FEIE 2555 residence requirements vs US green card residence requirements

Would submitting the 2555 form for Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE) disqualify someone from holding a green card (i.e. would their green card be taken away)?

My daughter is working in the UK as a physician doing her "foundation" training; she graduated from a UK university last year and has to complete two foundation years. Now that she's working she needs to file her US taxes. She has advance parole that allows her to be out of the US until September 2015 but needs to do her foundation work for another nine months beyond that.

On her rather small income the UK tax already paid is less than the US tax due, so filing for FTC isn't going to be useful. Is it OK to use the FEIE ?  Or does filing the 2555 automatically imply that one has abandoned US residence?

The conflicting ideas I've got are:

To qualify to use the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE) one "must be a bona fide resident of another country for a period of time containing one entire tax year" which she has in effect been.

For a US green card holder (i.e. with permanent resident visa), residing outside the US for more than six months can be assumed by US immigration to be a relinquishing of US residence. This is averted by obtaining an advance parole document, which allows for residence outside the US up to two years.

Section 911 specifically only allows US citizens to claim the foreign earned income exclusion using the bona fide residence test. Consequently under US domestic law your daughter could not elect to claim the foreign earned income exclusion as you describe.

Whether claiming the foreign earned income exclusion is an expatriating act for a green card holder is a question of immigration law. If the green card is of importance to her she might want to seek advice from a US immigration lawyer.

Thanks, appreciated. Yes I guess she needs to consult an immigration lawyer.

However, I believe it's not only US citizens who can claim FEIE. The IRS form specifically mentions resident aliens (i.e. green card holders) and IRS Pub. 54 says about claiming FEIE:

You must be one of the following.

A U.S. citizen who is a bona fide resident of a foreign country or countries for an uninterrupted period that includes an entire tax year.

A U.S. resident alien who is a citizen or national of a country with which the United States has an income tax treaty in effect and who is a bona fide resident of a foreign country or countries for an uninterrupted period that includes an entire tax year.

A U.S. citizen or a U.S. resident alien who is physically present in a foreign country or countries for at least 330 full days during any period of 12 consecutive months.

Thanks, appreciated. Yes I guess she needs to consult an immigration lawyer.

However, I believe it's not only US citizens who can claim FEIE. The IRS form specifically mentions resident aliens (i.e. green card holders) and IRS Pub. 54 says about claiming FEIE:

You must be one of the following.

A U.S. citizen who is a bona fide resident of a foreign country or countries for an uninterrupted period that includes an entire tax year.

A U.S. resident alien who is a citizen or national of a country with which the United States has an income tax treaty in effect and who is a bona fide resident of a foreign country or countries for an uninterrupted period that includes an entire tax year.

A U.S. citizen or a U.S. resident alien who is physically present in a foreign country or countries for at least 330 full days during any period of 12 consecutive months.

A resident alien can indeed claim section 911 exclusion under the physical presence test, but only by electing into an applicable tax treaty. This results only from making a valid claim under an appropriate treaty, not from US domestic law.

There is no need to rely on a treaty to claim the FEIE under the physical presence test.

Treaty relief is needed if you want to rely on the bona fide residence test. See Rev. Rul. 91-58.