I-131, Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records
ALERT: USCIS will soon begin to collect new fees for certain immigration benefit requests. Read more here: USCIS Updates Fees Based on H.R. 1
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.
Use this form to apply for travel documents, parole documents, or arrival/departure records.
Travel Documents
You may use this form to apply for a reentry permit, refugee travel document, TPS travel authorization document, advance parole document, or advance permission to travel for Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) long-term residents.
If we approve your Form I-131 and you are a Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiary in the United States who wishes to travel outside the United States, we will issue you Form I-512T, Authorization for Travel by an Alien to the United States.
If we approve your Form I-131 and your initial application for TPS (Form I-821) is still pending, we will issue you a Form I-512L, Advance Parole Document.
If you are a TPS beneficiary or have a pending initial TPS application, you should carefully read the Form I-131 Instructions. These instructions explain certain risks you may face if you are outside the United States while we are considering your TPS re-registration or initial application, such as missing important requests for evidence or other notices or being denied TPS while you are outside the United States.
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.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will determine at its discretion during inspection whether you may be admitted into TPS. You may be admitted into TPS if you travel and return in accordance with your TPS travel authorization, your TPS remains valid, and you are not inadmissible for certain criminal or security grounds that are mandatory ineligibility grounds for TPS. Note that if you were previously granted parole, this admission will render you ineligible for a new period of parole (re-parole).
If you file this form to request advance permission to travel for CNMI long-term residents, and you leave the CNMI without having an advance permission to travel document, your status will automatically terminate.
Initial Parole Documents
You may use this form to apply for parole into the United States for yourself or someone else who is an alien and who is currently outside the United States based on urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit. A parole request from outside the United States may fall under an existing program or process, such as the Filipino World War II Veterans Parole Program, parole under the Immigrant Military Members and Veterans Initiative, or the Family Reunification Task Force (FRTF) process. Your initial parole document may be a boarding foil that is placed in your passport, or it may be a Form I-512L travel document.
Arrival/Departure Records for Parole in Place
If you are an alien who is currently inside the United States and you are present without having been admitted, you may use this form to apply for parole in place based on urgent humanitarian reasons or a significant public benefit, including requests for military parole in place and the FRTF process.
Arrival/Departure Records for Re-Parole
If you are an alien who is inside the United States, who was previously granted parole, and who needs an additional period of parole, then you may use this form to apply for re-parole based on urgent humanitarian reasons or a significant public benefit. If we authorize your re-parole, you will be issued a Form I-94 Arrival/Departure Record with a new Admit Until Date or Parole Until Date.
Generally, the DHS component that initially authorized parole has jurisdiction over any request for re-parole, unless DHS or USCIS provides alternate filing instructions. Please see the Memorandum of Agreement between USCIS, ICE, and CBP for more information about each agency’s jurisdiction over re-parole requests. Form I-131 includes filing instructions for specific types of re-parole requests processed by USCIS.
Your re-parole request may fall under an existing program or process, such as for those who were initially paroled under the family reunification parole processes, certain Afghans paroled into the United States after July 31, 2021, certain Ukrainians paroled into the United States after Feb. 24, 2022, the Filipino World War II Veterans Parole Program, Immigrant Military Members and Veterans Initiative, Central American Minors Program, FRTF Process, or military parole in place.
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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You have 2 options for filing your Form I-131 application with USCIS:
- Online (only available for certain application types); or
- By mail (on paper).
Filing Your Form I-131 Online
The first step is to create an account. To learn more, visit our How to Create a USCIS Online Account page. After you submit your Form I-131 online, we will send you a receipt notice to your USCIS online account.
You cannot file your Form I-131 online if you are applying for a fee waiver.
Who Can File Form I-131 Online
Form I-131 Application Type | Selection on Form I-131 | Can it be filed online? |
|---|---|---|
| Reentry permits | Part 1, Box 1 on Form I-131 | No |
| Refugee travel documents | Part 1, Box 2 or 3 on Form I-131 | No |
| Travel authorization documents for TPS beneficiaries inside the United States | Part 1, Box 4 on Form I-131 | No |
| Advance parole documents for aliens who are inside the United States and advance permission to travel for CNMI long-term residents | Part 1, Boxes 5.A – 5.M on Form I-131 | No |
| Initial parole documents for aliens who are currently outside the United States under specific parole programs and processes. This includes individuals applying for themselves or for someone else | Part 1, Boxes 6.A-6.E on Form I-131 | No |
| Initial parole documents for aliens who are currently outside the United States but are not applying under a specific parole program or process. This includes individuals applying for themselves or for someone else | Part 1, Box 7 on Form I-131 | Yes |
| Initial request for Arrival/Departure Record for parole in place for aliens who are inside the United States | Part 1, Box 8.A-8.C or Box 9 on Form I-131 | No |
| Arrival/Departure Record for re-parole for aliens who are requesting a new period of parole from inside the United States, under the Family Reunification Parole Process | Part 1, Box 10.A on Form I-131 | No |
Arrival/Departure Record for re-parole for certain aliens who are requesting a new period of parole from inside the United States under an existing program or process:
|
| Yes |
Arrival/Departure Record for re-parole for aliens initially paroled into the United States or granted parole in place under INA section 212(d)(5)(A) who are:
| Part 1. Box 11 | No |
You cannot change or amend the selected application type after you file online. If you file Form I-131 online for a category that must be filed on paper (for example, to request an advance parole document) but indicate another category to enable online filing, we may deny your Form I-131 and we will not refund your Form I-131 filing fee.
Filing Your Form I-131 By Mail
Please check our Filing Addresses for Form I-131 page for information on where to mail your application, if you are not filing online via myUSCIS.gov. If you do not send your application to the appropriate direct filing address, it may take longer to process.
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, or if you are requesting re-parole and you check the box in Part 9 to request a separate Employment Authorization Document (EAD), pay each filing fee separately. We are transitioning to electronic processing of 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 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 2 or 5.A.;
- You filed Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, 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 fees to the cashier at the USCIS international field 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.
Employment Authorization
Aliens granted parole under INA section 212(d)(5)(A) may generally apply for employment authorization during their period of parole by filing Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, under eligibility category (c)(11). Employment authorization may only be granted after parole is approved. If you file Form I-765 while your Form I-131 parole request remains pending, USCIS may reject or deny your Form I-765.
Form I-131 applicants who were previously paroled into the United States and are requesting a new period of parole (re-parole) may request an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) by checking the box in Part 9 of Form I-131. Re-parole applicants who check the box in Part 9 will not need to file a separate Form I-765 to request an EAD if the request for re-parole is approved. Note: In order to utilize the EAD checkbox in Part 9 of Form I-131, the alien requesting the EAD in Part 9 must be listed as the requestor in Part 2 (“Information About You”) and must sign the certification in Part 10.
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.
- Humanitarian or Significant Public Benefit Parole for Individuals Outside the United States
- Guidance on Evidence for Certain Types of Humanitarian or Significant Public Benefit Requests
- Re-Parole Process for Certain Ukrainian Citizens and Their Immediate Family Members
- Re-Parole Process for Certain Afghans
- Card Delivery Tracking
- Department of State: Photo Specifications
- Travel Documents