Form I-131: what it is
Updated: Author: Alina Kanametova
Form I-131: definition
Key answer
The I-131 is usually filed in one package with the I-485 and I-765. The card issued on the I-765/I-131 often combines the work permit and Advance Parole.
It is a waiting-stage document: once you have the green card you no longer need it - the permanent-resident card itself covers travel.
Form I-131: the official source
I-131: how many cases USCIS handles
Q3 of fiscal year 2026 (April-June 2026): USCIS received 113,627 filings on this line, approved 43,791 and denied 18,200 (71% of decisions were approvals); 425,511 were waiting at the end of the quarter. Half of the completed cases took up to 5.8 months.
| Line in the report | Received | Approved | Denied | Pending | Median, mo. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I-131, advance parole for applicants inside the US | 113,627 | 43,791 | 18,200 | 425,511 | 5.8 |
Decisions are counted in the quarter they were issued, so some were filed earlier; the line covers every category of the form, not your visa alone. Source: USCIS, Number of Service-wide Forms (xlsx), read 2026-10-11.
Form I-131: what to do - tools
Form I-131: read next
Form I-131: documents and templates from the library
Form I-131: from community discussions
«Definitely respond to the RFE: gather up the references, often it's because of incorrect formatting (in the PDFs you need to make hyperlinks at the bottom of each page). The RFE states point by point what and how needs to be fixed, just go through all of it.»
community member · from public community chats
«At my consulate they nitpicked at the fact that in one place we wrote My Device Inc instead of My Device, when it was about the period when the company wasn't registered yet, and they started pressing that we were thereby misleading them. So they really do look even at such small things.»
Ksenia · from public community chats
«If you're planning to hire a lawyer, then first find out whether your friends in America agree to such an adventure. Because all the effort could turn out to be useless.»
community member · from public community chats
Personal opinions of community members from public discussions, not legal advice.
Form I-131: related terms
A reference definition, not legal advice. Requirements and procedures depend on your case - verify on uscis.gov.
Did this answer help?