Returning Permenent resident/green card question?

hello all.
I am a UK citizen with a USA permenent resident card. We (hubbie, two children) moved to the UK in August 2008, my husband was offered a job with his US company as a UK rep. We were keen to move to the UK with the idea of staying a few years (I have family, so wanted for them to spend time with our kids, etc) and returning to the US when our youngest was starting school. We are still on track and plan to move back to the US in summer 2011. Whilst we got all the correct visas for our children and my hubby to come to the UK, I - stupidly - didn't think to inquire about the status of my permenant resident card. I have been researching on google and believe I might need to file Returning Resident (SB-1) visa - but it will be nearly 3 years since we have left the US! we still have bank accounts in US, hubby is still employed with US company. Does anyone have any knowledge or advice on a permenant resident returing to the USA? Will I have to start my permenant resident visa application from scratch?
Thank you in advance for any info!!

That's a tricky situation. Technically, you lose your Permanent Resident status if you have been out of the country for more than 6 months. However - that's at the discretion of the Immigration Officer at the airport where you fly into.

I suggest, contacting an immigration attorney for advice or the US embassy in the UK.

DW had a green card (back in 2002).  We returned over a year later to the US to visit and they took her greencard off her, effectively, even with extensions the longest you can go with a greencard and not being in the US is either 1 or 2 years, at 3 years I can't see how it would still be valid.  A greencard is based on intent to permanently reside in the US, that's why they took it off her.

If we were to move back to the States we'd have to apply through the embassy to get her permanent residence restated.  I'm not sure how long that process takes!

I'm pretty certain that your PR has gone after 3 years and like the returning resident visa to the UK, the one to the US is very rarely granted.  You can find more information about this on the britishexpats forum www.britishexpats.com where a lot more people have discussed the question. 

The most likely thing you'll need to do is to re-apply for permanent residency.  This is one of the reasons that we applied for my husband's US citizenship before we left.