The travel document usually arrives within 150 days (sometimes longer) after submitting your application. You can't leave the country until you have your approved travel document in hand, so you should expect to spend the 3–5 months after submitting your green card application in the United States.
What documents do I need to travel outside the United States? In general, you will need to present a passport from your country of citizenship or your refugee travel document to travel to a foreign country. In addition, the foreign country may have additional entry/exit requirements (such as a visa).
If you are a permanent or conditional permanent resident who has been outside the U.S. for one year or longer, apply for a re-entry permit before you travel. Use Form I-131 - Application for Travel Document. For permanent residents, the re-entry permit is valid for two years from the date of issue.
Form I-131, Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records, is used to apply for the following documents: Reentry Permits, Refugee Travel Documents, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) Travel Authorization Documents, Advance Parole Documents, initial Parole Documents for noncitizens ...
Most green card holders will need to present the passport from the country where they're a citizen, or in some cases, their refugee travel document. You should also be sure to have your green card on you for the duration of the trip. And remember different countries have different requirements for entry.
Each line on the back of the green card contains 30 characters. The green card number is located in the last 13 characters of the first line, followed by two space holders. To be exact, the green card number is the characters for digits 16-28, followed by “>>.”
Even if you do not have a valid passport, you may still be able to travel using your green card and a reentry permit.
In general, you will need to present a passport from your country of citizenship or your refugee travel document to travel to a foreign country. In addition, the foreign country may have additional entry/exit requirements (such as a visa).