RE-ENTRY PERMITS

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RE-ENTRY PERMITS

Editor’s Note: REUBEN S. SEGURITAN has been practicing law for over 30 years. For further information, you may call him at 212 695 5281 or log on to his website at www.seguritan.com

A common question asked of us by new permanent residents or green card holders is whether they can travel abroad and for how long they can stay abroad.

Lawful permanent residents or green card holders may travel in and out of the U.S. generally without restrictions if the trip will be for not more than one year. One only needs to present his/her passport and the green card to re-enter the U.S.

However if the stay outside the U.S. will exceed one (1) year, then the green card holder needs to get a re-entry permit from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

To apply for a re-entry permit, a Form I-131 Application for Travel Document must be filed along with a copy of the front and back of the green card and a filing fee of $305.00 and $80.00 biometrics fee. The application is filed with the Nebraska Service Center.

The applicant must apply for the re-entry permit while he/she is still physically present in the U.S. and before traveling abroad. The person need not wait however for the decision on the application before traveling and can request its delivery to an overseas office of the U.S. Embassy or Consulate of his/her country of destination.

Under a recent decision by the Administrative Appeals Office, the application for re-entry permit was denied by the USCIS Nebraska Service Center after it was determined that the applicant filed the application after having already left the U.S.

In his appeal, the applicant admitted that he filed the application while he was abroad but he contended that he had an initial travel document that was valid at the time that he left the U.S. The document expired while he was abroad and he filed the I-131 in an attempt to extend the expired travel document.

The AAO denied the appeal stating that the regulations did not provide for extending an expired travel document and that “there is no exception for the physical presence requirement at the time of filing a Form 1-131.”

This month, the USCIS also issued its newly revised I-131 instructions on the biometrics (e.g. fingerprints and photographs) that need to be taken by applicants for re-entry permits and refugee travel documents. The instructions state that while departure from the U.S. before a decision is made on the re-entry permit application usually does not affect the application, there is a risk of denial if the applicant leaves before his/her biometrics are collected.

A re-entry permit is valid for two years from the date of issuance. If the green card holder has been out of the U.S. for more than four years of the last five years or since becoming a permanent resident, the permit’s validity will be restricted to only one year, except if the green card holder is traveling under U.S. government directive, or is employed by a public international organization, or is a professional athlete who regularly competes.

A re-entry permit is not a guaranty of admission to the U.S. It is just a proof that the permanent resident has not abandoned his/her status during the prolonged absence. He/She is still subject to the immigration rules on admissibility.

Also, it does not negate the rule that absence from the U.S. for one year or more will generally break the continuous residence requirement for naturalization.

The USCIS advises applicants for re-entry permits to anticipate their travel plans and to apply for the travel document or re-entry permit in the U.S. at least 60 days prior to their travel dates in order to have their biometrics collected. If the green card holder leaves the U.S. while the decision on the I-131 is pending but before the biometrics is taken, then it would not necessarily deny the re-entry permit application as long as the applicant returns to the U.S. within that year to attend the biometrics appointment.

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