Traveling with a work permit in the USA is straightforward for domestic flights and risky for international ones. Your Employment Authorization Document (EAD, Form I-766) is on TSA’s list of acceptable IDs, so you can use it to board flights inside the country. Leaving the United States is a different question: an EAD proves you can work, not that you can leave and come back. For international travel you need a valid passport plus either a U.S. visa or an advance parole document, and getting that wrong can cost you a pending green card or trigger a multi-year bar on returning.
Using Your EAD for Domestic Flights
TSA lists the “U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Employment Authorization Card (I-766)” as an acceptable form of identification for boarding domestic flights.1Transportation Security Administration. Acceptable Identification at the TSA Checkpoint Present it at the checkpoint and you can fly. Carrying a backup ID is still a good idea in case an individual officer is unfamiliar with the card.
Since May 7, 2025, state driver’s licenses and ID cards that are not REAL ID-compliant are no longer accepted at TSA checkpoints.2Transportation Security Administration. REAL ID If your state license does not have the REAL ID star, you will need to show something else. Practical options for EAD holders include:
- Your EAD card (I-766), which is accepted on its own.
- Your valid, unexpired foreign passport, which works at TSA regardless of REAL ID rules.
- A U.S. passport or passport card, if you have one.
- A permanent resident card, if you hold one alongside your EAD.
TSA officers verify identity for transportation security; they are not checking immigration status. If you fly near a land border or pass a Border Patrol checkpoint, you may encounter immigration officers who will ask about status, so keep your EAD and other immigration documents with you.
Flying to Puerto Rico and Other U.S. Territories
Flights from the mainland to Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, or the Northern Mariana Islands count as domestic. No passport or visa is needed, and you go through standard TSA screening rather than immigration inspection. Your EAD works as ID for boarding. Still, carry your immigration documents in case your route briefly touches a foreign country or you encounter immigration officers along the way.
International Travel: Passport Plus a Re-Entry Document
An EAD does not authorize international travel. To leave the United States and return, you need two things: a valid passport from your country of citizenship, and a document authorizing your re-entry.3U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Travel Documents The re-entry document is either a valid U.S. visa or an advance parole document, depending on your situation.
Advance parole is the route for people who do not have a visa that permits re-entry, most commonly those with a pending Form I-485 adjustment of status application. You apply by filing Form I-131. If approved, USCIS issues a document that airlines and border officers accept in place of a visa. Advance parole does not replace your passport; you still need both.3U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Travel Documents
The State Department also requires that your passport remain valid for at least six months beyond your planned period of stay, unless a country-specific agreement provides an exemption.4U.S. Department of State. Temporary Worker Visas Check that date before booking.
Even with the right documents, admission is never guaranteed. Every person arriving at a U.S. port of entry is subject to inspection by Customs and Border Protection, and CBP officers make the final decision on admissibility.5U.S. Customs and Border Protection. For International Visitors Secondary inspection can take minutes or hours.
Leaving Without Advance Parole Can End a Pending Green Card Case
This is where people make the most costly mistake. If you have a pending I-485 adjustment of status application and you leave the country without first obtaining advance parole, USCIS will generally treat your application as abandoned.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. While Your Green Card Application Is Pending with USCIS Months or years of waiting disappear, along with the filing fees. The narrow exception applies to certain people who hold specific nonimmigrant statuses, such as H-1B or L-1, that independently allow re-entry.
Extra Travel Rules for DACA and TPS Holders
DACA recipients and TPS holders face travel restrictions beyond those affecting other EAD holders, and the stakes are especially high.
DACA Recipients
If you hold DACA and leave the United States without first obtaining an advance parole document, you are no longer in a period of deferred action. USCIS has stated that DACA recipients who depart without advance parole “run a significant risk of being unable to reenter the United States.”7U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Frequently Asked Questions – Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) If you leave without advance parole and then re-enter without inspection, USCIS may terminate your DACA. Narrow exceptions exist for truly accidental or involuntary border crossings, but counting on those is risky.
