I-131, Application for Travel Document
ALERT: If you are filing a request under the Keeping Families Together process, do not use Form I-131. For Keeping Families Together, please file Form I-131F, Application for Parole in Place for Certain Noncitizen Spouses and Stepchildren of U.S. Citizens, with USCIS. Additional information is available on the Keeping Families Together page.
ALERT: On Feb. 27, 2024, we announced a process for eligible Ukrainian citizens and their immediate family members to apply for re-parole so they can continue to temporarily remain in the United States.
We encourage eligible Ukrainian citizens and their immediate family members to submit their re-parole requests to us no earlier than 180 days (6 months) before the expiration of their current period of parole. You can find your parole expiration date on your Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record, issued by U.S. Customs and Border Protection when you were paroled into the United States.
Filing during this window reduces the risk that your current period of parole and employment authorization will expire before you receive a decision on your re-parole request. If you submit a request for re-parole more than 180 days before the expiration of your current period of parole, we may reject or deny your re-parole application without refunding the filing fees. Please note that filing earlier than 180 days before your current parole expiration date will not result in a faster decision.
ALERT: Beginning July 1, 2022, we will issue a new travel authorization document to Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiaries: Form I-512T, Authorization for Travel by a Noncitizen to the United States, at our discretion if we find the beneficiary merits this authorization. We will no longer issue advance parole documents as evidence of our prior authorization for a TPS beneficiary to be permitted to reenter the United States if the beneficiary travels outside the United States.
ALERT: Court decisions regarding DACA.
Use this form to apply for a reentry permit, refugee travel document, TPS travel authorization document, advance parole document (including parole into the United States for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit), or advance permission to travel for Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) long-term residents.
For information on travel documents, including potential immigration-related consequences of traveling outside the United States, see our Travel Documents page. If you are in the United States and you have an urgent need to travel outside the United States, see our Expedite Requests page and Emergency Travel page.
If you file this form to request an Advance Parole Document authorizing you to seek parole in the United States when you 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 abandoned unless you were previously issued an Advance Parole Document that remains valid for the entire time you are outside the United States.
If you file this form to request an advance permission to travel for CNMI long-term residents document, and you leave the CNMI without having an advance permission to travel document, your status will automatically terminate.
Form Details
Dates are listed in mm/dd/yy format.
If you complete and print this form to mail it, make sure that the form edition date and page numbers are visible at the bottom of all pages and that all pages are from the same form edition. If any of the form’s pages are missing or are from a different form edition, we may reject your form.
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Please check our Filing Addresses for Form I-131 page for information on where to mail your application. Applications that are not submitted to the appropriate direct filing address may experience processing delays.
You can find the filing fee for Form I-131 by visiting our Fee Schedule page.
You can pay the fee with a money order, personal check, or cashier’s check, or pay by credit card or debit card using Form G-1450, Authorization for Credit Card Transactions. If you pay by check, you must make your check payable to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
When you send a payment, you agree to pay for a government service. Filing fees are final and non-refundable, regardless of any action we take on your application, petition, or request, or if you withdraw your request. If you pay by credit card or debit card, you cannot later dispute the payment. Use our Fee Calculator to help determine your fee.
If you are submitting multiple forms, pay each filing fee separately. We are transitioning to electronically processing immigration benefit requests, which requires us to use multiple systems to process your package. We may reject your entire package if you submit a single, combined payment for multiple forms.
Payment if you file at a field office: You cannot pay fees with a money order or cashier’s check when filing at a field office. You can only pay with a personal check, debit card, credit card, or reloadable prepaid credit or debit card.
You do not need to pay an additional fee for Form I-131 if:
- You are filing Form I-131 Application Type B or D;
- You filed a Form I-485 with a fee on or after July 30, 2007, and before April 1, 2024; and
- Your Form I-485 is still pending.
For refugee travel document applications filed from outside of the United States, you must pay the applicable fee(s) to the cashier at the USCIS overseas office or U.S. embassy or consulate with jurisdiction over your location. Please see the website of the appropriate embassy or consulate to confirm acceptable forms of payment. Include the fee receipt from the U.S. embassy or consulate when you file your application package.
Please do not mail cash, personal checks or traveler’s checks. If you do not include a fee receipt with your filing, we will reject your application.
Please do not submit this checklist with your Form I-131. The checklist is an optional tool to use as you prepare your form, but does not replace statutory, regulatory, and form instruction requirements. We recommend that you review these requirements before completing and submitting your form. Do not send original documents unless specifically requested in the form instructions or applicable regulations.
If you submit any documents (copies or original documents, if requested) in a foreign language, you must include a full English translation along with a certification from the translator verifying that the translation is complete and accurate, and that they are competent to translate from the foreign language into English.
| If you are applying for: | Then you must submit: |
|---|---|
| A refugee travel document |
|
| A reentry permit |
|
| An advance parole document if you are currently in the United States |
|
| An advance parole document for someone outside the United States (for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit) |
|
Read more information about the types of evidence that may be relevant to specific parole requests on our Humanitarian Parole page.
Complete all sections of the form. We will reject the form if these fields are missing:
- Part 1 – Information About You
- Family Name
- Physical Address
- Date of Birth
- Part 2 – Application Type
- 1.a. – 1.f.
- Family Name (If 1.f. selected)
- Physical Address (If 1.f. selected)
Filing Tips: Review our Tips for Filing Forms by Mail page for information on how to ensure we will accept your form.
Don’t forget to sign your form. We will reject any unsigned form.
E-Notification: If you want to receive an e-mail and/or text message that we have accepted your form at a USCIS lockbox, complete Form G-1145, E-Notification of Application/Petition Acceptance, and clip it to the first page of your form.