Travel documents and re-entry
Anyone who is not a citizen and wants to leave and come back needs to think about documents first. Permanent residents planning a long trip need a reentry permit. Refugees and asylees need a refugee travel document. People with pending applications need advance parole, and leaving without it usually abandons the case.
Para quién es. Permanent residents, refugees and asylees, and anyone with a pending adjustment, asylum, TPS or DACA case who needs to travel.
Los formularios, en orden
- 1
Work out which document your situation needs
One form covers reentry permits, refugee travel documents, advance parole, and parole requests. The box you check in Part 1 sets the fee and the rules.
- 2
File Form I-131 before leaving the country
Reentry permits require biometrics to be taken while you are still in the United States.
- 3
Protect naturalisation eligibility on a long trip
A reentry permit protects the green card; Form N-470 protects continuous residence for naturalisation. Both are usually needed.
- 4
If you are already stranded abroad, get carrier documentation or apply as a returning resident
- 5
Retrieve your I-94 after each entry
The admit-until date on the I-94, not the visa expiry date, is what governs how long you may stay.
Dónde suele fallar
- Leaving with a pending adjustment application and no advance parole abandons the application, with narrow exceptions for H and L status holders.
- Advance parole is permission to travel, not permission to enter; CBP decides at the port of entry.
- Travelling to the country you fled undermines an asylum claim or asylee status.
- A reentry permit protects the card, not continuous residence for naturalisation.
- Approved parole now triggers a non-waivable Public Law 119-21 parole fee at the port of entry.
Qué cambió en 2025 y 2026
- Public Law 119-21 created a non-waivable Immigration Parole Fee collected at the port of entry each time parole is sought.
- Advance parole and travel document processing has stayed above six months since FY 2021, with travel documents at 14.9 months in FY 2026.
- CBP has exercised its discretion at the port of entry more aggressively since 2025.