jagsfl

I don’t believe it’s a calendar year issue, it’s a rolling year issue. If you stay first six months then leave for a year ie last six months and first six months of the year, it’s not the same as 6 in, 6 out, 6 in, six out. So although both are the same for calendar year, immigration is going to tell you that you were out a whole year.
 
Once again patterns also matter, it’s not hard and fast however always err on the side of caution.

Yes, it does. Look up the guide for naturalization on USCIS.gov. 

Out for 181-364 days: likely breaks continuous residency for purposes of naturalization. There have been success stories.  
 
Out for 365 days: almost certainly breaks continuous residency for purposes of naturalization.
 
When continuous residency is broken, then if applying under the
 
* 3 year rule the LPR must wait until 3 years less 180 days to file N-400. 
 
* 5 year rule the LPR must wait until 5 years less 180 days to file N-400. 
 
Filing I-131 doesn’t change this.  

entering this
 
180 days LPR
 
into Google’s search engine produces:
 
https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/CBP-COVID-19-Legal-Permanent-Resident-LPR-Frequently-Asked-Questions?language=en_US
 
“What will happen if I am out of the United States for more than six months?
Staying outside the United States for more than 6 months but less than one year will subject you to additional questioning when you return to the United States but you are not required to have a Reentry Permit.”

https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-1191?language=en_US

“LPRs who are out of the U.S. for more than 180 days are subject to new immigrant inspection procedures as per 8 USC 1101.”

180 is the norm 
but many say stay 180 inside the US
there are 365 days
180 outside leaves 185 inside not 180
and counting on airlines to not cancel a flight (using exact days) can lead to issues at CBP
 
it is best to spend more time inside the US as that is the intent of the green card to live here

Depends on your risk tolerance once it's past 6 months.
 
And I admit this is 100% speculation on my part, but I imagine CBP would be a lot more "generous" to a green card holder who had resided in the US for 5+ years, and happened to go abroad a year vs a 1 year resident who then spent his/her 2nd year completely abroad.
 
Honestly, is there a particular reason why you can't just return to the US? And then when she becomes eligible to be a US citizen, then spend more time abroad? 3 years to become a citizen (more or less) isn't that long in the grand scheme of things.
 
 

You're getting conflicting answers because there are no hard and fast rules. When your wife re-enters the US how she is treated depends on the CBP officer she meets.
I have a couple of USC friend's who've been questioned by CBP quite aggressively after re-entering the US after a long absence (but nothing else happens as they're US citizens). 
 
If you have no set plans, what's the harm in returning to the US and applying for the I-131? You never know what the future brings.. you could be traveling and decide for whatever reason you want to stay outside the US for over a year. This takes the guess work out of your travels and you won't be (potentially) risking your wife's green card. 
 
What's sounds more stressful? Flying back to the US now or dealing with coercion to file I-407/ a notice to appear when you finally decide to return to the US. 
Your choice. 

A green card is for living in the USA. And living in the USA means at minimum spending at least 50 percent  of your days inside the USA than outside the USA, with no continuous absence from the USA in excess of 180 days (not 6 months as is too frequently stated by too many people, in using the US government).  
 
It is erroneous to think  that an LPR can be absent from the USA between 181 and 364 continuous days  and have no worry.  CBP disagrees with the rest of the USA government and its officers can enforce 180 days SS the maximum absence (or less depending on the pattern of travel). 
 
Your wife is planning to not live  in the USA and so is on a dangerous path.  
 
Are there LPRs who get away with what she is planning? Absolutely.  I’ve seen people absent for more than 10 years return without incident.  I’ve also seen people absent for 121-180 days get a warning, and people absent for 181-190 days get a notice to appear.  
 
An LPR can file I-131 before departing the USA.  This is strong evidence the LPR who isn’t living in the USA did not intend to abandoned status.  It isn’t a guarantee CBP won’t make a finding of abandoning status.  
 
She didn’t file I-131 before she left. Too late. 
 
Now is the time for her to come home to America.  She can file I-131 and resume her trip, but needs to come back for biometrics.  

https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-820?language=en_US#:~:text=If%20you%20are%20a%20lawful,for%201%20year%20or%20mor
 
 
read  what US CBP says 

I hope so also. I can't wait for this pandemic to be over. We're also planning a ceremony in Indonesia also but thankfully we chose the US first.

I moved it to Asia: East and Pacific.  You can add to this thread here......posting multiple threads for the same subject makes it difficult to keep the answers together.  There is no mumbo-jumbo now that there is only ONE thread....

I agree with what pushbrk and aratamorne said about using the marriage certificate as the basis for a name change if possible.
 
You say that changing the birth certificate would be complicated, but I'm not sure if what you proposed is any easier.
 
