Form I-193 is an application filed at a U.S. port of entry to request a waiver of the normal passport or visa requirement for admission. It exists for two situations: a lawful permanent resident coming home from a temporary trip without the required documents, and a nonimmigrant whose passport or visa is unavailable because of an unforeseen emergency. The filing fee is $695, and a Customs and Border Protection officer at the port decides whether to grant the waiver.
Who the Waiver Is For
Federal law makes anyone arriving without a valid passport, visa, or other required travel document inadmissible.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1182 Inadmissible Aliens Form I-193 is the mechanism for asking an officer to set that requirement aside in a specific case.
Returning Lawful Permanent Residents
If you hold a green card and lost your card, passport, or reentry permit during a temporary trip abroad, you can file Form I-193 to request admission. The regulation requires you to show “good cause” for not having the missing document.2eCFR. 8 CFR 211.1 – Visas The officer at the port reviews the request and decides whether to admit you as a returning resident.
The waiver only fits if you are returning to an unrelinquished permanent residence after a temporary absence. A long stay abroad, or conduct suggesting you gave up your U.S. residence, can defeat eligibility even if the paperwork question is otherwise straightforward.
Nonimmigrants Caught by an Emergency
Tourists, business visitors, students, and other nonimmigrants can file Form I-193 when an unexpected emergency prevented them from obtaining or presenting a valid passport or visa.3Federal Register. Agency Information Collection Activities; Extension; Application for Waiver of Passport and/or Visa (DHS Form I-193) The emergency has to be genuinely unforeseen. Simply not getting around to a visa application before travel would not meet the standard. Approval is case-by-case and rests with the CBP officer.4eCFR. 8 CFR Part 212 – Documentary Requirements: Nonimmigrants; Waivers; Admission of Certain Inadmissible Aliens; Parole
When Form I-193 Is Not the Right Form
If your green card was lost or stolen and you have been outside the United States for less than one year, the regulations point you to a replacement card application instead. That filing counts as both the replacement request and the waiver, so a separate Form I-193 and its fee are not needed.2eCFR. 8 CFR 211.1 – Visas
Form I-193 is also not humanitarian parole. Humanitarian parole is a separate process, filed on Form I-131, for people outside the country who need permission to enter for urgent humanitarian reasons. Form I-193 only excuses missing documents; it does not create an independent basis to be admitted.
What the Form Asks For
The form gathers the details CBP needs to identify you and check your history:
- Full legal name as it appears in immigration records.
- Date of birth and country of citizenship.
- Alien Registration Number (A-number), if you have one from any earlier contact with immigration authorities.
- Permanent address abroad, for returning immigrants.
- Date of arrival at the port of entry.
- A written explanation of why the passport or visa is missing, including the loss, theft, or emergency behind it.
Each entry needs to match what the government already has on file. Mismatches with existing records slow the review and can sink the application.5USCIS. CBP Form I-193 – Application for Waiver of Passport and/or Visa
Evidence That Helps
The form itself is mostly a written explanation, but supporting documents make the officer’s job easier. A police report from the country where a theft happened backs up a stolen-passport claim. Hospital records or a doctor’s letter can show that a medical emergency lined up with the timing you describe. The two legal standards to meet are “good cause” for returning residents and an “unforeseen emergency” for nonimmigrants, so evidence should speak to whichever one applies to you.
The Fee and Who Doesn’t Pay It
The filing fee is $695, paid at submission.6eCFR. 8 CFR Part 106 – USCIS Fee Schedule There is no separate biometrics fee.
Two groups are exempt outright: people who hold or are seeking T nonimmigrant status (trafficking victims), and people who hold or are seeking U nonimmigrant status (victims of certain crimes). Beyond those exemptions, a fee waiver on Form I-912 may be available if you are exempt from the public charge ground of inadmissibility, based on receipt of a means-tested benefit, income at or below 150 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines, or documented financial hardship.7eCFR. 8 CFR 106.3 – Fee Waivers and Exemptions
How and Where to File
You file Form I-193 at the port of entry where you are seeking admission. There is no online option. The USCIS office with jurisdiction over that port handles the application, but the practical filing happens as you go through inspection at the border or airport.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Application for Waiver of Passport and/or Visa
The process can start before you land. An airline may want confirmation that you plan to file for a waiver on arrival before letting you board. Have the completed form and any supporting documents in hand well before you reach the inspection point.
What Happens at Inspection
After you submit the form and pay the fee, a CBP officer conducts a face-to-face interview. The officer reads your written explanation, verifies your identity through biometrics or existing records, and runs a background check. Granting or denying the waiver is entirely at the officer’s discretion.
Straightforward situations, such as a permanent resident with a clean travel history who lost a wallet, can be resolved during initial inspection. Anything more complicated may go to secondary inspection and take considerably longer.
If the Waiver Is Denied
A denial is not a minor setback. An immigration officer who finds an arriving traveler inadmissible for missing documents can order that person removed without a hearing before an immigration judge.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1225 – Inspection by Immigration Officers; Expedited Removal This is expedited removal, and the resulting order generally cannot be appealed through the normal administrative process. A first expedited removal triggers a five-year bar on reentry, with longer bars for later removals or aggravated felony convictions.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1182 Inadmissible Aliens
Because so much rides on the officer’s discretion, the written explanation and supporting evidence should be truthful, complete, and prepared before you reach the port of entry.