(Urgent) Cannot go back to US for health reasons

[kramvi 0]

I am asking this on behalf of my father. He has a green card and during the last 4 years he has spent 6 or more months every year in the US. This time when he went overseas he fell sick. He is old and the doctor has advised him rest and not to travel for a few months. The irony is that this was the fifth year in which he had to spend 6 months in the US but he has spent only 3 months there. To spend the other 3 months he will have to depart immediately for the US which is not possible. If he stays and recovers for another 3 months, he will have spent 9 months overseas.

Now from what I understand, he will have a problem reentering the US without completing some formalities and explanation at the port of entry. Is it true?

Also because during his fifth year after getting the green card, he would not have been able to spend at least 6 months in the US, will he be ineligible to apply for citizenship? And if so, will the countdown begin again to complete 5 years again? Or how will it work?

Please advise asap. We need to decide whether to fly him there urgently or could we let him recover overseas. Thanks so much and I will appreciate any advice regarding this.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

A GC holder can be outside of the US for a year without abandoning their GC. However, your father hasn't really been living in the US. It will be up to the POE if he has abandoned his residency or not.

Spending 6 months out of the year in the US is not good enough for citizenship anyway. He needs to really live in the US for a while.

[Boiler 43,360]

Does his Health Insurance cover him in NZ for so long?

[Penguin_ie 5,984]

9 months means he'd need to show that his ordinary residence is in the USA. Can he do that? For example, does he rent or own a home which is currently empty, does he have a job he took a leave of absence from, does he have bills and so on? If so, he would normally have a good chance of getting back in, especially with a letter from his doctor. However, if he's always been "clock watching" and been outside the US for close to 6 months every year, they won't look kindly on that, as he is supposed to be residing inside the USA primarily and visit abroad, not split his time evenly.

How did he get his greencard? If he has kids that are US citizens, it may be less stressful for him to abandon his current greencard and have them re-petition when he is ready to actually live in the USA.

[KierenHby 897]

Why is the father living overseas if he's a US permanent resident? A green card allows short trips, but not for living overseas.

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

And yes, an absence of longer than 6 months resets the naturalization clock so above issues aside, he would then need to wait another 5 years after his next entry after such an absence.