Who Should Apply For a Travel Document

You , as a Lawful permanent resident (green card holder) are allowed to travel out of the US for short intervals. You cannot stay abroad for a longer period of time. If you stay abroad for a longer time, it would be considered that you abandoned your residency in the US. If you plan for an extended stay abroad, before you travel you should file Form I-131 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.

You can opt for Advance Parole if you have filed Form I-485, Application to Adjust Status to Lawful Permanent Resident and you want to travel before your Form I-485 is approved. You can file for a Refugee Travel Document if you hold Refugee or Asylee status in the US and want to travel abroad. You can apply for a Re-entry Permit if you are a green card holder who will be abroad for an extended period of time (one year or more).

Ensure that you mail the completed application to the correct address. If you are filing Form I-131 based on your pending or approved Form I-821, you should mail the completed form to the USCIS Dallas Lockbox facility. If the mailing address is not correct, your application will be sent back. Along with the package, you should also include a copy of the I-797, Notice of Action that is the proof that your application was accepted or approved. If you apply to get your advance parole document renewed, the USCIS will adjudicate Form I-131 filed up to 120 days before the date your present document expires.

As part of the process, you are required to get fingerprinted at an Application Support Center (ASC). If you are applying for a Refugee Travel Document when you outside of the US, you can get your fingerprinting done at an USCIS facility abroad. Per the USCIS biometric service requirement, if you are between 14 and 79 years of age and applying for a Refugee Travel Document or Re-entry Permit, you should get fingerprinted. Once you have mailed your application to the USCIS, they will review it and inform you in writing of the time/location of your biometrics appointment. It is important that you appear for biometrics, else it it might lead to possible rejection of your application. The fee for fingerprinting is $85 and all applicants applying for Re-entry Permit and/or Refugee Travel Documents aged between 14 and 79 have to pay.

There is a $360 submission fee for advance parole or re-entry permit that you have to pay. If you are aged 16 or above and applying for a Refugee Travel Document, the fee is $135. If you fall under the age of 16 years, the fee is $105. If you are aged between 14 and 79, you have to submit a biometric fee of $85 while applying for a Reentry Permit and a Refugee Travel Document , unless you reside abroad at the time of filing your form. But there is no biometric fee advance parole applicants. The submission fee and biometrics services fee has to be paid with a single check for $445 to the Department of Homeland Security.