How to Apply for a U.S. Re-Entry Permit (Form I-327)

To apply for a U.S. re-entry permit, file Form I-131 (Application for Travel Document) by mail with USCIS while you are physically in the United States, pay the $630 filing fee, and attend a biometrics appointment before you leave the country. The permit itself is issued as Form I-327 and gives a lawful permanent resident or conditional permanent resident proof, on returning, that a trip of more than a year was not an abandonment of status.¹

Who Should File

The permit is built for green card holders planning an absence of more than one year but less than two. Shorter trips generally don’t need one. Once an absence passes a year without a permit, the law presumes you abandoned your residence, and Customs and Border Protection can refer you to removal proceedings when you try to come back.²

Even with the permit in hand, a CBP officer at the border can still question whether you gave up your residence. The document is strong evidence of intent to return; it is not a guarantee. Ties in the United States, such as a home, bank accounts, tax filings, and family, matter separately.³

What to Gather Before You File

Have these in hand before you start the form:

A copy of the front and back of your Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551). If you don’t yet have your card, submit the biographic pages of your passport and the visa page showing your admission as a permanent resident, a Form I-797 approval notice for a replacement card, or other temporary evidence of lawful permanent resident status.
A clear copy of a government-issued photo ID showing your name, photo, and date of birth. A driver’s license, passport, or Employment Authorization Document works. An I-94 does not.³

Any supporting document in another language needs a full English translation. The translator does not have to be certified but must be fluent in both languages, and must sign a statement certifying the translation is complete and accurate, with their name, address, and the date.

Filling Out Form I-131

Form I-131 covers several different travel documents, so the very first choice on the form is the one that matters most. In Part 1 (Application Type), check Box 1, the option for a lawful permanent resident or conditional permanent resident requesting a re-entry permit. Checking the wrong box routes your application to a different processing track and delays everything.¹

The biographical entries need to match your green card and passport exactly: legal name, date of birth, country of birth, and your Alien Registration Number (the seven- to nine-digit A-Number on your Permanent Resident Card). You’ll also list your planned departure date, the countries you intend to visit, and how long you expect to be gone. Give a specific reason for travel, such as a work assignment, caring for a family member, or a course of study, rather than something vague. A clear purpose helps the adjudicator and can move things along.

Sign and date the form. If you’re filing on behalf of a minor or someone who can’t sign, the legal guardian signs and attaches documentation of the guardianship or parental relationship.

Where to Mail It and How to Pay

You cannot file this application online. The completed Form I-131, supporting documents, and payment go by mail to a USCIS Lockbox facility. The correct address depends on where you live, and USCIS publishes a direct-filing address chart that matches each state to its Lockbox.⁴

The filing fee is $630 for a paper filing, with no separate biometrics fee. Fee waivers are not available for re-entry permit applications.⁵ Pay by personal check, cashier’s check, or money order made out to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. To pay by credit card, include a completed Form G-1450 (Authorization for Credit Card Transactions) in the package.

Keep copies of everything you send, including the check or money order. Once USCIS accepts the filing, you’ll get a Form I-797C receipt notice with a case number for tracking and for your biometrics appointment.

The Biometrics Appointment

After USCIS accepts your application, applicants between 14 and 79 receive a notice scheduling a biometrics appointment at an Application Support Center. At the appointment you provide fingerprints, a photograph, and a signature.⁶

This is the part that trips people up. You must be physically in the United States when biometrics are collected. Leave the country before the appointment and USCIS may deny the application outright.³ File several months before your planned departure so you have room to attend. Rescheduling is allowed if you have a conflict, but it adds delay. Missing the appointment without rescheduling is the fastest route to a denial.

Asking for Expedited Processing

If a real emergency forces you to travel before USCIS would normally finish, you can ask for expedited handling. USCIS decides case by case and grants requests only for genuine emergencies or urgent humanitarian situations, not for vacation plans.⁷ Situations that may qualify include the death or serious illness of a family member abroad (documented with a death certificate, hospital letter, or obituary plus proof of the relationship), urgent medical treatment (a doctor’s or hospital letter explaining the time pressure), a pressing professional commitment (a company letter on letterhead), or an academic obligation with a fixed start date (an institutional letter with the program dates).

