Reentry Permit for Green Card Holders: Apply With I-131 (2026)

A reentry permit is worth planning before you accept an overseas assignment, arrange extended family care, or commit to study abroad. The timing rule to plan around: you must be in the United States when you file and when you complete required biometrics. Mailing the packet before your flight does not necessarily establish a filing date. USCIS instructions, page 4, 8 CFR 103.2(a)(7).

This guide covers permanent and conditional residents planning a long temporary absence. If citizenship is also on your calendar, review the separate continuous residence requirements and physical presence requirements. The travel document does not preserve those naturalization requirements. USCIS continuous residence policy.

Checked October 15, 2026: USCIS lists the 01/20/25 form edition, paper filing for this category, and a standard $630 fee. The filing-location chart changed on October 7, 2026. Check the current row before mailing. Form I-131, fee schedule, page 40, filing locations.

When should you apply for a reentry permit?

Consider the document when you plan to spend a year or more outside the United States while keeping this country as your permanent home. It allows an otherwise eligible resident to apply for admission during its validity without obtaining a returning resident visa. Both lawful permanent residents and conditional permanent residents can apply while in the country. 8 CFR 223.1 and 223.2.

Trip length affects several different rules. A green card is generally an accepted return document after a temporary absence of less than one year. Whether you have abandoned residence is a broader question that can arise even during a shorter trip. Citizenship eligibility has its own thresholds. 8 CFR 211.1, USCIS travel guidance.

The table combines the return-document rule, USCIS residence-intent guidance, and naturalization policy. It is not an automatic approval or abandonment test.

For example, a resident planning 18 months caring for a parent abroad should address return documentation before leaving. Keeping a U.S. address alone does not settle the residence question. USCIS also considers the purpose of the absence, family and community ties, employment, resident tax filing, and other evidence of an intention to return permanently. USCIS travel guidance.

Conditional residents should also check their I-751 filing obligations. This travel document does not remove conditions or extend the deadline for doing so. Its validity for conditional residents is also capped, as explained later in this guide. 8 CFR 223.3(a)(1).

What the document protects, and what still matters

The protection is specific: an otherwise admissible resident with a valid permit is not treated as having abandoned status solely because of the duration of absences while it is valid. Other immigration requirements still apply. Approval does not guarantee admission or resolve a separate admissibility problem. 8 CFR 223.3(d)(1), USCIS travel guidance.

Keep three questions separate:

1. Return documentation: what valid document will you present for your planned return?
2. Permanent residence: does the United States remain your permanent home?
3. Citizenship timing: have your absences affected continuous residence or physical presence?

Those questions arise under different rules. A valid travel document does not answer all three. 8 CFR 211.1, USCIS travel guidance, USCIS naturalization policy.

Long trips can change your citizenship timeline

For naturalization, an absence over six months but under one year creates a rebuttable presumption that continuous residence was interrupted. An absence of one year or more generally breaks continuity, subject to applicable exceptions. Obtaining this permit does not prevent either result. USCIS continuous residence policy.

Physical presence is a separate calculation of time actually spent in the United States. Use the residence calculator to organize travel dates, then compare your circumstances with the official rules. Time abroad does not become U.S. physical presence because you hold a travel document. USCIS physical presence policy.

Form N-470 can preserve residence for certain qualifying employment abroad, but it does not cover every work assignment, study program, or family-care trip. Read its conditions before you rely on it. For readers with a pending citizenship case, our travel while N-400 is pending guide addresses that separate stage. USCIS continuous residence policy.

Plan filing and biometrics before your departure

Build the trip around USCIS receipt, not the date you hand the envelope to a courier. USCIS generally treats a request as filed when it reaches the designated filing location. Put that together with the requirement to apply while physically in the United States: a packet mailed Monday and received Thursday raises a timing problem if you leave Tuesday. 8 CFR 103.2(a)(7), 8 CFR 223.2(b)(1).

A rejected filing keeps no filing date. So a missing signature or the wrong fee can do more than delay paperwork: it can undo a departure plan built around a filing USCIS never accepted. 8 CFR 103.2(a)(7)(ii).

Use this sequence:

1. Prepare in the United States. Choose the correct category and current form edition.
2. Allow for delivery and acceptance. Keep the shipment record and USCIS receipt information.
3. Follow the biometrics notice. Complete any required collection while physically in the United States.
4. Plan departure with valid return documents. A pending application is not an issued permit.
5. Track the decision and collection. Use the delivery option requested on the application.

