Yes but that process is very unfriendly. First you need to know you are going to spend over 1 year abroad. Since you can only apply before you leave. Second it takes month to approve and costs 500+ USD to apply for that permission.
If you left without the intent to stay longer than a year and had to extend for unforeseen circumstances (say a global pandemic heavily reduced air travel options) than you are out of luck.
For me it would be more convenient to spend 6 months abroad and then a couple months in the US then go back and spend another 6 months abroad.
If I do that technically I'm complying with all the rules and my green card should be safe while also not reseting my clock for citizenship. But the USCIS seems to be a bit vague on what would happen if I did that.
> But the USCIS seems to be a bit vague on what would happen if I did that.
That's because the CBP officer who evaluates your request for entry on a permanent resident visa has the discretion to say that you are "likely" residing elsewhere and "remind"/"advise" you of the requirement to be permanently resident inside the United States in order to keep PR status.
The six month rule is less of a rule and more of a presumption but if a CBP officer sees a series of entry stamps all hovering around that six month mark, the officer can make that note and the next officer might declare that you've abandoned PR status and you'd then have to go through the process overcome that.
That makes sense the system would be setup like that.
I'm not trying to game the system, but these are weird times. I wish USCIS was a bit more flexible during these times to avoid unnecessary travel and let people quarantine with family while maintaining status.
If you left without the intent to stay longer than a year and had to extend for unforeseen circumstances (say a global pandemic heavily reduced air travel options) than you are out of luck.
For me it would be more convenient to spend 6 months abroad and then a couple months in the US then go back and spend another 6 months abroad.
If I do that technically I'm complying with all the rules and my green card should be safe while also not reseting my clock for citizenship. But the USCIS seems to be a bit vague on what would happen if I did that.