An Application for Travel Document is for people under different circumstances to help them re enter the U.S. after temporary international travel. Form I-131 should be filed with the USCIS to apply for a re-entry permit, refugee travel document or advance parole travel document, to include parole into the US for humanitarian reasons.

Advance Parole is for applicants who have a pending Form I-485, Application to Adjust Status to Permanent Resident, and who wish to travel before the application is approved. Refugee Travel Document is for applicants who hold Refugee or Asylee status in the US and who wish to travel abroad.

A Re-entry Permit is for Lawful Permanent Residents (green card holders) who will be outside the United States for an extended period of time, normally one year or more.

Applications for re entry permit should be filed in the U.S. Additionally the Lawful Permanent Resident has to appear for a biometrics appointment (fingerprinting) before he or she can leave the country. You can leave the U.S. after getting the fingerprinting done and pick up the document at a U.S. Consulate or DHS office abroad. Else, you may remain in the U.S. until the application is approved. Processing times differ, but generally range from three to six months.

Re entry Permits are valid only for two years and cannot be renewed. But you can return to the U.S. to file another application. Normally, a Lawful Permanent Resident can spend almost six years outside the U.S. and retain his/her Re entry Permit.

If you are filing the I-131 application based on your pending or approved Form I-821, you should file your form with the USCIS Dallas Lock box facility. Additionally, you should include a copy of the I-797 C Notice of Action that shows that your application was accepted or approved.

If you are applying for renewal of your advance parole document, USCIS will accept and adjudicate Form I-131 filed up to 120 days before the date your Advance Parole document that you have at present expires.

All Refugees or Reentry Permit applicants should complete biometrics at an Application Support Center (ASC). They should get the fingerprinting done at an overseas USCIS facility if applying for a Refugee Travel Document while being outside of the U.S.. If you are between 14 and 79 years old and you are applying for a Document or Re-entry Permit, you have to be fingerprinted as part of USCIS biometric services requirements.

Once you have filed this application, USCIS will notify you of the time/location of your biometrics appointment. If you fail to appear for biometrics, it might result in a denial of your application. All applicants for Re-entry Permit and/or Refugee Travel Documents aged between 14 and 79 years should pay an additional $85 biometric fee.

The submission fee for advance parole or re-entry permit is $360 and for a Refugee Travel Document for applicants aged 16 or older is $135. For a child below 16 years of age, the fee is $105. Applicants aged between 14 and 79 should pay a biometric fee of $85 for a Reentry Permit and a Refugee Travel Document, unless the applicant resides abroad at the time of filing their form. Advance parole applicants need not pay the biometric fee.

The submission fee and biometrics services fee can be paid with a single check for $445 and it should be made payable to Department of Homeland Security.

Nowadays, even though most absent-minded of traveller can just about get away with forgetting his travel documents at the point he’s going to need them. After all, with online booking tends to come e-tickets and the like, be that for flights, trains or almost any other type of transport you’re planning on using.

Airports, in particular, tend to have plenty of decent internet facilities, so if you forget, lose or damage a ticket, what’s the problem? Simply log-on, print off and check in. So, surely this makes the humble travel document holder virtually obsolete, right? Wrong.

The document holder, for at least one reason, has probably never been more important than right now. Security checks.

In the last decade or so, for obvious reasons, security checks such as passport control have become more stringent than ever. If there’s one thing you need to ensure all this runs smoothly, it’s a simple document holder.

If you managed to get away without one in the past and could simply shove your battered old passport in the back pocket of your jeans and happily saunter round the world barely giving that crease down the middle of your photo a second thought, you’re asking for trouble trying to do that nowadays.

Apart from the fact that many customs officials will now baulk at a creased passport (and even more so a photo) most newer passports are biometric in nature – in other words, they’re no longer just a few flimsy bits of paper with a poorly laminated mugshot of yourself glued onto one of them.

Nowadays passports tend to have electronic microchips embedded within them to authenticate the identity of the traveller.

So, if your passport’s spent the past couple of weeks in an old pair of trousers and been in a washing machine a couple of times, don’t be surprised if it’s not behaving as it should do when you get it to passport control.

For these reasons alone, a travel document holder is, frankly, one of the first things you should take on a trip.

They offer protection not just for your passport but for any of your travel documents. Make sure the holder you choose is robust, heard-wearing, offers decent value for money and is durable enough to hold an array of documents.

Maybe you’re travelling somewhere where you don’t need a passport. If that’s the case, I’d still recommend you invest in a good travel document holder. We’ve all experienced frenzied searches for our tickets on a train, or torn tickets, or spilled something on them. It’s not a pleasant experience, but with a decent holder, it’s not one you need to repeat.

Even if you can simply print an e-ticket off again should the worse happen, why bother with the hassle? Just stick all your important documents in a holder and be done with them. That way you can get on and enjoy your travels with that most calming of travel partners, peace of mind.

With a decent travel document holder you can head off on your travels safe in the knowledge that you have a something to look after the most important stuff you’ll need at any one point. Now, did you pack that toothbrush?

First-hand experience has taught me how overwhelming it can be to plan for a trip and often it’s the little things that can contribute to a stressful situation.

If finding a travel document holder is only one of your concerns, and you need advice on other things, such as where to buy plane tick

How many times do you have to present your documents when you travel? I know- it seems like hundreds. It makes sense that security asks for your documents so often; they just want to make sure that you are the correct person and not a threat. While that’s all great and we understand the need for it, there has to be a way to minimize the hassle. This is precisely where travel document holders come in.

Travel can be exhausting, whether it’s for business or pleasure. Why not eliminate one of the biggest concerns, by keeping all your necessary documents in one easy access location? Frequent travelers have been using these time-saving holders for decades. Now that everyday travel involves presenting tickets, boarding passes, I.D.s and the like time and again, the idea of keeping all your documents in one convenient and compact holder makes sense for any traveler. After all, almost any international travel involves at least three connections, and the time and hassle saved in that trip alone will help you save a lot of the time and stress that normally comes with that kind of travel.

Travel document holders come in a variety of sizes and styles. The larger, multi-area holders are especially useful for international travel, where travelers may have to show proof of immunizations or letters of access to restricted locations. For these seasoned veteran travelers, there is no substitute for these efficient and organized time-savers. Families can also benefit, with all the family documents such as tickets, passports, etc. all in one easy and secure location for mom or dad to keep track of. Then they can focus on the more important aspect of family travel: keeping track of the family!

The best part of taking the small step to travel sanity is that it’s so easy. Just go to an online store for travel accessories, and choose the size and style that best suits your needs. It will be shipped directly to you – no travel necessary! Organize your travel documents in the holder, set it in a safe place, and you’re ready to be a jet-setter at a moments notice, or at least gather your documents for travel without pulling out your hair and ransacking your own home.

Travel is an anxiety of its own. Preparing for travel should not stress you out so badly that you need another vacation to deal with it. Upgrade your trip without upgrading your ticket, and leave the stress of keeping track of all the paperwork necessary for travel in the past.

With your documents organized in your travel document holders, the frantic search through your bags is an easy one, and you are quickly able resume any task – be it business or pleasure. You can quickly return to the purpose of your trip and preparation for it. Or you can avoid all the hassles of trying to accomplish anything during your travel and just leisurely enjoy yourself and look forward to arriving at your destination- the ultimate and most valuable travel luxury of all.