Re-entry Permit

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Reentry Permit

Being a Permanent Resident of the U.S. you can travel without restraint outside of the U.S. To reenter the U.S., you need to present your green card and passport from your country of citizenship for readmission if the trip duration is less than one year. If the trip duration is greater than one year, but less than two years then a reentry permit is also needed to enter the U.S. Reentry permit is also issued to Lawful Permanent Residents who want to travel outside the U.S., but cannot get a national passport from their country of nationality. Traveling outside the U.S. without a reentry permit could have severe consequences to permanent or conditional residents. It could be determined that you abandoned your resident status. The benefit of having a valid reentry permit is that you do not have to obtain a returning resident visa from a U.S. embassy or consulate. However, the permit does not relieve you of any of the requirements of the U.S. immigration laws. Mere possession of reentry permit does not guarantee admission into the U.S. as you are still subject to immigration inspection at the port of entry to determine admissibility into the U.S. You also may be subject to “secondary inspection” where you will be taken into a separate room and asked questions.

If you intend to travel or live outside the US for more than 5 months in a year, it is advisable to get a visitor visa instead of getting a green card because you may loose the green card based on the assumption of abandonment of intention.

Permanent residents must be physically present in the U.S. when filing the application. Leaving the U.S. before a decision has been decided does not affect the application. You may request your reentry permit to be sent to a U.S. embassy or consulate or Department of Homeland Security (DHS) office abroad when you file the application. There is a place on the Form I-131 to furnish the information necessary to receive the re-entry permit outside of the U.S.

Eligibility

You can apply for reentry permit if you are in the U.S. as a:

Lawful Permanent Resident
Conditional Resident

You can’t apply for reentry permit:

If you currently have a valid reentry permit, unless the past document has been returned to the USCIS, or you can prove it was lost; or
If a notice was published in the Federal Register that prohibits the issuance of such a document for travel to the area where you plan to travel.

Validity

Lawful Permanent Residents use reentry permits to reenter the U.S. after travel of one year or more. For LPR’s returning to the U.S., reentry permits are generally valid for two years from the date of issuance of the reentry permit. If after becoming a LPR you have been outside the U.S. for more than four of the last five years, the permit will be restricted to one year. However, a validity of two years will be granted for the following cases:
- If a permanent resident is traveling on the command of the U.S. government, other than exclusion, deportation, removal or rescission order.
- If a permanent resident is employed by a public international organization of which the U.S. is a member by treaty or statute.
- If a permanent resident is a professional athlete and regularly competes in the U.S. and worldwide.
Conditional residents use reentry permits to re-enter the U.S. after travel of one year or more. For conditional residents returning to the U.S., reentry permits are generally valid for two years from the date of issuance of the reentry permit or until the date the conditional resident must apply for the removal of conditions, whichever date comes first.
Reentry permit may not be extended.

Documents

A separate application form, fees and set of documents are required for each applicant (including yourself, each of your family member) who needs to travel. Permanent resident or conditional resident must have the following documents:

Application fee must be sent with the application.

There is also a biometric fee.

Fee details
Form I-131, Application For Travel Document

Sample I131
Photos
Submit 2 identical photographs.
Copy of an official photo identity document that shows your name, photo and date of birth. E.g., a government issued valid driver’s license, identity page of passport, permanent resident card or any other official identity document.

Form I-94 can’t be used as a photo identity document.
Include a copy of the front and back of your Permanent Resident Card, Form I-551; or
- A copy of the biographic page(s) of your passport and a copy of the visa page showing your preliminary admission as a permanent resident, or other proof that you are indeed a permanent resident if you have not received your Form I551; or
- A copy of the Form I-797, approval notice of a separate application for replacement of the alien registration receipt card or temporary evidence of permanent resident status.

Filing The Application

Application filing instructions

Do not send the application to the address listed in the form’s instructions. The mailing location for reentry permit is,

USCIS Nebraska Service Center
P.O. Box 87131
Lincoln, NE 68501-7131

For non-USPS (e.g. courier) delivery:

USCIS Nebraska Service Center
850 S. Street
P.O. Box 87131
Lincoln, NE 68508

Appeal

If the application is denied, you will receive a letter from USCIS explaining how to appeal. Appeal must be done within 33 days after receiving the denial letter and filed on Form I-290-B. Mail Form I-290-B to the office that made the original decision. Once appeal form and fee are processed, the case is then referred to the Administrative Appeals Unit (AAU) in Washington, DC.

Not an advance parole

Reentry permit is NOT an Advance Parole. There are several differences:

An advance parole is issued to an alien who does not have permanent resident (green card) status. A reentry permit is issued to a permanent resident of the U.S.
An advance parole is a piece of paper with the alien’s photo whereas a reentry permit looks like a passport.
An advance parole serves similar to a visa to the U.S. while a reentry permit functions sometimes like a passport. Alien with an advance parole still needs a foreign passport to enter into the U.S. while a permanent resident with a reentry permit does not need a foreign passport to enter into the U.S.
An advance parole is valid for one year whereas a reentry permit is valid for two years.

Continuous Residency

Possessing a re-entry permit does not relieve the person from meeting the requirements of the naturalization laws. If you plan to apply in the future for naturalization, absences from the U.S. for one year or more will normally break the continuity of your required continuous residence in the U.S. However, if the Attorney General has approved an absence because you are a permanent resident employee of the U.S. government abroad or an American institution of research recognized as such by the Attorney General, or employed by an American firm or corporation then a period of absence from the U.S. will not affect your continuity of residence.

The American firm or corporation has to be engaged in whole or part in the development of foreign trade and commerce of the U.S. or a subsidiary. Also, more than 50 percent of the company’s stock has to be owned by an American firm or corporation, or you are employed by a public international organization in which the U.S. is a member by treaty or statute and you were not employed until after being lawfully admitted for permanent residence. In order to qualify for approval you must have been physically present and residing in the U.S. for an uninterrupted period of at least one year, after you were lawfully admitted for permanent residence. The approval does not exempt you from the requirement that you must be physically present in the U.S. for at least one-half of the period of residence required for naturalization. This rule applies to all the cases except, if you are employed by or under contract with the U.S. government; you are authorized to perform the ministerial or priestly functions of a religious denomination having a bona fide organization within the U.S.; and authorized to perform the ministerial or priestly functions of a religious denomination or by an interdenominational mission organization having a bona fide organization within the U.S. as a missionary, brother, nun, or sister.

If you qualify for preserving your residency, you may apply with Form N-470, Application to Preserve Residence for Naturalization Purposes (under section 316(b) or 317, Immigration and Nationality Act).

Invalidation

Travel document will be invalid if you obtained by making a false representation or concealment in the application, or if you are ordered, removed or deported from the U.S.