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How Do I Get a Travel Document?
What is a travel document and who needs one?
Advance Parole
Reentry Permit
Refugee Travel Document
Where Can I Find the Law?
How Do I File an Application for a Travel Document?
Advance Parole
Reentry Permits and Refugee Travel Documents
How Can I Find Out the Status of My Application?
How Can I Appeal?
Can Anyone Help Me?
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is a travel document and who needs one?
If you are not a U.S. citizen, you
may need permission to return to the United States after traveling abroad. This
permission is granted through a travel document. Travel documents are also given
to people who want to travel, but cannot get a passport from their country of
nationality. You should apply for one of the following travel documents before
you leave the United States:
- Advance Parole: If you have applied for immigration benefits,
you may need Advance Parole to be able to return to the United
States if you travel abroad. It may be sought by, but not limited
to, asylum applicants, parolees, people with Temporary Protected
Status (TPS), and people who are applying to Adjust to Permanent
Resident Status. Advance Parole may be given at the discretion
of the District Director or the Service Center Director having
jurisdiction over your place of residence. If you do not apply
for Advance Parole before you leave the country, you will
abandon your application with the INS and you may not be permitted
to return to the United States. (Please note: This requirement
does not apply to people who have applied to adjust to permanent
resident status and are maintaining H-1 status (temporary workers
in specialty occupations) or L-1 status (intra-company transferees),
or their dependents in H-4 or L-2 status.)
Advance parole may also be sought by people who need to travel
to the United States temporarily for a humanitarian emergency.
Advance authorization for parole cannot be used to circumvent normal visa issuing
procedures or processing delays. Someone in the United States
may file such Humanitarian Parole application for you, or you may
file for yourself. For more information, click here.
- Reentry Permit: Lawful permanent residents or conditional permanent
residents who wish to remain outside the United States for more
than one year, but less than two, require a reentry permit. A
reentry permit is not required for a trip that is shorter
than one year. (You should note that an absence of more than
one year will break the period of continuous residence required
to become a citizen, even if a reentry permit is issued.) A Reentry
Permit is also issued to Lawful Permanent Residents who want
to travel outside the United States, but cannot get a national
passport from their country of nationality. A reentry permit
is valid for two years.
- Refugee Travel Document: A Refugee Travel Document allows people who
are or once were refugees or asylees to return to the United
States after travel abroad. You should apply for a refugee travel
document before you leave the United States. However, in some
cases, INS officials may issue travel documents to refugees or
asylees who are physically outside the United States. (INS officials
will not issue a refugee travel document to a refugee or asylee
located abroad if the refugee or asylee was thought to abandon
refugee status, engage in activities outside the U.S. that affect
refugee status, or remain outside the U.S. for more than one
year.) A refugee travel document is generally valid for one year.
Where Can I Find the Law?
The legal foundation for requiring these travel documents
comes from the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). INA
§ 211 discusses documents required
to admit aliens and control their travel. INA
§ 212 states that any immigrant
who does not have the correct travel documents will not be admitted
to the United States.
The specific eligibility requirements for travel documents are
found in Title 8 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). 8
CFR § 223 describes the purpose,
processing, and validity and effect on admissibility of all three
documents.
How Do I File an Application for a Travel Document?
INS Form
I-131 (Application for Travel Document) can be downloaded or ordered by calling the INS Forms request
line at 1 (800) 870-3676 or by submitting a request through the forms
by mail system. After receiving
INS Form I-131, read it carefully and note the documentation and
photos that must be submitted. Detailed information is provided
in the instructions for INS
Form I-131. For further information
on filing fees, please see INS
filing fees, fee
waiver request procedures, and the INS
fee waiver policy memo.
Advance Parole: If you are in the United States and are
applying for advance authorization for parole, please file INS Form I-131 at your
local INS office or the Service Center having jurisdiction over
your place of residence. See our Web pages on INS
field offices for more information on INS offices.
If you are outside the United States, and you want to apply
for advance authorization for parole to come to the United States temporarily for
a humanitarian emergency, please mail Form I-131 with supporting
documentation and fees to the INS Office of International Affairs, Parole Branch, 425 I Street, NW, Attn: ULLICO 3rd Floor, Washington, D.C. 20536
Reentry Permits and Refugee Travel Documents: Applications for a reentry permit
or refugee travel document should be sent with the supporting documentation and
fees to the Nebraska Service Center. If you
think you may have to leave the United States before the reentry permit is
received, you may have it sent to a U.S. Consulate or INS office overseas for
pick up. There is a place on the Form I-131 to furnish the information necessary
to receive the reentry permit outside of the United States. However, even though
you may receive the reentry permit overseas, the application must be submitted
while you are still in the United States.
How Can I Find Out the Status of My Application?
To check the status of your application, please contact
the INS office that received your application. You should be prepared
to provide the INS staff with specific information about your
application. Please click here for complete instructions on checking
the status of your application. Please click here for more information on INS
field offices.
How Can I Appeal?
If your application for a reentry permit or refugee travel
document is denied, the denial letter will tell you how to appeal.
Generally, you may appeal within 33 days of receiving the denial.
Your appeal must be filed on INS Form I-290B. The appeal must
be filed with the office that made the original decision. After
your appeal form and a required fee are processed, the appeal
will be referred to the Administrative Appeals Unit (AAU) in Washington,
DC. (Sending the appeal and fee directly to the AAU will delay
the process.)
If your application for advance parole is denied, you will receive
a letter that will tell you why the application was denied. You
will not be allowed to appeal a negative decision to a higher
authority. However, you may submit a motion to reopen or a motion
to reconsider with the office that made the unfavorable decision.
By filing these motions, you may ask the office to reexamine or
reconsider their decision. A motion to reopen must state the new
facts that are to be provided in the reopened proceeding and
must be accompanied by affidavits or other documentary evidence.
A motion to reconsider must establish that the decision was based
on an incorrect application of law or INS policy, and further
establish that the decision was incorrect based on the evidence
in the file at the time the decision was made. For more information,
please see How Do I Appeal the
Denial of Petition or Application?.
Can Anyone Help Me?
If advice is needed, you may contact the INS District
Office near your home for a list of community-based, non-profit
organizations that may be able to assist you in applying for an
immigration benefit. Please see our INS
field offices home page for more
information on contacting INS offices.
Frequently Asked Questions [FAQs]
Click here for Frequently Asked Questions. You may also want to
read the State Department's Returning Resident Alien Leaflet and see their list of Foreign Consular Offices in the U.S.
The above information has been obtained from INS and was last modified on 7/18/2002
Copyright © 1999-2002 American Immigration LLC, ILW.COM
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