TPS Holders
Temporary Protected Status holders need a specific travel authorization before leaving. You apply on Form I-131, selecting the TPS travel authorization option. If approved, USCIS issues Form I-512T as evidence of DHS’s prior consent to your travel.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Form I-131, Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records If you have a pending TPS re-registration application and you leave, you may miss USCIS notices, which can result in the application being deemed abandoned and TPS withdrawn. If you have an outstanding removal order, traveling abroad may trigger legal consequences on your return.
What Happens If You Return Without the Right Documents
Trying to re-enter without a valid visa or advance parole document can trigger expedited removal. Under this process, an immigration officer can order you removed without a hearing before an immigration judge if you are found inadmissible for lacking proper documents or using fraud.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1225 – Inspection by Immigration Officers; Expedited Removal of Inadmissible Arriving Aliens; Referral for Hearing The exception is if you express a fear of persecution and request asylum, in which case you are referred for a credible fear interview.
A removal order does not just end the current trip. It creates a re-entry bar for years. Expedited removal carries a five-year bar. Other removal orders carry a ten-year bar. A second or subsequent removal can trigger a twenty-year bar, and anyone convicted of an aggravated felony may be barred permanently.10U.S. Department of State. 9 FAM 302.11 – Ineligibility Based on Previous Removal
Separately, if you accumulated unlawful presence in the United States before leaving, your departure itself can trigger additional bars. More than 180 days but less than one year of unlawful presence triggers a three-year bar on re-entry. One year or more triggers a ten-year bar. One important nuance: under USCIS policy following Matter of Arrabally and Yerrabelly, if you depart with a valid advance parole document, your departure generally does not trigger the unlawful presence bars, even if you had accumulated unlawful presence before leaving.11U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Unlawful Presence and Inadmissibility
Any removal order or finding of inadmissibility can also affect eligibility for future immigration benefits, including adjustment of status, visa applications, and naturalization. If you suspect you may have accrued unlawful presence, talk to an immigration attorney before traveling internationally.
Keeping Your EAD Valid Around a Trip
EAD validity periods vary by immigration category, and USCIS made significant changes effective December 4, 2025. For several major categories, including refugees, asylees, adjustment of status applicants, and asylum applicants, the maximum validity dropped from five years to 18 months.12U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Reduced Validity Periods for Newly Issued Employment Authorization Documents EADs for parolees and TPS holders are now valid for the shorter of one year or the end date of the authorized parole or TPS period.13U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Policy Alert – Updating Certain Employment Authorization Document Validity Periods You will renew more often than in the past.
To renew, file Form I-765. USCIS recommends filing no more than 180 days before your EAD expires, and at least 90 days before expiration, to allow processing time.14U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-765, Application for Employment Authorization File too early and USCIS may reject or hold the application; file too late and you risk a gap in work authorization.
The 540-Day Automatic Extension Is Gone
EAD holders who filed timely renewals used to receive an automatic extension of up to 540 days while the renewal was pending. That extension ended for applications filed on or after October 30, 2025.15U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Automatic Employment Authorization Document (EAD) Extension If you filed before that date and your case is still pending, the 540-day extension still applies.16U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Automatic Extensions Based on a Timely Filed Application to Renew Employment Authorization For new filings in 2026, there is no general automatic extension. TPS-related EADs may still receive extensions through Federal Register notices tied to specific TPS designations, but most other categories will not. Filing early within the recommended window matters more than ever.
Fees and Processing Times to Plan Around
USCIS charges fees for both advance parole and EAD renewal, and they add up when you are maintaining both.
- Advance parole (Form I-131): $630 for paper filing or $580 for online filing. Some applicants with pending adjustment of status, pending asylum, or approved DACA may qualify for fee waivers.17U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1055 Fee Schedule
- TPS travel authorization (Form I-131): The same $630 paper or $580 online fee applies.17U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1055 Fee Schedule
- EAD renewal (Form I-765): Fees vary by category. As of January 2026, renewals for parole-based and TPS-based EADs cost $280, and asylum applicant renewals cost $275. Check the current USCIS fee schedule before filing.18U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Announces FY 2026 Inflation Increase for Certain Immigration-Related Fees
Processing times are another cost to plan around. As of early 2026, the median processing time for advance parole applications was about six months.19U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Historic Processing Times You cannot decide to travel internationally on short notice and expect to have advance parole in hand. Plan months ahead.