Green card holder stays more than 180 day outside US

[buddhu]

My mother has a green card.

She doesn't want to be a US citizen.

But she wants to maintain her green card.

In order to do so she lives in US for more than 180 days every year.

So far so good.

The problem is this time around she has some important work in India.

So she will not be able to come back to US within 180 days.

She left for India on 31st March 2013 and is currently in India.

What can I do in the US, so that she doesn't default on her green card?

I am told that if she stays more than 180 days in India she will have issue at the port of entry in US when she comes back.

 

[JoeF]

First, it is not 180 days per year.

A Permanent Resident has to live in the US, period. It is called "Permanent Residence" for a reason.

An LPR can of course travel abroad, but that has to be for visits only. If somebody works abroad, that may be seen as GC abandonment.

Your mother needs to decide if she wants to live in the US for real, or if she just wants to visit the US once in a while. For the latter, she would have to give up the GC.

It is not possible to have the cake and eat it, too.

[Attorney_22]

The question regarding green card abandonment is intent. An LPR should not be abroad for more than 180 days (even then, frequent travel can be an issue), if the individual is abroad for 180 day to one year there is a rebuttable presumption the green card is abandoned, one year or more it is presumed abandoned. However, if the reason for being abroad is temporary in nature and the LPR has continued to maintain ties to the U.S. sufficient enough to overcome any questions of abandonment, it may be ok. Due to the complexity of the subject matter it is advisable to speak directly with a qualified U.S. immigration attorney.