How to Apply for a Reentry Permit: Form I-131, Fees, and Timing

To apply for a reentry permit, file Form I-131 (Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records) with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services while you are physically in the United States, pay the $630 filing fee, and attend the biometrics appointment before you leave the country.¹² The permit is valid for up to two years and keeps U.S. Customs and Border Protection from treating a long absence as evidence you abandoned your green card.

Who Can File

Only lawful permanent residents and conditional permanent residents qualify.³ No other visa category is eligible. The permit is meant for green card holders who know they will be outside the country for an extended period but intend to keep permanent residence.

Trips shorter than a year do not strictly require a permit, because your green card alone lets you re-enter after absences under 12 months. Frequent travelers or those developing ties abroad may still want one, since a permit removes the length of your absence as a reason for a border officer to question your intent.¹

The requirement that catches people off guard: you must be in the United States when USCIS receives the application, and again when you attend biometrics.¹ You cannot file from overseas. If you’ve already left, you’ll have to come back to start the process.

What to Gather Before Filing

Have these ready before you sit down with the form:

Your green card (Form I-551). Both current and previous card designs remain valid until the printed expiration date.⁴
A valid passport for identification on the form and for your travel.
Two passport-style photographs meeting U.S. passport standards: 2×2 inches, white background, taken within the last six months. Retail pharmacies and shipping stores typically charge $7 to $18 per set.
Your travel details: planned departure date, expected return date, purpose of travel, and the countries you plan to visit.
Biographical information: full legal name, date of birth, country of birth, your nine-digit A-Number from your green card, your U.S. address, and any foreign addresses where you plan to stay.

Keep copies of everything. USCIS does not return originals sent by mail, and duplicates make follow-up easier if your case stalls.

Filling Out Form I-131

Form I-131 is available on the USCIS website. As of 2026, reentry permit applications cannot be filed online, so paper filing is your only route.⁵

Form I-131 covers several different travel documents, so watch which boxes you check. In Part 1, select Item Number 1 to indicate you’re applying for a reentry permit. Part 3 asks for processing information. Part 4 covers your proposed travel abroad.

Requesting Delivery to a Consulate

If you expect to be abroad when USCIS approves the permit, you can ask for it to be sent to a U.S. Embassy or Consulate for pickup. Enter the embassy or consulate address in Item Number 7.b of Part 4.¹ Not every post offers this service. Confirm with the specific location before you rely on it.

File Early

The most common mistake is filing too close to departure. You must attend biometrics in the United States after filing, and processing takes months. Leaving before biometrics stalls your case. File as soon as your travel plans are firm.

Fee and Where to Send It

The filing fee is $630, with no separate biometrics surcharge.² The fee cannot be waived. You can pay by money order, personal check, cashier’s check, or credit card using Form G-1450 (Authorization for Credit Card Transactions).⁵

Mail Form I-131, supporting documents, photos, and payment to the USCIS Lockbox. The correct address depends on your application type and changes from time to time, so check the current direct filing addresses page for Form I-131 before you send anything.⁶ The wrong address can get your package rejected.

After You File

USCIS mails a receipt notice (Form I-797) after accepting the application, usually within a few weeks. The receipt number lets you check status online.

Biometrics

USCIS then schedules a biometrics appointment at a local Application Support Center. Staff there collect your fingerprints, photograph, and digital signature. You must attend in person, in the United States. There is no consular equivalent.¹ Missing the appointment without rescheduling can lead to denial.

Processing and Departure

Processing times vary and can run several months or longer depending on USCIS workloads. USCIS posts estimates on its website, and they shift often. Once biometrics is complete, you can leave the United States while the case remains pending. When the permit is approved, it goes to the U.S. address on the form, or to the embassy or consulate you named.

How Long the Permit Lasts

A reentry permit is valid for up to two years from issuance.⁷ It cannot be renewed or extended.⁸ If you need more time abroad after it expires, you must return to the United States and apply for a new one from scratch.

There is an important cap. If you’ve spent more than four of the last five years outside the United States (or four years since becoming a permanent resident, whichever is shorter), USCIS limits the permit to one year.⁹ Narrow exceptions apply to employees of certain international organizations, their spouses and children, and professional athletes who compete regularly in the United States and abroad.

