Guide · Form I-131
What is Form I-131?
Travel documents are requested with this form. Here is what it covers, and where the legal question begins.
PasoLibre editorial team
Reviewed August 25, 2026 · Educational information, not legal advice
What is Form I-131?
Form I-131 is the application used to ask USCIS for a travel document. A single form covers several different documents.
The official instructions explain which ones: the reentry permit, the refugee travel document, and advance parole.
Which of them applies is not ours to decide
Each document is meant for a different situation, and the box you check changes everything else on the form.
Which one applies to you is a legal question. PasoLibre does not answer it and does not choose for you: we fill the form in with the answers you give us.
Traveling while a filing is open
Leaving the United States while a filing is in progress has legal consequences that depend on your case, your status and your history.
This is exactly the kind of question that needs legal advice. To protect you, we do not want to guess: talk to a licensed attorney or a Department of Justice accredited representative before you buy a ticket.
What documents people usually gather
People almost always gather a copy of a photo ID, passport-style photos, and a copy of the document showing their current immigration situation.
Each type of travel document asks for its own evidence; the list is in the official instructions for your edition. We do not decide whether yours is legally sufficient.
What it costs, and how we help
The government fee depends on the document you request and is paid directly to USCIS. We do not write the amount here because it changes; it lives in the official calculator.
We ask you in Spanish, one thing at a time, and transfer your answers onto the official form with technical checks. You receive an unsigned PDF: you review it, sign it by hand and mail it.
Official sources
Also useful
Prepare your I-131 calmly.
Self-service in Spanish with technical checks. You review, sign and mail it; USCIS fees are paid separately.
Start my I-131Available now in New Jersey.
