Can you send the completed and signed I-131 re-entry permit a week or two before travelling to the US? ?

[jacobson00 5]

My father would like to apply for the I-131 re-entry permit but can only stay for a month. Can we mail his completed form from the US before he can come 1 week or two before? He was worried about not being able to do the fingerprints within a month of sending it.

 

Also what are the chances you will do your fingerprints within two months?

[SteveInBostonI130 3,434]

Hi,

 

What is your father's situation?  Does he have a green card and had stayed outside the US for more than a year?  Or is he inside the US and wants to travel during Adjustment of Status?

 

[jacobson00 5]

he is a green card holder. has been out the country for 4 months and coming back end of November. He wanted to apply and be out for more than a year for family reasons.

[jacobson00 5]

26 minutes ago, SteveInBostonI130 said:

Hi,

 

What is your father's situation?  Does he have a green card and had stayed outside the US for more than a year?  Or is he inside the US and wants to travel during Adjustment of Status?

 

he is outsite for 4 months and is a green card holder

[aaron2020 11,651]

He must be inside the US when he files the I-131.

 

An I-131 can not be filed when he is outside the US.

Edited October 31, 2021 by aaron2020

[jacobson00 5]

Can he mail it express FEDEX on his first day back?

[Rocio0010 5,579]

5 hours ago, jacobson00 said:

and be out for more than a year for family reasons.

I’d be careful. It can jeopardize his status. If he’s out of the country for more than one year, he can lose his status and it would need to be reinstated. The I-131 is only used when people don’t have a green card yet. Once you have a green card, that’s your travel document, but there are restrictions as to how much time you can spend outside of the U.S

[SteveInBostonI130 3,434]

6 hours ago, jacobson00 said:

he is a green card holder. has been out the country for 4 months and coming back end of November. He wanted to apply and be out for more than a year for family reasons.

Oh, I understand now.  The re-entry permit is for the next trip outside the US.

 

The issue will be timing.  USCIS has been very slow recently.  It might even take 6 weeks just to get a notice that they received his application.

 

[Chancy 6,241]

1 hour ago, ra0010 said:

If he’s out of the country for more than one year, he can lose his status and it would need to be reinstated. The I-131 is only used when people don’t have a green card yet.

 

Form I-131 is also used by green card holders to apply for re-entry permit, which is exactly the document needed to be able to stay outside the US for more than a year without abandoning LPR status.

 

[Rocio0010 5,579]

2 minutes ago, Chancy said:

 

Form I-131 is also used by green card holders to apply for re-entry permit, which is exactly the document needed to be able to stay outside the US for more than a year without abandoning LPR status.

 

Ok. I thought I’d read about a Sb permit or so?

[Chancy 6,241]

1 minute ago, ra0010 said:

I thought I’d read about a Sb permit or so?

 

SB1 visa is for returning residents who stayed outside the US for an extended period due to reasons beyond their control, usually unplanned.  LPR with re-entry permit do not need to apply for SB1 visa if they return to the US while their permit is valid (usually 2 years).

 

[Rocio0010 5,579]

40 minutes ago, Chancy said:

 

SB1 visa is for returning residents who stayed outside the US for an extended period due to reasons beyond their control, usually unplanned.  LPR with re-entry permit do not need to apply for SB1 visa if they return to the US while their permit is valid (usually 2 years).

 

Thank you for enlightening me!

[HRQX 4,145]

2 hours ago, ra0010 said:

The I-131

https://www.uscis.gov/i-131 "Use this form to apply for a re-entry permit, refugee travel document, advance parole travel document (including parole into the U.S. for humanitarian reasons), or advance permission to travel for CNMI long-term residents."

 

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/guides/B5en.pdf

Quote

A reentry permit establishes that you did not intend to abandon status, and it allows you to apply for admission to the United States after traveling abroad for up to 2 years without having to obtain a returning resident visa. Reentry permits are normally valid for 2 years from the date of issuance.

 

You may also want to get a reentry permit if you plan on traveling outside the United States and cannot or do not wish to get a passport from your home country. Many countries throughout the world may allow you to use a reentry permit much like you would use a passport—placing necessary visas and entry and exit stamps in the permit—so you may use it as your main travel document. Be sure to check with any country you plan to visit about specific requirements before you travel.

[Ousmane2021 2]

On 10/31/2021 at 4:55 PM, jabwemet said:

I applied on sep 12th for re entry permit based on my Greencard thru fedex.. got my bio metrics notice on oct 7th.. date of biometrics appt  was  26th oct on the notice.. i submitted my fingerprints on 26th oct..

 

 

 

So yours took less than 2 months to actually do the fingerprints?

[pm5k 129]

On 11/4/2021 at 8:29 PM, Ousmane2021 said:

So yours took less than 2 months to actually do the fingerprints?

Wondering the same.  Processing times have been all over the board during covid