Have green card but cannot come back to US due to medical problems

[Nilgun]

Hi, I am the sponsor for my mother's green card. She received her family based green card in February 2017 while she was in the US. Then in April 2017, she left the US to spend time with my sisters. While abroad, she had a bad problem with her knee to a point that she couldn't walk at all for 2 months. Currently, she is still receiving treatment. I know she cannot stay outside of US for more than 6 months or she will lose her green card. I can get a letter from her doctor stating her condition and that she need to continue to receive treatment. It looks like she cannot come to US for maybe a year. I don't want her to lose her green card but her health is the most important thing of course. Is there a document I can send/fill out so that she does not lose her green card due to her medical condition? Thank you in advance! Michele

[inadmissible]

She should seek a Returning Resident assessment and an SB-1 visa at the consulate, on the basis of her involuntary inability to return to her domicile in the United States

She can not apply for a re-entry permit while abroad

It is situations like this that highlight why all permanent residents should obtain re-entry permits before departing the United States

[NettieL]

She only loses her Green Card status after she's been outside the US for more than a year without a re-entry permit.

Should it come to it that she overstays the 1 year, she will need to apply for what @inadmissable suggested.

Part of the SB-1 application is to prove that you maintained ties with the US (eg bank accounts, taxes, contact with family, etc) and she will also, at the time, need documentation from the medical provider to prove her condition and why it was necessary for her to stay outside the US.

She has to prove that her extended stay outside the US was *beyond her control*. This is *extremely important* to proof, otherwise she will be denied. She will need to convince the officer at the time of the interview. It is a situation where there is a high risk of loosing the GC, because there are mechanisms in place to prevent this from happening (needing a SB1).

It may be easier to go back sooner, if at all possible.