Reentry Permit for Green Card Holders: 2026 Guide

What a Reentry Permit Is

A reentry permit is a travel document that USCIS issues to a lawful permanent resident or a conditional resident who plans an extended stay outside the United States. It is requested on Form I-131, Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records. Under the regulations at 8 CFR Part 223, a permanent resident who holds a valid reentry permit and is otherwise admissible "shall not be deemed to have abandoned status based solely on the duration of an absence" while the permit is valid. In plain terms, the permit removes the length of your trip, by itself, as a reason to say you gave up your green card.

The permit is also a boarding and admission document. Without it, an absence of a year or more generally means your green card alone is not enough to be readmitted, and you may have to apply for a returning resident visa before you can come back. With a valid permit, you present it with your green card and seek admission as a returning resident. A CBP officer still makes the final decision at the port of entry, and the permit does not erase criminal or other inadmissibility grounds — it addresses the abandonment question, not every question.

One thing a reentry permit does not do is preserve continuous residence for naturalization. An extended absence can interrupt the continuous-residence requirement for citizenship even if the permit keeps your green card intact. If citizenship is on your horizon, read our US citizenship N-400 guide before you leave, because the timing rules there are separate and stricter.

Who Needs One

USCIS advises permanent and conditional residents to apply for a reentry permit if they will be outside the United States for one year or longer. But the practical threshold is lower than that. An absence of more than six months can create a presumption that you intended to abandon your residence, and a presumption means you may have to prove your intent to return. A reentry permit does not remove the six-month presumption by itself, but it is strong evidence that your absence was always meant to be temporary, and for most long trips it is the single most useful document you can hold.

People commonly seek reentry permits for a temporary foreign assignment, a long family or caregiving stay abroad, a sabbatical or study program, or an extended medical absence. Conditional residents should think about timing carefully, because a permit issued to a conditional resident is valid for two years or until the date the conditional resident must apply to remove the conditions, whichever comes first. If a green card is about to expire or conditions must be removed, handle that first. Recent arrivals who are still establishing residence should be especially cautious, because spending most of the first years abroad works against the very intent a green card requires.

How to Apply on Form I-131

The rules on where to file are rigid, and getting them wrong wastes the fee. Follow this sequence.

1. Be in the United States when you file. USCIS will not accept a reentry permit application filed from abroad. You must submit the I-131 while you are physically present in the United States, and you should not depart before you file. A permit cannot be requested after you have already left.
2. Give biometrics before you go. Applicants generally must appear at an Application Support Center in the United States for fingerprints, a photograph, and a signature. Plan to stay long enough to attend the appointment; traveling before the appointment can put the application in jeopardy.
3. Complete Form I-131 correctly. Select the reentry permit category in Part 1, answer every question about your travel and residence history, and sign. Download the current edition directly from uscis.gov, because USCIS rejects outdated editions and incorrect fees without refunding them.
4. Pay electronically. USCIS no longer accepts paper checks, money orders, or cashier's checks for these filings. Pay by credit or debit card using Form G-1450, or from a US bank account using Form G-1650.
5. Keep your documents with you. Carry the approved permit, your green card, and, if you have one, a copy of the receipt notice. If the permit is approved after you leave, arrange for it to be delivered to you abroad before you attempt to return.

The timing question trips up many applicants: you may travel after you have completed biometrics while the application is pending, but you should minimize time abroad until the permit is actually approved. The safest approach is to file well in advance, give biometrics promptly, and wait for approval before beginning the long absence — or, at minimum, confirm that delivery of the document abroad is arranged.

Fee and Validity

The $630 fee reflects the USCIS schedule that followed the April 1, 2024 fee rule, which folded biometric services into the Form I-131 travel-document fee. USCIS adjusts fees periodically and publishes the current amounts on Form G-1055, so confirm the number the week you file rather than relying on an older guide. Because the fee is not refunded if the application is denied, accuracy matters both in the payment and in the form.

The Four-Year Limit and Why Permits Expire

The "four-year rule" is really a test of how much time you have already spent outside the United States. If, since becoming a permanent resident, you have been outside the country for more than four of the last five years, USCIS will generally limit your reentry permit to one year instead of two. The logic is straightforward: someone who has spent the overwhelming majority of their permanent-residence period abroad looks less like a resident, so USCIS grants a shorter leash. A previous reentry permit does not change the math — those absences still count.

A few categories are exempt from the one-year limit. A permanent resident traveling on the order of the US government, an employee of a public international organization of which the United States is a member, and a professional athlete who regularly competes in the United States and worldwide can still receive a two-year permit even after a long period abroad. Everyone else should assume the one-year cap applies once their recent history crosses the four-of-five threshold.

Permits also expire because they cannot be extended. A reentry permit or refugee travel document may not be extended under 8 CFR 223.3(c). If you need more time abroad, you must return to the United States and file a new Form I-131 before the current permit lapses. A permit is also invalid if it was obtained through material misrepresentation or if you are ordered removed. Plan the calendar backward from the permit's expiration date, not from your hoped-for return date.

Abandonment Risk and Ties to the US

Even with a permit, permanent residence is not unconditional. The law presumes that an absence of more than six months can break the continuity of your residence, and an absence of a year or more without a valid permit normally means you cannot return on the green card alone. A reentry permit rebuts the abandonment argument based on duration while it is valid, but it does not rebut every argument. If CBP or USCIS believes you actually moved abroad — closing your home, moving your job, ending your US ties — a permit will not save the green card by itself.

The best defense is a documented, ongoing connection to the United States. Maintain a US address, file US tax returns as a resident, keep bank and credit accounts active, keep a driver's license and a vehicle registered where you can, and keep evidence of family, property, or business ties. Keep a folder of this evidence and update it during your absence, because if you are ever questioned at a port of entry, the officer will be looking for signs that the United States is still your home. For anyone weighing a very long absence, an attorney can help you decide whether the green card remains the right structure or whether a different immigration plan fits better.

Reentry Permit vs SB-1 Visa

The reentry permit and the SB-1 returning resident visa solve the same problem from opposite ends of the timeline, and confusing them is costly.

An SB-1 is what remains when the preventive step was missed. A permanent resident who stays outside the United States for longer than a year, or beyond the validity of a reentry permit, needs a new immigrant visa to return and resume permanent residence. The returning resident process lets you apply at a consulate with Form DS-117, but the burden is entirely on you: you must convince a consular officer that your protracted stay was for reasons beyond your control and that you always intended to return. Approval rates are low, timelines are long, and there is no guarantee. That asymmetry is the whole argument for filing a reentry permit before you go rather than hoping for relief after you have stayed too long.

If you are planning a long absence, also think about what it means for your future citizenship and for family members. Our green card guide and green card processing time pages cover the status and timing side, while our US visa guide explains the separate travel documents used by people with pending applications rather than by admitted residents. Confirm current filing locations and fees on the USCIS processing times and fee pages before you file, because Form I-131 filing locations changed in October 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions