[jonpurdy]

Hi Peter, thanks as always. It seems that i-131 Reentry Permit processing times are greater than 12 months these days.

If an i-131 is pending, would you advise that person to return briefly to USA before their 1 year date of exit (ensuring that they are never out of USA for greater than 1 year prior to approved i-131)?

Or does a reentry permit allow them to remain out of country for longer than that even if pending (presuming it gets approved)?

[proberts]

If the RP application ultimately gets approved, then it would "protect" that absence of one year that occurred before the issuance of the RP (although the RP validity period will start when it's approved not when it was filed). The reason to still reenter before you are outside for one year has to do with qualifying for naturalization rather than maintaining green card status.