Forms

Form I-131

Also called I-131, advance parole application, reentry permit application, Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records.

Form I-131, Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records, carries two unrelated EB-5 requests: advance parole, which lets an adjustment applicant leave the United States without abandoning Form I-485, and a reentry permit, which protects a resident's status during a long absence abroad.

What it decides

8 CFR 245.2(a)(4)(ii)(A) treats an adjustment applicant's departure as abandonment of the Form I-485 unless advance parole was granted first and the applicant was inspected on return, the one narrow exception at (a)(4)(ii)(C) being lawful H or L status. Advance parole behind a pending I-485 costs $630 on paper, and the $580 online rate is out of reach here, because USCIS accepts an online I-131 in that category only where the I-485 receipt number begins with IOE, which a paper EB-5 filing never carries. The reentry permit answers the opposite worry. 8 CFR 223.2(b)(1) requires filing while in the United States and in resident status, and the instructions add that the applicant must stay for biometrics: 8 CFR 223.2(d) says a later departure does not affect the application, but leaving before biometrics are taken can still sink it. 8 U.S.C. 1203(b) and 8 CFR 223.3(c) cap the permit at two years with no renewal or extension, and 8 CFR 223.3(a)(1) cuts a conditional resident's permit short at the date the I-829 falls due. A reentry permit denial may be appealed under 8 CFR 223.2(g); an advance parole denial may not, leaving only a motion.

Governed by 8 CFR 245.2(a)(4)(ii)(A) and (C); 8 CFR 223.2(b)(1), (d) and (g); 8 CFR 223.3(a)(1) and (c); 8 U.S.C. 1203(b); Form I-131 instructions, edition 01/20/25, for the requirement to remain in the United States for biometrics, which the regulation does not state; Form G-1055, edition 05/29/26, Appendix B, for $630 and $580; USCIS, Forms Available to File Online, last reviewed 24 July 2026, for the IOE receipt number condition on online advance parole; USCIS, When to Use Form I-290B, last reviewed 3 April 2025, for the split between reentry permit denials, which are appealable, and advance parole denials, which are not. The USCIS Form I-131 page, last reviewed 24 July 2026, carries the edition date but no fee.

Where this is explained properly

Pages here that go into form i-131 rather than mentioning it.

Related terms

Advance paroleAdvance parole is the travel document that lets someone with a pending Form I-485 leave the United States and be paroled back in without the departure being treated as abandonment of that adjustment application.
Reentry permitA reentry permit is the travel document, applied for on Form I-131 and issued as Form I-327, that lets a permanent or conditional permanent resident spend up to two years outside the United States and apply for admission on return without a returning resident visa.
Adjustment of statusAdjustment of status is the process under 8 U.S.C. 1255 by which someone already in the United States becomes a permanent resident without leaving, on Form I-485, instead of collecting an immigrant visa at a consulate abroad. An EB-5 investor who adjusts is granted conditional permanent residence for two years, the same status a consular applicant receives on admission.
Conditional permanent residenceConditional permanent residence is the status an EB-5 investor and their spouse and children hold for the first two years: full lawful permanent residence, evidenced by a Green Card valid for two years, whose conditional basis must be removed on Form I-829 or the status ends.
Abandonment of residenceAbandonment of residence is the loss of lawful permanent resident status that follows from conduct showing the holder no longer intends to make the United States a permanent home, most often moving abroad for good, staying out on what is no longer a temporary visit, or claiming nonresident status on a US tax return.

Checked against primary sources on 10 August 2026. Back to the glossary