USCIS Travel Document


USCIS Travel Document is a travel document issued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to eligible non-U.S. citizen residents. It is a green passport-like booklet with the words Travel Document, a symbol, and other official wording in blue-gray.
To obtain a travel document, applicants must file Form I-131 and undergo biometric data collection while in the United States. This process incurs a fee and can take months or even years. Alternatively, applicants can choose to collect their documents from a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad after completing biometric data collection.

History

Reentry Permit

The formal statutory authority for “reentry permits” comes from the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, enacted June 27, 1952. Under Section 223 of the INA, the Attorney General was empowered to issue a “permit to reenter the United States” to lawful permanent residents intending to depart temporarily and return.
As of that 1952 law, the “reentry permit” was thus a legally codified, official mechanism for permanent residents who planned to travel abroad but return and maintain their resident status.

Refugee Travel Document

The Refugee Travel Document in United States is considered to be issued pursuant, at least in part, to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. Prior to 2003, both the Refugee Travel Document and the Re-entry Permit were issued by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, but the two documents differed in both design and appearance.

Joint Designs

in 2003, the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services — predecessor to USCIS under the Department of Homeland Security — announced a redesign of its travel‑document booklets to a new “passport‑style travel document” with enhanced security features to reduce fraud.

Types

At present, USCIS issues two types of booklet-style travel documents, which are broadly similar in appearance in their current versions. They are distinguished by the text printed in the upper-left corner of the data page: the Re-entry Permit reads “Permit to Re-Enter,” while the Refugee Travel Document is labeled “Refugee Travel Document.”Re-entry Permit : a travel document similar to a certificate of identity, issued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to U.S. lawful permanent residents to allow them to travel abroad for longer periods and return to the United States. Individuals whose application for permanent residency has not yet been approved can apply instead for advance parole.Refugee Travel Document : a travel document issued to refugees or asylees. It shares the same design as the Re-entry Permit but does not provide the long-term overseas travel authorization granted by the latter. It is likewise issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the two documents are nearly identical in appearance.

Content

Format

A Travel Document, in both forms, features the seal of the Department of Homeland Security instead of the Great Seal of the United States. Above the seal the words "TRAVEL DOCUMENT" appears in all capital letters. Below the seal is the legend "Issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services" in upper and lower case.

Data page

The data page contains the following information:
The machine-readable zone is present at the bottom of the page.

Message page

Since the holders of this document are not U.S. citizens, the U.S. government is not obligated to provide the consular protections available to U.S. citizens abroad. Hence the message page does not contain the official message found in U.S. passports requesting protection for citizens; instead, it features a statement from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as the following:


This page has a line for the signature of a travel document holder. The document is not valid until it is signed by the holder in black or blue ink.

Purpose

USCIS Form I-131 is used to apply for the re-entry permit and other travel documents. This form can only be filed while the applicant is still in the United States.

Reentry Permit

The re-entry permit enables a lawful permanent resident of the U.S. to travel outside the United States for time periods longer than one year and establishes that the LPR does not intend to abandon residence in the U.S. A re-entry permit prevents two problems:
  • An LPRs absence from the U.S. for over one year voids their Permanent Resident Card, in turn rendering the LPR as invalid for re-entry to the U.S.
  • An LPR taking up residence in an alternative country to the U.S voids their Permanent Resident Card as the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services considers the action as an abandonment of U.S. permanent residency
If a U.S. permanent resident intends to take a trip abroad for over one year, they may apply for a re-entry permit. The resident is granted to travel for up to two years abroad without having to obtain a returning resident visa. It establishes that the permanent resident did not intend to abandon permanent resident status.
Another purpose for the re-entry permit is to serve as an international travel document instead of a passport for U.S. permanent residents who are stateless, who cannot get a passport from their country, or who wish to travel to a place where they cannot use their passport. A permanent resident who obtained permanent residence as a refugee may either apply for a refugee travel document or a re-entry permit, but not both.

Acceptance in EU

, most Schengen Area countries accept the U.S. Re-entry Permit for visa issuance purposes. The Re-entry Permit is considered as an Alien's Travel Document.
Only Slovakia has explicitly indicated they will accept it, while other countries did not provide any information on their acceptance of it.