IMMIGRATION HELP PHILADELPHIA

Reentry permit
      If you are in the United States and you want to travel outside of the country, you need to make sure you have the proper documentation to exit and re-enter the United States.  To apply for all of the necessary travel documents, you will need to submit form I-131, Application for Travel Document.  This form is used to apply for three different travel documents: advance parole; refugee travel document; and a re-entry permit.
            Advance parole is granted to authorize the temporary parole of a person into the United States.  Essentially, this document may sometimes be needed in order for you to be allowed to re-enter the United States.  It is usually used when you have already submitted form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or to Adjust Status, but the application is still pending.  If you want to or need to leave the country while the I-485 is pending, you must obtain advance parole.  If you leave the country while the I-485 is pending and have not obtained advance parole, your application to adjust status will be denied and you will have to start over again.  This also applies if you have a pending I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal; you must obtain advance parole, and if you don’t, your application for asylum will be presumed abandoned.  It is also important to note that obtaining advance parole does not guarantee that you will be permitted to re-enter the United States, rather it means an immigration inspector will inspect you and determine if you are allowed to re-enter the United States.

​A refugee travel document may be issued to a person who was granted refugee or asylum status for the same purposes that someone would receive an advance parole document.  If you leave the United States before obtaining a refugee travel document, you may be unable to come back into the United States, and you may also be placed in removal proceedings in front of an immigration judge. 

          A permanent resident/conditional resident has more flexibility in terms of leaving and re-entering the United States, but there are some cases where they will need to make sure they have a re-entry permit.  A re-entry permit will allow a permanent resident or a conditional resident to re-enter the United States after they have been abroad without having to obtain a returning resident visa from a United States Embassy or consulate.  This is necessary only if you are going to be outside of the United States for one year or more.  If you are going on a short trip that will last for less than one year and you are a permanent resident or a conditional resident, you do not need to worry about applying for a re-entry permit. 

            It is important to note that if you are in the United States illegally and then you leave the United Sates, you may not be allowed to re-enter the United States, even if you have obtained a travel document.  Please contact us for information regarding any of the documents listed above.  We can help determine what documents you need and help you get them to ensure that you don’t have any trouble re-entering the United States.