Form I-131 Advance Parole in 2026: A Travel Document Guide for Pending Green Cards, DACA, TPS, and Asylum

Why This Form Matters in 2026

If you have a pending green card application, hold DACA, hold TPS, or have been granted asylum, the question of whether you can travel internationally is rarely simple. Travel on the wrong document, at the wrong time, or from the wrong status can erase years of immigration progress in a single airport encounter. The form that controls most of these travel decisions is Form I-131, Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival and Departure Records.

For Massachusetts families in Framingham, Brockton, Everett, Lowell, Marlborough, Mattapan, Milford, Randolph, Stoughton, Boston, Worcester, and across the Commonwealth, Form I-131 is one of the most common filings I prepare. It is also one of the most consequential. A mistake on the form, or a misunderstanding of which travel category applies, can lead to abandoned applications, lost status, and removal proceedings. This 2026 guide walks through who needs Form I-131, the current fees, the new HR-1 parole fee, the protection from unlawful presence bars under Matter of Arrabally and Yerrabelly, and the practical travel risks every applicant should weigh before booking a flight.

What Is Form I-131?

Form I-131 is the all-purpose travel document application used by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Despite its single-form appearance, it actually authorizes several very different travel documents, each with its own eligibility rules, fees, and consequences. The major categories are:

• Advance Parole Document (Form I-512L): For people inside the United States with a pending Form I-485 Adjustment of Status, DACA recipients, certain humanitarian parolees, and a few other categories who need to travel and return without abandoning their pending case.
• TPS Travel Authorization (Form I-512T): For people with Temporary Protected Status who need to travel abroad. After July 2022, USCIS replaced the old TPS advance parole practice with this dedicated document.
• Reentry Permit: For lawful permanent residents who plan to remain outside the United States for more than one year but less than two years and want to preserve their LPR status.
• Refugee Travel Document: For people granted asylum or admitted as refugees. This is the document refugees and asylees use in place of a passport from the country they fled.
• Parole in Place and Other Specialized Categories: Including military parole in place for certain family members of U.S. service members and CNMI long-term residents.

Knowing which box to check on Form I-131 is the first and most important decision. The form is the same, but the legal effect of each category is completely different.

Filing Fees in 2026

The USCIS fee structure was last revised by the April 1, 2024 fee rule and is published on Form G-1055, Fee Schedule. The current edition is dated May 6, 2026. For Form I-131, the principal fees are:

• Standard I-131 filing fee: $630 by paper or $580 online for most advance parole categories.
• No separate fee when concurrent with I-485: When you file Form I-131 together with a Form I-485 Adjustment of Status that already carried the advance parole filing fee (the initial AP request that comes packaged with the I-485 fee for most categories), USCIS does not require a second I-131 fee. Renewals of advance parole while the I-485 remains pending do require the standalone fee.
• Reentry Permit and Refugee Travel Document: Reentry permits and refugee travel documents are filed on paper and have their own fee and biometrics requirements. Confirm current amounts on Form G-1055 before filing.
• Form I-131A (Boarding Foil): A separate form used by LPRs abroad to obtain a boarding foil. Different fee and procedure.

The New HR-1 Parole Fee: $1,020 in Fiscal Year 2026

On July 4, 2025, the President signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Public Law 119-21, into law. Section 100004 of that statute created a new mandatory immigration parole fee. The Department of Homeland Security implemented the fee in a Federal Register notice published October 16, 2025. A subsequent inflation adjustment notice published November 19, 2025 set the Fiscal Year 2026 amount.

Key points every Massachusetts applicant should know about the HR-1 parole fee:

• Amount: $1,000 base, adjusted for inflation. For Fiscal Year 2026 the assessed amount is $1,020.
• When it is charged: The fee attaches to the actual grant of parole, not the filing of an application. CBP, USCIS, and ICE began assessing the FY 2026 amount on January 1, 2026 for parole grants on or after that date.
• Adjustment of Status exemption: The statute exempts a person who is a "lawful applicant for adjustment of status under section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act" and is returning to the United States after temporary travel abroad. This means I-485 applicants who travel on advance parole and return generally are not assessed the HR-1 fee.
• Other statutory exemptions: Including parole for urgent medical treatment, parole due to the imminent death of a close family member, parole to attend immigration proceedings, and certain adoptees. The list is narrow.
• Who is most affected: DACA recipients, family reunification parolees, CHNV-style program parolees where still in effect, and other discretionary parolees outside the I-485 context.

