What Is Form I-131 Used For? Reentry, Refugee, Advance Parole

Form I-131 is used to ask U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for permission to travel outside the United States and return without losing your immigration status. Depending on who you are, the same form produces one of three different travel documents: a re-entry permit for green card holders, a refugee travel document for refugees and asylees, or an advance parole document for people with a pending green card application and certain other groups. Picking the wrong one, or leaving the country without one, can bar you from returning or wipe out the case you already have in progress.

Re-Entry Permit for Green Card Holders

If you are a lawful permanent resident and you plan to be outside the United States for a year or more, Form I-131 is how you request a re-entry permit. Your green card alone works as a travel document only for absences shorter than one year. A re-entry permit lets you come back during its validity period without first getting a returning resident visa from a U.S. consulate.¹

The permit is generally valid for two years from the issue date. You must be physically in the United States when you file, but you can leave after your biometrics appointment and have the permit mailed to a U.S. embassy or consulate for pickup.² There is no cap on how many times you can apply, but holding a permit does not guarantee admission at the border. It only lets you seek admission without a returning resident visa.

Refugee Travel Document for Refugees and Asylees

If you have refugee or asylee status, you generally cannot use your home country’s passport to travel. Form I-131 gets you a refugee travel document, which functions like a passport at foreign borders. Federal regulations require anyone with refugee or asylee status to hold this document, or a valid advance parole document, before leaving the United States on temporary travel.³ It is issued under Article 28 of the 1951 United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees.

A refugee travel document is valid for one year, or until your underlying status expires, whichever is shorter.³ It cannot be renewed. Each trip after expiration requires a new Form I-131.⁴ Leaving without one can cost you the ability to return and can cost you your protected status.

Advance Parole for Pending Green Card Applicants and Others

Advance parole is a temporary travel authorization for people who have a pending Form I-485 application to adjust to permanent resident status. If you leave the country without approved advance parole while that application is pending, USCIS treats the departure as abandonment and closes the case.⁵ Advance parole is also available to people with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and to certain individuals granted humanitarian parole.

When you file Form I-131 for advance parole along with Form I-765 (employment authorization) on top of a pending I-485, USCIS may issue a single combo card that works as both the work permit and the travel document. Since April 1, 2024, you pay separate filing fees for each form even when they travel together in the same envelope.⁶

Travel Risks to Weigh Before You File

A travel document is permission to seek re-entry. It is not a guarantee you will be let back in. USCIS warns that any trip abroad can carry severe immigration consequences.⁷

Unlawful Presence Bars

If you accumulated more than 180 days of unlawful presence before you filed for adjustment, leaving the country can trigger a three-year or ten-year bar on returning. More than 180 days but less than a year of unlawful presence followed by departure means a three-year bar. A year or more of unlawful presence followed by departure means a ten-year bar.⁸ USCIS currently treats travel on advance parole as not counting as a triggering “departure” for adjustment applicants, but this is an agency policy interpretation that could change.⁷ If you have any unlawful presence history, talk to an immigration attorney before you book a flight.

Denial While You Are Abroad

If your adjustment of status application is denied while you are outside the United States on advance parole, you lose the legal basis to return and can be found inadmissible on arrival.⁵ Check your case status before you leave, and keep trips short while the application is pending.

Effect on Future Citizenship

A re-entry permit protects your ability to come back. It does not protect the continuous residence USCIS requires for naturalization. Any absence of six months or more can disrupt that continuous residence.⁹ Long trips can push back the date you become eligible to apply for citizenship even when your green card stays intact.

What You Need to File

Form I-131 asks for your Alien Registration Number (A-Number), class of admission, planned departure date, expected length of trip, and purpose of travel.¹⁰ Download the current version straight from the USCIS site; older editions get rejected.

Supporting evidence depends on which document you are requesting:

For a re-entry permit, a copy of both sides of your green card.
For a refugee travel document, evidence of your refugee or asylee status, such as your approval notice.
For advance parole, the receipt notice for your pending Form I-485. If you are asking for advance parole on humanitarian grounds, include evidence of the emergency, such as medical records or a death certificate.¹¹

You will also need a copy of a government-issued photo ID and two passport-style photographs.

How to File and What It Costs

Most I-131 applicants file by mail to a USCIS lockbox or service center. The correct address depends on where you live and which document you are requesting, so check the USCIS filing addresses page before you send anything. Mailing to the wrong location can set your case back by weeks.¹¹ Online filing through myUSCIS is currently limited to certain parole-related requests, not to re-entry permits, refugee travel documents, or advance parole.

Each application requires a filing fee that varies by document type and applicant age. The USCIS fee schedule (Form G-1055) shows the current amounts. As of April 1, 2024, the fee for Form I-131 is charged separately even when you file it in the same package as Forms I-485 and I-765.⁶ Payment is typically by check or money order drawn on a U.S. financial institution. Fee waivers exist in limited circumstances; the USCIS fee waiver page lists which filing categories qualify.¹²

After USCIS receives your application, applicants between 14 and 79 are typically scheduled for a biometrics appointment where fingerprints, a photograph, and a signature are collected.¹³ For re-entry permits and refugee travel documents, that appointment has to happen before you leave the country. Skip it and USCIS can deny the application.²

If You Need to Travel Sooner

If you have to travel in fewer than 15 days, you can ask for emergency processing by calling the USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-5283 (TTY 800-767-1833) or by requesting an appointment through the USCIS website. If your situation qualifies, USCIS will schedule a same-day or short-notice appointment at a local field office. Bring a completed and signed Form I-131 with the filing fee, evidence you are eligible for the document, evidence of the urgent need, and two passport-style photos.¹⁴

USCIS decides expedite requests case by case. Qualifying situations can include a medical emergency needing overseas treatment, the death or serious illness of a family member, or a work or academic commitment that cannot be rescheduled.¹⁵ Vacation does not qualify. Approval is discretionary.

1
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Can a U.S. Lawful Permanent Resident Leave the United States Multiple Times and Return?
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Form I-131, Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records
3
eCFR. 8 CFR Part 223 – Reentry Permits, Refugee Travel Documents, and Advance Parole Documents
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Adjudicator’s Field Manual – Chapter 53 Refugee Travel Documents
5
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Advance Parole
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Frequently Asked Questions on the USCIS Fee Rule
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Travel Documents
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. INA 212(a)(9)(B) Policy Manual Guidance
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. International Travel as a Permanent Resident
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-131, Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records
11
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records
12
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Additional Information on Filing a Fee Waiver
13
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Preparing for Your Biometric Services Appointment
14
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Emergency Travel
15
USCIS. Chapter 5 – Expedite Requests