What is the I-131A for?
The document the consulate issues is for the trip back. It does not replace the card: once home, the replacement is requested with a different form, the I-90.
According to the instructions, the fee is paid first online, on the government's payment site, and the receipt is brought with the form to the appointment.
The instructions describe time limits: how long the person has been outside the country and how much validity the permit had left. Whether your case fits is a legal question we do not answer.
Who usually files it?
- According to the USCIS instructions: a permanent resident outside the United States whose card was lost, stolen, or destroyed during a trip.
- According to the USCIS instructions: a resident who was travelling on a reentry permit and lost it abroad.
- According to the USCIS instructions: it is not for someone still inside the United States; to replace a card from inside, there is the I-90.
These are the situations the official instructions describe. Paso Libre does not decide whether any of them is yours.