service at Lahore, Pakistan). It was a case of a LPR family who returned to Pakistan when the child was a minor. The father did not want his wife and child to return to the U.S so he took away their green cards and other travel documents. When the child was about 19 years old he found out about his LPR status and he applied for an SB-1 along with his mother and they were granted Returning Resident status on the grounds that circumstances were beyond their control although both of them had no ties in the U.S
In my opinion you should definitely try for an SB-1 you have a good chance to qualify. The only problem in such cases is that the decision on these cases largely involve the discretion and judgment of the Consular Officer rather than any hard and fast rules. Therefore, it is hard to predict the outcome accurately.
What you should do is attach a detailed statement explaining your circumstances along with the application form in the light of the above guideline.
