Permanent Residence Question for Child Visa

[aaastircrazy 2]

I am US citizen who married a Colombian citizen (female) 07/2010 in US on K-1 visa with 9 year old daughter on K-2 visa attached. Daughter returned to school in Colombian 05/2011 and has lived there since (over a year). Mother lives here in US with US citizen husband. Question; can the daughter return to US on current permanent resident status after staying out of the USA for over a year? What papers are required? She is now age 12.

[ceadsearc 516]

Did she get a re-entry permit before she left? Having her parent here maintaining residency works in her favor but a green is considered abandoned if the LPR leaves for a year or more without first securing a re-entry permit.

You may want to look into a returning resident visa for her (http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_1333.html), though I don't know how easy it would be to prove her extended stay was beyond her control (though I suppose being a minor who can't make her own decisions makes it beyond her control, I don't know if USCIS would see it that way).

Otherwise, you can apply for a new green card for her from abroad. As the minor stepchild of a USC a visa number would be immediately available so it would just be a matter of processing time.