Travel Documents | USCIS (2024)

If you wish to return to the United States lawfully after traveling outside the United States, you generally must have a:

• Valid entry document, such as a Permanent Resident Card (Green Card) or nonimmigrant visa; or
• Valid and unexpired travel document.

The type of document you need varies depending on your immigration status (including lawful permanent resident status) or if you have a pending immigration benefit request.

You generally need to apply for and obtain a travel document before you leave the United States. Before planning travel, please consider USCIS processing times. If you have an urgent need to travel outside the United States, see our Expedite Request andEmergency Travelpages for additional information.

FileForm I-131, Application for Travel Document, to request travel documents, including:

• Advance parole document for noncitizens in the United States seeking to return after temporary travel abroad (including advance permission to travel for Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) long-term residents);
• Refugee travel document;
• Reentry permit; or
• Temporary Protected Status travel authorization.

If you are already outside the United States and need to return, but do not have your reentry permit, Green Card, advance parole document, or Temporary Protected Status travel authorization document because it was lost, stolen, or destroyed, see Form I-131A, Application for Carrier Documentation.

NOTE: If you file Form I-131, Application for Travel Document, to request an advance parole document to authorize your return to the United States after temporary travel abroad and you depart the United States before we issue your advance parole document, we will consider your Form I-131 application abandoned unless you were previously issued an advance parole document that remains valid for the entire time you are outside the United States.

Caution

Travel outside of the United States may have severe immigration-related consequences.

Admission or parole into the United States is not guaranteed even if you have the appropriate documents.You are still subject to immigration inspection or examination at a port of entry to determine whether you may be admitted or paroled into the country and whether you are eligible for the immigration status you seek.

Additional cautions for people in certain circ*mstances are summarized below.

If you are a nonimmigrant

If you have been admitted as a nonimmigrant and have filed Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, to change to a different nonimmigrant status, we generally will consider your Form I-539 abandoned if you leave the United States before we make a decision on your application, though there are some exceptions. Having an advance parole document does not prevent abandonment of the change of status application. When you return to the United States, you are likely to be denied admission if your current status has expired.

If you have a pendingGreen Card application

In general, if you are applying for adjustment of status (a Green Card) and leave the United States without the appropriate travel documentation (for example, an advance parole document), you may not be allowed to reenter the United States when you return. Even if you are allowed to reenter, you may be found to have abandoned your pending application for adjustment of status.

If you have unlawful presence or a removal order

If you have accrued unlawful presence while in the United States or have a removal order,then you may be found inadmissible if you seek admission after a departure from the United States, even if you have a travel document. We follow the Board of Immigration Appeals decision in Matter of Arrabally and Yerrabelly, which held that travel on advance parole does not constitute a “departure” for purposes of triggering the 10-year unlawful presence bar under Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) § 212(a)(9)(B)(i)(II) for applicants for adjustment of status. We also apply this analysis to INA § 212(a)(9)(B)(i)(I) and to individuals with TPS who travel on TPS travel authorization. For more information, please seeSection 212(a)(9) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and the Unlawful Presence and Inadmissibility page.