Expedited Processing for Urgent Travel

If an emergency requires you to travel before the permit is processed, USCIS considers expedite requests case by case. Qualifying situations include a death or serious illness of a family member or close friend abroad, urgent medical treatment available only overseas, or a pressing professional or academic commitment.¹⁰

Contact the USCIS Contact Center with your receipt number, or submit through your USCIS online account. Make the request at least 45 days before departure and include supporting documentation such as a death certificate, doctor’s letter, or conference invitation with dates. If travel is within the next 15 days, USCIS directs applicants to a separate emergency travel process.¹⁰

Even with an approved expedite, biometrics still has to happen in the United States. That physical-presence step is the bottleneck no urgency can bypass.

What the Permit Does Not Cover

A reentry permit protects your green card status during a long absence. It does not do three other things people often assume it does.

It does not preserve your naturalization clock. To naturalize you generally need five years of continuous residence (three years if married to a U.S. citizen), and any single absence of one year or more breaks that continuity and resets it. After returning, you have to wait four years and one day before filing a new naturalization application, or two years and one day under the three-year rule.¹¹ If you’ll be working abroad for a qualifying employer (the U.S. government, certain research institutions, qualifying U.S. corporations, or recognized religious organizations), Form N-470 preserves the continuous-residence clock. An approved N-470 does not replace the reentry permit; you need both for an absence over one year.¹²

It does not change your U.S. tax obligations. Permanent residents remain U.S. tax residents no matter where they live and must file federal income tax returns reporting worldwide income. Filing as a “nonresident alien” creates a rebuttable presumption that you have abandoned permanent resident status.¹³ Separately, the IRS requires most noncitizens to obtain a tax clearance document (a “sailing permit”) before an extended departure, filed on Form 1040-C or Form 2063 at a local IRS office at least two weeks before leaving.¹⁴

And it is not an absolute shield against a finding of abandonment. Officers look at the full picture: your ties to the United States, the purpose of your travel, and what you’re doing abroad. USCIS policy cites a case involving a resident who spent 11 months a year running a business in her home country and returned to the United States for one month; she was found to have abandoned her status despite the annual visits.¹³ The permit removes duration alone as a reason for that finding. It doesn’t override everything else.

If You Lose the Permit Abroad

If the permit is lost, stolen, or destroyed while you’re outside the United States, file Form I-131A, Application for Carrier Documentation, in person at the Consular Section of a U.S. Embassy or Consulate to obtain documentation that lets you board a return flight.¹⁵ Pay the fee online before your visit and bring your passport, a copy of the biographic page, evidence of permanent resident status, your travel itinerary or tickets, and a passport-style photo taken within the last 30 days. This gets you home. It does not replace the lost permit for future travel.

If the Permit Expires While You’re Abroad

Staying outside the country past the expiration date puts your green card at real risk. You will likely need a Returning Resident (SB-1) immigrant visa from the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. The SB-1 process requires you to show that you were an LPR when you left, that you always intended to return, and that circumstances beyond your control caused the extended stay. You submit Form DS-117, your green card, the expired reentry permit if you still have it, and evidence of your ties to the United States. If the consular officer approves, you then complete a full immigrant visa process, including a medical exam, Form DS-260, additional fees, and an interview.¹⁶ Contact the embassy at least three months before you plan to return. If the officer finds that you abandoned residence, you may lose the green card and have to start over.

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Form I-131, Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1055 Fee Schedule
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Travel Documents
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 13.1 List A Documents That Establish Identity and Employment Authorization
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-131, Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Direct Filing Addresses for Form I-131, Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records
7
GovInfo. 8 USC 1203 – Reentry Permit
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Legal Permanent Resident Frequently Asked Questions
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eCFR. 8 CFR 223.2 – Reentry Permit
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Expedite Requests
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eCFR. 8 CFR Part 316 – General Requirements for Naturalization
12
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Application to Preserve Residence for Naturalization Purposes (Form N-470)
13
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12, Part D, Chapter 2 – Lawful Permanent Resident Admission for Naturalization
14
Internal Revenue Service. Departing Alien Clearance (Sailing Permit)
15
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-131A, Application for Carrier Documentation
16
U.S. Department of State. Returning Resident Visas