Changing the name on her Indonesian passport once in the U.S. would probably be done at one of these consulates (but you'd have to contact them to verify that):
 
https://www.embassyofindonesia.org/index.php/2016/01/24/list-of-consulates-general-of-the-republic-of-indonesia-in-the-united-states-of-america/
 
Maybe you were thinking about doing a legal name change at the County Clerk's office and then using that as a basis for making the name changes elsewhere? I'm not sure what the requirements would be in your local jurisdiction but note that in that case you would have many moving pieces to deal with:
Changing the name with the County Clerk (or whatever local authority handles this) Changing the name on the passport (and there could be additional requirements for that, not sure) Changing the name on the Permanent Resident Card (see below) Changing the name on the SS card, etc. Plus, keep in mind that the birth certificate still wouldn't match after all that.
 
This is what the instructions for Form I-90 say about documentation for name changes:
 
and
 
 
The last sentence is bolded by me. Note that the fee would be $540 in this case.
 
As I learned after posting my own thread, we will likely have to pay and change my wife's name on the green card/SS card after she arrives to the U.S., but that's because her country does not change names on passports due to marriage. If there was a way to take care of the name issue before coming to the U.S., I certainly would.
 
 

If she intends to use a "married name", I agree this would be the most efficient thing to do, PROVIDED her name on the marriage certificate matches the name on the birth certificate.  My best guess is it doesn't.

Is the passport issued in your wife's married name?  Would it not be easier to have the passport issued in her married name so it matches the marriage certificate rather than her birth certificate?  Then you would not have to change anything at a later date, since it would all match her married name already.
 
 

Where did you read this?  It is Absolutely false.  Only her country can change or issue passports.

Her passport is issued and controlled by Indonesia, so NO, she cannot change her passport name with a County Clerk in the USA.  If she changes her passport name, that will be the name on the visa, passport, and green card.  She can "legally"  change her name through the applicable local process or change it legally and free when she naturalizes anytime after three years as a permanent resident still married to you.  If not still married to you, she can change after 5 years of residency.

Another solution would be to change her passport name to a married name.
 
Note that these are issues that could have been identified and dealt with months ago.

She can travel in the first moment. Her Visa allows her to use like a prove of permanent resident for 1 year, but remember that 
1) we are in the middle of a pandemia 
2) She is moving to the US to be a resident no to use her like a visit or vacation place. 
 
Is there any specific reason that she wants to travel right away?
 
Once her visa is approved she will pay for the Green card fee and yes, she will just receive it after she arrives because this will be the day that she start her visa "clock". She is not a LPR until she is allowed to enter the US border.
 
Any LPR can be outside of the US, they normally advise to don't be out for more than 12 months, but this doesn't mean that someone can live 12 months out 1 months here and 12 months out again.
 
This visa is for her to be a RESIDENT, so she need to be more in the US than out.  

Immediately
 
You can pay the fee in advance
 
IR1 means she wants to be a US Permanent Resident.

The same day she enters. Upon entry, the CBP-endorsed Immigrant Visa is a I-551 document: https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/temporary-i-551-stamps-and-mrivs

After the visa is issued you can pay USCIS Immigrant Fee: https://my.uscis.gov/uscis-immigrant-fee
We strongly encourage you to pay the USCIS Immigrant Fee after you pick up your immigrant visa from the Department of State and before you depart for the United States.
You may also pay the fee after you arrive in the United States. If you arrive in the United States and haven’t yet paid the USCIS Immigrant Fee, USCIS will send you a payment notice with instructions on paying your fee. You will not receive your Green Card until you have paid the USCIS Immigrant Fee.

You'll just have to wait and see for NVC, but for the Consulate, you'll need evidence of current income.  They will just look at the 2019 tax return as the evidence.  If it looks good, there should be no problem.

I finally was able to get the website to work, I now have my last 3 years transcripts. WAHOO!

You're welcome! But hey, check out some of these other comments people are saying in this thread. It seems like no one in IRS knows what they're talking about.
 
Website isn't working at all for me. I put my credit card in and always get the red error.  I filed from U.S. with U.S. cell number as os306 mentioned, and a VISA credit card. I don't understand the "mainly with new signups" part, because essentially you can't make an account unless you go through the whole process including submitting your C.C. - which is the part that I can't get past. 

That's a bummer. I already had a Wells Fargo credit card that would be reported in Credit Karma, but it was an American Express card which unfortunately couldn't be used. So I contacted the bank to send me a new one that's a VISA. I haven't even used it yet. I thought that may have been potentially an issue, but now you've confirmed it.

Oh whoops! OK Thanks alot!

 
I did not ask, sorry. I know I should have 😕

 
Yeah, I asked about that. He said that online systems are off and so are phone requests for transcripts and only way to do it now is printing this form and mailing it to them.
 

Hey all!

Finally, IRS has opened their phone lines back up. After an hour of being on hold, the rep told me that they are aware their website doesn't work for getting transcripts. It's because the system is turned off for now. They are also not allowing you to ask for transcripts over the phone neither.  You have to fill out the Form 4506-T. You can get it at:  https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4506t.pdf

My only question for this is, after we print it and fill it out, do we send it to them through physical mail? and if it's by physical mail, what is the exact address to send it to?  I totally forgot to ask this on the phone.  Any insight would be great. Thanks.