Form I-131 Filing Fee: Amounts, Waivers, and Payment Methods

The Form I-131 filing fee is $630 for a reentry permit or an advance parole document, $165 for a refugee travel document if the applicant is 16 or older, and $135 if the applicant is under 16. These amounts took effect on April 1, 2024, and remain current. USCIS rejects applications submitted with the wrong fee, and fees are not refunded once paid, so it is worth confirming which category you fall into before you file.¹

What You Pay Depends on the Document

Form I-131 is one form that covers several different travel documents, and each one carries its own price.

Reentry permit: $630. For lawful permanent residents and conditional permanent residents who plan to travel abroad and want to return without a returning resident visa.
Advance parole document: $630. For people inside the United States who need permission to travel and return, most commonly applicants with a pending Form I-485.
Refugee travel document, age 16 or older: $165. For people in valid refugee or asylee status, and for permanent residents who obtained their green card through refugee or asylee status.
Refugee travel document, under age 16: $135.

Each person needs a separate Form I-131 and a separate fee. Two family members applying for advance parole means two filings and $1,260 in total. Unlike many USCIS forms, Form I-131 does not carry a $50 discount for online filing; the fee is the same whether you file on paper or electronically.¹

If You Already Have a Pending Green Card Application

There is one situation where you may owe nothing extra. If you filed Form I-485 on or after July 30, 2007 and before April 1, 2024, and paid the required filing fee at that time, no additional I-131 fee is due while your I-485 remains pending. The advance parole fee was bundled into the I-485 fee during that window.²

If your I-485 was filed on or after April 1, 2024, that bundling is gone. The full $630 I-131 fee applies separately, even when you file the two forms together.²

A separate warning for anyone with a pending I-485: leaving the United States without an approved advance parole document generally causes USCIS to treat the green card application as abandoned. Applicants in H or L nonimmigrant status are an exception and can travel on their valid visa status.³

Biometrics Are Already Included

Older guides still mention an $85 biometrics fee on top of the filing fee. That charge no longer exists for Form I-131. Fingerprinting, photographs, and background checks are covered by the $630 filing fee for reentry permits and advance parole, and by the $165 or $135 fee for refugee travel documents.⁴

A reduced $30 biometrics fee still exists in narrow circumstances, mainly Temporary Protected Status applications and certain filings before the Executive Office for Immigration Review. It does not apply to typical I-131 filers.¹

Fee Waivers Only Apply to Humanitarian Parole

A fee waiver on Form I-131 is only available when the application is a request for humanitarian parole. Reentry permits, advance parole tied to a pending I-485, and refugee travel documents are not eligible for a waiver, no matter your income.⁵

If you are requesting humanitarian parole and want to seek a waiver, file Form I-912 along with your I-131. USCIS evaluates eligibility on three grounds: you or a family member currently receive a means-tested benefit such as Medicaid, SNAP, or Supplemental Security Income; your household income is at or below 150% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines; or you face extreme financial hardship from unexpected circumstances such as medical emergencies or job loss.⁶

How to Pay

USCIS overhauled its payment rules in late 2025. Checks and money orders are no longer the default, and using the wrong payment method is one of the fastest routes to rejection.

Filing Online

When you file Form I-131 through your USCIS online account, the system walks you through payment with a credit card, debit card, prepaid card, or a direct bank account withdrawal.⁷

Filing on Paper

USCIS now requires electronic payment even for paper filings. As of October 2025, the agency no longer accepts personal checks, business checks, money orders, or cashier’s checks for paper-filed forms unless you qualify for a specific exemption.⁸

You have two options for paying a mailed application:

Card payment. Complete and sign Form G-1450, Authorization for Credit Card Transactions, and place it on top of your application package. Credit, debit, and prepaid cards are accepted.⁹
ACH bank transfer. Complete Form G-1650, Authorization for ACH Transactions, with your U.S. bank account and routing numbers. USCIS processes the payment through Pay.gov. You may need to ask your bank to remove any ACH debit block on the account first.¹⁰

Both the card and the ACH account must come from a U.S. financial institution. Applicants living abroad should check with the appropriate international USCIS office or U.S. embassy for alternative arrangements.⁷

What Happens If the Payment Fails

USCIS rejects any filing that arrives without valid payment of the correct amount. There is no grace period and no invoice for the difference. The whole application comes back, and you start over.¹¹

A declined credit card charge is not retried; the application is rejected. ACH gets one more chance: if your bank returns the payment as unpayable due to insufficient funds, USCIS resubmits it once, and a second failure can lead to rejection or denial.¹¹

If USCIS approves your application and later discovers the payment failed, the agency can revoke that approval. You would receive a Notice of Intent to Revoke, and the approval stands only if you pay the correct fee in response.¹¹

The Fee Is Not Refundable

USCIS does not refund filing fees regardless of the outcome. Denial, withdrawal, or long delays do not get your $630 back. The only exception is when USCIS itself makes an error, such as charging the wrong amount or accepting a filing it should not have; in those cases you can contact the USCIS Contact Center or submit a written refund request.¹¹

If you paid by credit card, do not try a chargeback through your card issuer. USCIS does not honor forced refunds, and disputing the charge with your bank will not return your money and may create complications with your case.¹¹

Before you send anything, confirm the current amount on the USCIS Fee Schedule page or the online Fee Calculator. The schedule is adjusted periodically, and a wrong amount means an automatic rejection.¹²

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Frequently Asked Questions on the USCIS Fee Rule
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Form I-131, Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 2024 Final Fee Rule
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-912, Instructions for Request for Fee Waiver
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Additional Information on Filing a Fee Waiver
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Filing Fees
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS to Mandate Electronic Payments for Applications
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Pay With a Credit Card by Mail
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form G-1650, Instructions for Authorization for ACH Transactions
11
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 1, Part B, Chapter 3 – Fees
12
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1055, Fee Schedule