Green Card Validity

[asheanh]

I am a US citizen living in VA, USA. My parents (Dad is a British citizen and Mom is an Indian citizen) have lived in UK for 50 years and received their US Green Cards in 2009 through my sponsorship. However, due to major health issues they have been at their home in London, England for the past 2 years.

I want to bring my mother back to live in the USA with me permanently but do not know if her Green Card has been invalidated since she has been out of the country for two years. She is over 80 years old so I do not want her to go through the upheaval of flying here only then to be turned away upon arrival. Is there any way she can explain her reasons for having to be in the UK for the past years (e.g. to the US embassy in London) and get some sort of decision from them before travelling here? Also, if they say her Green Card is still valid, does she (as an Indian citizen) also need a visa to come here?

Thank you for any information you can provide.

[Logan5]

whoever has a valid green card does not require a visa.

either her green card is expired, or it is not. if it is, she needs to apply for a new one. if it is still valid but she has been outside the US for more than 6 months, immigration may assume that she has no intention of living in the US permanently. if she has been outside the US for more than 1 year, immigration will assume she has no intention of permanently living in the US. either way, she will be asked to provide proof of her current and lasting ties to the US. since she is your mother, I would say that's a pretty good reason. They may hold her at the airport for questioning and eventually release her as I have read that's what they do to make sure next time you are not ill-prepared. to be on the safe side though, I would call/visit the US embassy in the UK (wherever they live) maybe and ask? if she had a re-entry permit, it would make things easier, of course but since you didn't mention that she has one, I assume she doesn't..