The filing and biometrics rules come from the I-131 instructions, page 4; receipt and return-document rules come from 8 CFR 103.2 and 8 CFR 211.1.

Do you have to wait for approval?

Leaving before a decision does not itself affect this category of application. That rule does not excuse required biometrics or turn the receipt into a travel document. Complete required biometrics before the long departure, and arrange how you will receive the approved document. 8 CFR 223.2(d), USCIS instructions, page 4.

Read our biometrics appointment guide to prepare. Follow the USCIS notice you receive; do not assume USCIS will reuse an earlier fingerprint collection. If the date conflicts with travel, look at biometrics rescheduling right away. The instructions warn that failure to appear for required biometrics can lead to denial. USCIS instructions, page 28.

Complete the application in five steps

1. Select the correct request

Download the current Form I-131 and instructions. As checked October 15, 2026, USCIS lists edition 01/20/25, and the re-entry category is Part 1, Item 1. Use all pages from the same edition, keeping the edition date and page numbers visible. USCIS form page, current form, page 1.

Do not choose an advance-parole category merely because it appears in an online filing menu. USCIS's public filing table currently says this resident category cannot be filed online. Filling out the form with preparation software is not the same as submitting it to USCIS electronically. USCIS filing table.

Form I-131 covers several documents, so the category is easy to get wrong. Immiva's I-131 preparation asks plain questions to select the request, then gives you the fee, address, and document list for it.

2. Complete the applicable sections

Fill in your identity and immigration information from your records; do not guess. If you are not sure which number is which, read our A-Number explanation; the green card number is a separate number. Complete the processing and delivery information in Part 4 and the resident-specific travel-history question in Part 5. Current I-131, pages 5–9.

Part 5 asks for total time outside the United States since becoming a permanent resident or during the past five years, whichever is shorter. Assemble your travel dates before choosing an answer. This history can affect document validity; a recent short visit does not erase the earlier time abroad. Current form, page 9, 8 CFR 223.2(c)(2).

If you want overseas collection, request it when filing. Part 4 lets you identify the overseas office and where the pickup notification should go. The instructions warn that collection services are limited at some embassies and consulates, so confirm that the post you plan to use offers pickup before you name it. Current form, pages 8–9, instructions, page 4.

3. Assemble the supporting documents

Use the category-specific instructions to check your packet:

1. Signed Form I-131: complete the applicable sections and applicant certification.
2. Photo identity evidence: an official document showing your photograph, name, and date of birth.
3. Permanent-resident evidence: ordinarily copies of both sides of the green card; use a listed alternative if applicable.
4. Payment or exemption evidence: use the current fee rules for your category.
5. Prior permit, if applicable: return a still-valid earlier document or provide the required explanation if it was lost.

These requirements are covered in the instructions, pages 4–5 and 23, the signature section of the form, and the fee schedule.

Do not borrow the photo checklist from another category. The instructions' two-passport-photo subsection covers specified refugee-document, advance-parole, and TPS requests; it does not make that a general requirement for resident permits. Follow any separate USCIS request and your biometrics notice. USCIS instructions, pages 27–28.

For foreign-language supporting documents, include a complete English translation and the translator's required certification. Keep a copy of the packet for reference when USCIS sends notices. 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3).

4. Authorize the correct payment

For ordinary paper filings, current payment guidance provides Form G-1450 for card payment or Form G-1650 for ACH from a U.S. bank account. A qualifying exception to electronic payment uses Form G-1651. A payment-method exemption is separate from an exemption from the filing fee itself. USCIS filing fees.

Go over the payment authorization as carefully as the form itself. Our USCIS fee payment guide explains the options. Do not follow an old checklist that treats a personal check or money order as the routine method for a current paper filing. USCIS payment guidance.

5. Mail to the current address

Open the I-131 filing-address page, find Part 1, Item 1, and follow its link to the non-family-based lockbox chart. Select the row for where you live and the correct address for USPS or a commercial courier. Do not reuse an old service-center address.

October 2026 update: USCIS changed these filing locations on October 7. Its chart states that forms postmarked on or before November 9, 2026, may be accepted at prior locations during the grace period. For a new packet, use the current address. Both pages show Last Reviewed/Updated: 10/07/2026. USCIS address page, lockbox chart.

Form G-1145 is optional if you want electronic notification when the lockbox accepts the filing. It does not replace the receipt notice or the travel document. After mailing, save the receipt number and follow any biometrics or evidence request. USCIS special instructions.

