I-131 re-entry permit after remaining more than 6 months outside USA

[Bengalita 12]

My grandmother is a Permanent Resident. She's 93. She does 6 months in the USA and 6 months in Ecuador. However, she went back to Ecuador in September and due to health reasons (diabetes), she cannot come back on an airplane until she gets better. Now it's been 8 months since she's been back to the USA. We do not know when she can come back. Can she fill out a I-131 while still in Ecuador so she can extend her time outside the USA? Or should she fill out the SB1. I heard the SB1 is only if you overstayed 1 year outside the USA. She has stayed 8 months outside the USA. I just don't want her to get denied entry if she doesn't submit this document. If she comes back to the USA before 1 years time, can we just explain to the Customs officer about her health situation that impeded her to come back to the USA within 6 months time?

Edited May 12, 2011 by zonryza

[rika60607 215]

It is in discretion of the POE officer to let her in easy or give her trouble. So have her bring medical documentation showing she was sick and when, translated into English.

As long as she comes back within 1 year, I do not see that someone will have a heart to use discretion against a 93 yo sick lady. What will they do, detain her with a purpose for her to see an immigration judge later?

My grandmother is a Permanent Resident. She's 93. She does 6 months in the USA and 6 months in Ecuador. However, she went back to Ecuador in September and due to health reasons (diabetes), she cannot come back on an airplane until she gets better. Now it's been 8 months since she's been back to the USA. We do not know when she can come back. Can she fill out a I-131 while still in Ecuador so she can extend her time outside the USA? Or should she fill out the SB1. I heard the SB1 is only if you overstayed 1 year outside the USA. She has stayed 8 months outside the USA. I just don't want her to get denied entry if she doesn't submit this document. If she comes back to the USA before 1 years time, can we just explain to the Customs officer about her health situation that impeded her to come back to the USA within 6 months time?

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

A Reentry permit has the value of used bathroom tissue for travels under 1 year duration. The same applies to the I-131 and the SB-1 in a case like your grandma's.

If you grandmother returns before the 1-year mark has been reached, CBP will most likely inquire about the reason of her absence in order to determine if she has abandoned her residency. Given that she's 93 years old and was sick, I don't think they'll make a spectacle at the airport at all; they'll just wave her trough, hoping she won't need medical assistance when standing there for too long.