USCIS also looks at whether you filed on time. Waiting until the last minute and then asking to jump the line works against you.⁷

Getting the Permit If You’ve Already Left

Check status any time with your receipt number in the USCIS online case-status tool. It shows whether the case is under review, whether biometrics were recorded, and when the permit was mailed.

If you need to leave after biometrics but before the permit arrives, you can ask USCIS to send the finished document to a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad. You designate the delivery location on Form I-131. Not every post handles permit pickups, so confirm with the specific embassy before choosing it. Once the permit arrives, you’ll usually need to schedule an appointment to collect it in person, and in most cases only you or your spouse (with written authorization and photo ID) can pick it up.⁸

How Long the Permit Lasts

A re-entry permit issued to a lawful permanent resident is generally valid for two years from the date of issuance. For a conditional permanent resident, the permit is valid for two years or until the date you must apply to remove conditions on status, whichever comes first.²

There’s a significant exception. If you’ve spent more than four of the last five years outside the United States since becoming a permanent resident, your permit is limited to one year rather than two.⁹ Employees of certain U.S. government contractors, staff of public international organizations, and professional athletes who compete regularly in the United States can still receive a two-year permit despite extended absences.

You cannot renew or extend a re-entry permit from abroad. If you need continued coverage, return to the United States and file a new I-131 from scratch, with a new biometrics appointment and the full fee. USCIS will not issue a second permit while your current one is still valid unless you can show the original was lost or you have returned it.³

What the Permit Does Not Do

Two limits are worth knowing before you leave, because both catch people by surprise.

First, the permit does not shield you from an abandonment finding. The I-131 instructions state that the document “does not exempt an alien from compliance with any of the requirements of U.S. immigration laws.” A CBP officer at the border can still question your intent and refer you for further proceedings.³

Second, the permit does not preserve continuous residence for naturalization. Any absence of a year or more breaks the continuous residence required for citizenship, whether or not you held a valid re-entry permit during that time.¹⁰ Once that clock breaks, you generally start it over on returning. USCIS policy does not list the re-entry permit among the tools that preserve continuous residence.¹¹ The tool that can protect the naturalization timeline during a long absence is Form N-470, and it’s only available to permanent residents working abroad for qualifying employers such as the U.S. government, recognized American research institutions, certain American companies engaged in foreign trade, public international organizations, or religious denominations. You must have lived continuously in the United States for at least one year as a permanent resident before the absence and file the N-470 before you’ve been gone a full year.¹²

If Your Permit Expires While You’re Abroad

A permanent resident who stays outside the country past the permit’s validity needs a new immigrant visa to come back. The route is the Returning Resident (SB-1) visa, applied for at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate on Form DS-117.¹³

The SB-1 isn’t automatic. You have to show three things: you were a lawful permanent resident when you left, you always intended to return, and your extended stay abroad was caused by circumstances beyond your control. The embassy will look for evidence of your resident status, your travel dates, your ties to the United States (tax returns, property records, family), and documentation of what kept you away, such as a medical condition, an employment obligation, or armed conflict. Contact the embassy at least three months before you plan to travel. If the consular officer isn’t persuaded, you may need to start immigration from scratch.¹³

1
USCIS. I-131, Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records
2
USAGov. Travel Documents for Foreign Citizens Returning to the U.S.
3
USCIS. Instructions for Form I-131, Application for Travel Documents
4
USCIS. Direct Filing Addresses for Form I-131
5
USCIS. G-1055 Fee Schedule
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USCIS. Preparing for Your Biometric Services Appointment
7
USCIS. Expedite Requests
8
U.S. Embassy and Consulates in the United Kingdom. Re-entry Permit Receipt Status Check
9
eCFR. 8 CFR 223.2 – Application and Processing
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1427 – Requirements of Naturalization
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USCIS. Chapter 3 – Continuous Residence
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USCIS. Application to Preserve Residence for Naturalization Purposes
13
U.S. Department of State. Returning Resident Visas