Re-Entry Permit for Green Card Holders: Form I-131

What is a re-entry permit for a green card?

Short answer

A re-entry permit is a travel document a green card holder gets before a long trip abroad. While it’s valid — usually 2 years — USCIS won’t treat you as having abandoned your permanent residence based only on how long you’re away. You apply on Form I-131 from inside the US, and the fee is $630.

By FlySee Team · Last checked 21 October 2026 · Sources

Re-entry permit: the rules

Form: I-131, on paper — a reentry permit can’t be filed online.
Fee: $630, with no fee waiver.
Where you must be: in the US when you file and when you give your biometrics.
Valid for: usually 2 years from the date it’s issued; 1 year if you’ve spent more than 4 of the last 5 years outside the US since becoming a permanent resident.
Extension: not possible.
Collecting it: mailed to your US address, or picked up at a US embassy, consulate or USCIS office abroad if you ask for that when you file.

USCIS advises applying for a re-entry permit before you leave if you’ll be away for longer than a year.

What a re-entry permit doesn’t do

It doesn’t guarantee you’ll be let in. You still have to be found admissible when you come back.
It doesn’t keep your residence for citizenship. An absence of a year or more generally breaks the continuous residence you need for naturalization. If you’ll be away that long, you may be able to file Form N-470 to preserve it. See the N-400 physical presence calculator.

Away for more than 2 years

A re-entry permit issued before you left will have expired. USCIS points to a returning resident (SB-1) visa from a US embassy or consulate, which means showing you qualify for an immigrant visa and having a medical exam. How trips of 6 months and a year affect your green card: green card trips abroad.