You may apply for a re-entry permit on Form I-131. The processing time is about 3 months. You can have the reentry permit mailed to your home country if you need to leave before you can get it, but you have to make sure you do the biometrics first. You may still qualify for naturalization even if you are gone for more than a year, as long as you can meet the at least 50% physical presence requirement and you have no intention of abandoning your permanent residence in the US.
Answered on Feb 18th, 2014 at 11:03 PM