Which document do I actually need?
Match the document to your status. A green card holder planning a long trip uses a reentry permit. A person with refugee or asylee status, or a resident who got status that way, uses a refugee travel document. Someone with a pending Form I-485 or pending Form I-589 uses advance parole. A TPS holder uses travel authorization, Form I-512T. Ukrainian re-parole requests go in no earlier than 180 days before current parole expires; earlier ones may be rejected or denied without a refund. Warning for asylum applicants: leaving without advance parole, or returning on it to the country you fled, is presumed to abandon your claim unless you show compelling reasons. If you fear Russia, a trip to Russia can end your case. Filing gives no travel permission, so wait for the approved document, and select the Part 1 item for your exact case.
What does advance parole protect, and what doesn't it?
If you leave without an approved advance parole document while your I-485 is pending, USCIS generally treats the application as abandoned. Narrow exceptions cover H-1B/H-4, L, V and K-3/K-4 nonimmigrants who maintain status and return with a valid visa, and TPS holders traveling with authorization. Advance parole is only permission to ask for parole at a port of entry; the officer decides on your return. DHS can revoke it at any time, even while you are abroad, and you could then be stranded. A parolee who leaves ends their current parole, even with the document. If you were paroled back in and your adjustment is later denied, you are treated as an applicant for admission. A person in removal proceedings who departs is treated as abandoning the I-485. So before any trip, confirm that you have the approved document in hand and have checked the risks in the next section.
Is it safe to travel if I have unlawful presence?
Maybe not, and this changed recently. On August 13, 2026, the Board of Immigration Appeals decided Matter of Delcarmen-Lara, overruling earlier authority. USCIS now says that departing after obtaining an advance parole document is a departure for the unlawful-presence bars. More than 180 days but under one year of unlawful presence in one stay can mean a three-year bar, and one year or more a ten-year bar. The ruling applies prospectively, and the bar's other elements still have to be met. So anyone with an overstay, including a person who has already been granted advance parole, should not travel until a lawyer counts the days. If the trip is urgent, ask whether a waiver could apply, such as Form I-601, before you buy tickets, not after.
How much does Form I-131 cost?
Advance parole with a pending I-485 costs $630 on paper or $580 online. With a pending I-589 it is $630 on paper, and a USCIS fee waiver may be possible. If you filed your I-485 from July 30, 2007 and before April 1, 2024 and paid that fee, the form is $0. Holders of approved T or U status pay $0. A reentry permit is $630 with no fee waiver, unless a G-1055 general exemption makes it $0. Those exemptions include residents who obtained status as refugees, current or former armed forces members, and T, U, VAWA and Special Immigrant Juvenile groups. A refugee travel document is $0 for people with refugee status, and for asylees it is $135 under 16 or $165 at 16 or older. Check G-1055 for your exact line before paying, then budget for the separate parole fee below.
What is the $1,050 parole fee?
It is a separate charge under Pub. L. 119-21, not part of the I-131 fee. DHS set it at $1,050 from October 16, 2026, and it applies each time you are granted parole, including each return on advance parole, re-parole and parole in place. What triggers it is the grant of parole, not the application, so you owe it even if your I-131 was filed earlier or cost $0. At a port of entry, CBP collects it. The only way out is to show DHS, case by case, that your parole fits one of the 10 exceptions in the statute. So budget for every return, not only the first, and ask a lawyer before you travel whether an exception fits your facts. Do not assume an old document is exempt.
How do reentry permits and refugee travel documents work?
For a reentry permit, you must be physically in the United States to file and to give biometrics. It is generally valid for 2 years, or 1 year if you spent more than 4 of the last 5 years abroad, with limited exceptions. While valid, it stops USCIS treating an absence alone as abandoning residence, but an absence of 1 year or more generally breaks continuous residence for naturalization, unless you act separately. A refugee travel document is valid for 1 year. An asylee or refugee who applies from abroad must have been away less than one year, and USCIS must find no intent to abandon status. Warning for asylees: traveling to the country of claimed persecution can cost you asylum status if DHS finds you voluntarily sought that country's protection. A travel document does not remove that risk, so get advice first. File before you buy tickets.
What if I am in removal proceedings or have an order?
Do not travel without legal advice. The Form I-131 instructions say ICE, not USCIS, generally has jurisdiction over requests from people in proceedings, under a final order or previously ordered removed. Departing during proceedings abandons a pending I-485, and leaving does not cancel your court date. A missed hearing can bring an in absentia removal order, and hearing notices go only to the address the court has, so after a move file Form EOIR-33/IC within 5 days and update USCIS within 10 days. Confirm your court and date through the immigration court lookup, then raise any urgent need to travel with your attorney, who can decide how to approach ICE and the court. If you have an order you were never told about, a motion to reopen may come first. Ace Immigration's removal defense team can review your record before you make any travel plans.