What it costs in 2026

The standard government fee is $630 for paper filing, verified October 15, 2026, against G-1055 edition 10/07/26. The category does not have a separate listed $85 biometrics surcharge. Do not add an old surcharge or a parole-specific fee from another I-131 row. USCIS fee schedule, page 40.

The ordinary category is not eligible for a fee-waiver request. The same schedule does list separate general fee exemptions, including specified military, humanitarian, refugee-derived permanent-resident, and agency-error replacement categories. Read the exact exemption wording and the evidence it requires before you pay or claim $0. A fee exemption and an income-based waiver are different rules. USCIS fee schedule, pages 50–51.

Preparation costs come on top of the government fee. Immiva's I-131 preparation costs $99 and supplies the form, fee, mailing address, and document checklist based on your answers. Budget for the government fee, any preparation service you choose, delivery, and any travel needed for your appointment.

Track the decision and plan your return

Receipt, biometrics, approval, and delivery are separate milestones. An acceptance notice confirms filing. Attending the appointment completes a processing requirement. Approval allows USCIS to issue the document. Neither the receipt nor the fingerprint appointment is itself the return document the regulations describe. USCIS instructions, 8 CFR 223.2(e), 8 CFR 211.1.

For a current estimate, use the USCIS processing-times tool with the I-131 document category and office that apply to you. No current numerical wait was verified for this guide on October 15, 2026. Do not use an advance-parole estimate as a resident-permit forecast. A biometrics appointment date does not predict an approval date either.

If an appointment conflicts with your trip, use the biometrics rescheduling guide alongside your notice. Make sure someone can check mail at the address you supplied, and plan how you will respond to USCIS letters while abroad. Required biometrics and evidence requests still apply after you leave, even though departure does not itself end the application. USCIS instructions, 8 CFR 103.2(b).

Urgent travel needs evidence

USCIS considers expedite requests case by case. The criteria include emergencies or urgent humanitarian situations and qualifying severe financial loss. Explain your situation and attach evidence; asking does not guarantee faster handling. Use the official expedite guidance, which was last reviewed September 8, 2026.

Back to the 18-month family-care example: filing and completing biometrics before departure takes care of the application sequence. The resident still has to arrange how to receive the approved document and confirm it will be valid for the planned return. A receipt notice alone is not that document. USCIS instructions, page 4, return-document rules.

Check validity before planning another long absence

The general validity period is two years from issuance. It does not begin when you mail the application or attend biometrics. Two situations can shorten it: substantial earlier time abroad, and conditional residence. 8 CFR 223.3(a)(1).

If you have been outside the United States for more than four years in total since becoming a permanent resident or during the last five years, whichever period is shorter, validity is generally limited to one year. The regulation lists exceptions for specified government-related travel, public international organization employment and qualifying family members, and professional athletes. 8 CFR 223.2(c)(2).

For example, someone who became a resident five years ago and spent four years and two months abroad should check this rule before assuming a later permit will last two years. This example illustrates the threshold; it does not predict approval or resolve the person's residence history. 8 CFR 223.2(c)(2).

For conditional residents, the regulation limits validity to two years from issuance or the date they must apply to remove conditions, whichever comes first. Do not assume the document will cover a full overseas assignment. Review your I-751 filing obligations and the actual dates in your case. 8 CFR 223.3(a)(1).

The document cannot be extended. If you need more time, you file a new application, and the in-U.S. filing rule applies again. You generally must return a still-valid earlier permit unless you can show it was lost. Applying again does not lift the earlier-time-abroad restriction. 8 CFR 223.2(b)–(c) and 223.3(c).

If you are already abroad or the document is missing

You cannot start this resident-permit application from abroad. If you are outside the country with an expired or missing document, work out which return option applies first; do not file a new request as though you were in the United States. 8 CFR 223.2(b)(1).

A late return may involve a returning resident visa, SB-1, with evidence of permanent-resident status at departure, continuing intent to return, and a prolonged stay caused by circumstances beyond your control. Eligibility is not automatic. Contact the consulate and obtain individual legal advice when your facts raise abandonment or admissibility concerns. Department of State SB-1 guidance.

If you also have a pending conditions-removal case, our travel with a pending I-751 guide covers that paperwork. The long-absence rules still apply; a pending case does not erase them. USCIS permanent-resident travel guidance.

Your next step before a long trip

Plan a reentry permit application before setting a departure date that leaves no room for USCIS receipt or required biometrics. Confirm the current form, fee, and mailing route, decide how you will receive the document, and treat your permanent residence and citizenship timeline as separate questions. Start with the I-131 eligibility check, and compare the result with the official I-131 instructions.