The sponsor does not need to be in the United States for an applicant to file an adjustment of status application, but if an applicant wishes to relocate overseas with a spouse who has been deployed, using consular processing will likely be necessary. In some cases, it may be possible for the sponsor and applicant to undergo overseas processing (applying using adjustment of status while the sponsoring spouse is abroad), but that is discretionary on the part of USCIS and the U.S. Department of State. More information about overseas processing can be found here.