Applying for a Travel Document

Though Lawful permanent residents (green card holders) can go out of the US for a short period of time, they are not permitted to stay outside the US for a longer period of time. If they are outside the US for a long time, it would mean that they have abandoned their residency. I-131 is the form that is used to apply for a re-entry permit, refugee travel document or advance parole travel document, to include parole into the US for humanitarian reasons. Advance Parole is for applicants who have filed Form I-485, Application to Adjust Status to Lawful Permanent Resident and who wish to travel before their I-485 application is approved. A Refugee Travel Document is for applicants who hold Refugee or Asylee status in the US and who intend to travel outside the US. Re-entry Permit is for green card holders who will be outside of the US for an extended period of time, generally one year or more.

Mailing the application to the appropriate address is very important while filing the form. Applicants filing Form I-131 based on their pending or approved Form I-821 are required to file the form with the USCIS Dallas Lockbox facility, else the form will be sent back. Do not forget to include a copy of the I-797, Notice of Action that shows that your application was accepted or approved. If you are applying to get your advance parole document renewed, the USCIS will accept and adjudicate Form I-131 filed up to 120 days before the date your current Advance Parole document expires.

Applicants have to get fingerprinted at an Application Support Center (ASC). If you are applying for a Refugee Travel Document when you are abroad, your biometrics will be an overseas USCIS facility. As part of the USCIS biometric service requirement, applicants between 14 and 79 years of age applying for a Refugee Travel Document or Re-entry Permit are also required to get fingerprinted. After you have filed this application, after reviewing it, the USCIS will inform you in writing of the time/location of your biometrics appointment. Make sure you appear for biometrics, else it it might result in your application being possibly rejected. The biometric fee is $85 and applicants for Re-entry Permit and/or Refugee Travel Documents aged between 14 and 79 are required to submit it.

You have to pay the USCIS a fee of $360 for advance parole or re-entry permit. For a Refugee Travel Document for an applicant aged 16 or older, it is $135. For a child under the age of 16 years, it is $105. For applicants aged between 14 and 79, a biometric fee of $85 is required for a Reentry Permit and a Refugee Travel Document , unless the applicant resides outside of the US at the time of filing their form. However, biometric fee is not required for advance parole applicants. The submission fee and biometrics services fee may be paid with a single check for $445 and it must be made payable to Department of Homeland Security.

Form I-131 is used to apply for a re-entry permit, refugee travel document or advance parole travel document, to include parole into the US for humanitarian reasons.