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.
If you are requesting expedited processing of a travel document, you generally need to apply for and obtain the document before you leave the United States. You should make your expedite request on your pending application at least 45 days before you plan to leave the United States.
Planning Your Trip. 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.
Standard processing: Usually, it takes a few days for an emergency travel document to be issued. Contact the embassy for specifics about your case. Urgent cases: In some urgent situations, the emergency travel document can be issued within 24 hours.
You may ask us to expedite adjudication of your Form I-131, Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records, by calling the Contact Center at 800-375-5283 (TTY 800-767-1833) or by asking Emma. (You can access Emma by clicking on the Ask Emma icon on the top right of this page.)
You must be a lawful permanent resident (green card holder) or a conditional lawful permanent resident (conditional green card holder). You must have the intention to leave the United States temporarily. You must file a Form I-131 and prove supporting documents (your immigration lawyer can file this for you).
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 “>>.”
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).