My parents have had green card for almost 5 years. Now they are out of the US for more than a year they applied for an reentry permit befor...

Question

My parents have had green card for almost 5 years. Now they are out of the US for more than a year; they applied for an reentry permit before they left. Now they might not come back before reentry permit expires(mainly for health reason). I understand they can still enter US in the future with a returning resident visa, But will they lose the 5 years residence they now have?

if they come back with a returning resident visa and decide to apply for citizenship or other benefit that requires 5 year residency, how the year of residency is calculated in that case?

Answer

They risk a presumption of abandonment if they re-enter after the re-entry permit has expired.

For naturalization purposes, the applicant must have lived in the U.S. for 2.5 out of the 5 years immediately preceding the filing of the application.