Emergency travel outside USA

[Pardner]

My parents received their greencards (I-551) and arrived in the USA in Feburary of this year. Tragically this August, my youngest brother passed suddenly and my parents needed to fly back to Iran.

Now my devastated family is in a very troubling predicament. My parents have decided to stay with my remaining brother in Iran because he has taken the loss of our brother very poorly. My parents are concerned for his safety and wellbeing. My parents don’t want him to be alone without family around. I am afraid that my parents will forfeit their greencards due to staying outside the USA for too long. My brother does have an I-130 application for a permanent resident filed with USCIS, but USCIS has denied an expedited case (just the expedited was denied, the i-130 is still processing). The master plan was to have both my parents and both my brothers come and live in the USA with me and my growing American family.

Obviously we did not have time to file for a I-131 Re-entry permit. I don't know how how long it will take to resolve my brother's issue. I understand the 6 month limit for green card holders staying outside the country. Would their circumstance be enough of a reason for a 6 month - 1 year outside USA travel? Is there anything I can do to guarantee their reentry if they need to stay for more than 1 year?

Thank you,
Pardner

[R78]

Re-Entry permit is the only best option.
I would recommend one of your parents return to the US, file the I-131, complete biometrics and return to Iran (should take 30 days or so).
Then the other parent comes to the US and does the same process. This way, one parent is always with your brother.
Note:
The applicant does not need to be in the US for I-131 approval. Once the application is submitted and biometrics completed, they can leave the country.
The applicant can choose the delivery address of the I-131 to be the US consulate in Iran (and their local address there). Once ready, the consulate sends a letter for them to pick it up with a valid ID

[R78]

Forgot to add:
While the loss of a brother / son is unimaginable, the USCIS does not consider this as a valid reason for a green card holder to stay outside the country and then apply apply for an SB1.
SB1 (returning resident visa - for those without a reentry permit) are processed by consulates / embassy's and have a high standard. Valid reasons are when the greencard holder's return to the US was beyond their control. Examples includes long term hospitalization, arrested by local authorities, a judge asked for their passports to be withheld till the case was resolved, etc.