For practical planning, the HR-1 fee is a real and growing line item in any travel calculation. It is separate from the Form I-131 filing fee. Plan for it in the family budget before you book a return flight.

Advance Parole and the Unlawful Presence Bars

One of the most important legal protections built into the advance parole framework is the Board of Immigration Appeals decision in Matter of Arrabally and Yerrabelly, 25 I&N Dec. 771 (BIA 2012). The Board held that a noncitizen who departs the United States under a grant of advance parole has not made a "departure" within the meaning of INA section 212(a)(9)(B)(i)(II). That is the statute that creates the ten-year unlawful presence bar for noncitizens who accrue more than one year of unlawful presence and then leave. USCIS has applied the same reasoning to the three-year bar at INA section 212(a)(9)(B)(i)(I) in agency adjudications.

The practical effect is enormous. Many Brazilian and Haitian clients in Massachusetts entered the country and accrued years of unlawful presence before they qualified for a green card through marriage, a U.S. citizen child who turned 21, or another path. Without Arrabally and Yerrabelly, a single trip home would trigger a ten-year bar and require a separate I-601A waiver. With advance parole properly applied for, approved, and used, the trip does not count as a "departure" for that bar.

A few important caveats:

• The protection is not universal. The State Department has historically interpreted Arrabally and Yerrabelly more narrowly in the consular processing context. People pursuing a green card through consular processing abroad, rather than I-485 adjustment inside the United States, cannot rely on the BIA's reasoning the same way.
• It does not cure other inadmissibility. Prior misrepresentations under INA 212(a)(6)(C), criminal grounds, false claims to U.S. citizenship, and outstanding removal orders remain barriers even after advance parole travel.
• It does not extend to people with a prior removal order. A person with an outstanding order of removal who leaves the country generally executes that order by departure, even with advance parole in hand.

Risks Every Advance Parole Traveler Should Weigh

Holding an approved advance parole document does not guarantee reentry. CBP retains discretion at every port of entry. Before you board a plane, weigh these risks carefully.

CBP Discretion at the Port of Entry

CBP officers inspect every arriving noncitizen, including those holding an advance parole document. If the officer identifies a new ground of inadmissibility, evidence of fraud, or a material change in circumstances, the officer can deny parole, place the traveler in expedited removal, or refer the case for further inspection. The advance parole document is permission to seek admission. It is not admission itself.

Application Denial While Abroad

If USCIS denies your underlying I-485 adjustment application while you are outside the country, your advance parole loses its basis. Without a pending application, the document is no longer effective. This is a real risk in long international trips. The longer you are away, the more time USCIS has to issue a denial or a Request for Evidence you cannot respond to in time.

Removal Proceedings

If you are in active removal proceedings before an immigration judge, travel without permission can result in an in absentia order under INA section 240(b)(5). Even with advance parole, travel during removal proceedings is delicate. Coordination with your attorney and, in some cases, with the court is essential.

DACA Travel

USCIS continues to grant advance parole to DACA recipients for humanitarian, employment, and educational purposes. The Fifth Circuit's January 17, 2025 decision in Texas v. United States preserved the renewal pipeline while invalidating other parts of the DACA rule, and the program's long-term future remains uncertain. Many practitioners, including this office, advise DACA clients to travel only when truly necessary, to keep trips short, and to have a contingency plan if policy changes while abroad.

TPS Travel

For people with Temporary Protected Status, the proper document is now the I-512T TPS travel authorization. Departure without it can be treated as an abandonment of TPS. Departure with it preserves TPS and, depending on the country and the underlying immigration history, may create an inspected and admitted entry that supports later adjustment of status. Each TPS country and each individual case is different.

Asylum and Refugee Travel

If you have been granted asylum or admitted as a refugee, you use a Refugee Travel Document rather than advance parole. Travel to the country of feared persecution is dangerous and can trigger termination of asylum under 8 CFR 208.24. Even travel to third countries should be discussed with counsel before booking.

What to File and How

Form I-131 is filed with USCIS at the address listed in the current Direct Filing Address chart on uscis.gov. Online filing is available for most advance parole categories. A complete filing typically includes:

• Form I-131, signed and dated, with the correct application type box selected
• The filing fee, paid by card on Form G-1450 or online through myUSCIS
• Two passport-style photos taken within 30 days of filing
• A copy of any government-issued photo identification
• Evidence of the underlying status or pending application (Form I-485 receipt notice, DACA approval notice, TPS approval, refugee or asylee approval, green card)
• For initial advance parole based on a pending I-485, evidence the I-485 was filed and remains pending
• For TPS travel authorization, evidence of current TPS and a brief explanation of the purpose and duration of travel
• For emergency advance parole, documentary evidence of the emergency (medical records, death certificate, hospital letter)

Standard processing for advance parole has historically run 4 to 8 months and varies by service center. Expedite requests are evaluated case by case. Emergency advance parole at a USCIS field office is available in true emergencies and usually requires an InfoPass appointment and documentary proof of the emergency.

Special Considerations for the Massachusetts Brazilian Community

The Brazilian community in MetroWest Massachusetts has unique advance parole patterns that I see in practice every week. Many clients have lived in the United States for ten or fifteen years, accrued long periods of unlawful presence, and are now eligible to adjust status through a U.S. citizen spouse or a U.S. citizen child who recently turned 21. Advance parole is often the bridge that lets a parent attend a funeral in Goias, visit an elderly relative in Minas Gerais, or attend a wedding in Sao Paulo without triggering the ten-year bar.

For Brazilian clients in particular, a few additional points matter. First, the Brazilian Consulate-General in Boston can issue or renew a passport quickly for travel emergencies. A valid passport is required to travel, even when advance parole is approved. Second, Brazilian documents required for the underlying I-485, including the birth certificate, marriage certificate, and police record, must be apostilled through a CNJ-authorized Brazilian cartorio and translated by a certified translator under 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3). Third, the State Department's narrower reading of Arrabally and Yerrabelly is most likely to surface in consular cases, which is one of the reasons many Brazilian clients choose adjustment of status with advance parole over consular processing through a U.S. consulate in Brazil.

Practical Steps Before You Travel

Before any international travel on advance parole, walk through this checklist with your attorney:

• Confirm your advance parole document is unexpired and matches the travel purpose listed
• Confirm your underlying application (I-485, DACA, TPS, asylum) is still active and not subject to a recent denial, NOIR, or NOID
• Confirm you do not have an outstanding order of removal, an unresolved criminal matter, or a prior false claim to U.S. citizenship
• Bring a complete travel packet: passport, advance parole document, USCIS receipt notices, employment authorization document if any, and a printed copy of the most recent biographic and case status confirmation from myUSCIS
• Plan the trip short and have a backup plan if USCIS denies the underlying application while you are away
• Keep a copy of your I-94 from CBP after every reentry on advance parole
• Consult counsel before any travel for the first 90 days after a marriage-based I-485 filing if you entered without inspection, as the documentary trail at the port of entry is particularly important

Frequently Asked Questions

The Bottom Line

Form I-131 is a deceptively simple form that controls some of the most consequential travel decisions in immigration law. The right filing in the right category can let a parent see a dying grandmother in Brazil, let a DACA recipient attend a wedding in Haiti, or let an asylee study abroad. The wrong filing, or no filing at all, can erase years of pending immigration progress in a single airport encounter.

Before you book any international travel, ask three questions. What is my current immigration status. What does the law say about my ability to travel and return. And what will I show CBP at the port of entry. If the answer to any of those questions is unclear, do not travel until you have spoken with an immigration attorney. The cost of a one-hour consultation is far smaller than the cost of an abandoned green card application or an in absentia removal order.