The Refugee Travel Document Application

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ddr333

Registered Users (C)
Hello,

I'm currently in the process of preparing for the refugee travel document application by myself, without an attorney.
Q: Is this a good idea? Because I do see a lot of places say USCIS appears to approve more cases that have an attorney representing, instead of the applicants applying by themselves.

I understand that if the applicant has a I-485 pending with fees paid in full already, in the case of applying green card as an asylee, the applicant then should apply for the "Refugee Travel Document" (RTD) with no fee, regardless of sending the application together with I-485 or later separately.

There's a confusion as to the instruction says ALL of the RTD applications are required to have the biometrics done. But it only says the filing fee is not required if you have a pending I-485, and yet nothing mentioned if the biometrics fee would be waived as well.

In other words - I need to pay for: (1) filing fee $135, (2) biometrics fee $85
Q: Option "(1)" ? ...Or "(1) + (2)" ? ...Or "(2)" ? ... Or "none" ?

My plan is to travel to another country that requires a visa.
Q: Is that foreign consulate or embassy going to accept my passport along with the RTD or the RTD only to issue me a visa?

If anyone in this forum has the experience of applying for RTD successfully...
Q: How long did it take and when was the last time you got it?

Thank you in advance for your kind help on this subject and hopefully this thread can also help other people that are in the similar situation.

Thanks again!
 
Q1: I got my RTD by myself without a lawyer. It's not a hard application if you are already approved asylum status.
Q2: not sure. Probably 'none'. But think you need to attach your i-485 receipt in your RTD application to waive the fee.
Q3: You are not supposed to still travel with your national passport (aka 'NP' on this website) once you are an asylee from that country. So you should only submit your RTD to the embassy for a visa stamp. The RTD is like a passport book with empty pages on it for visa.
Q4: It took ~5 months for me. Usually it should take 3-4. See my timeline for details.
 
Hello, i applied for RTD without a lawyer as well, is not a complicated process, for me it took me about 4 moths from the time i sent the aplication to the time i got my RTD in the mail. Not to mention, that i applied after two years of having my Green Card, if you don't have your green card yet, then you have other options, but if your application for green card is pending, than the best thing to do is to wait until you receive your green card and then apply, wish you all the best.By the way, do not travel with your passport along with your RTD, that is illegal and you migh get in trouble if you get caught, you have to use one or the other, most countries do accept the RTD as a form of passport..
 
bigbonustoday said:
Q1: I got my RTD by myself without a lawyer. It's not a hard application if you are already approved asylum status.
Q2: not sure. Probably 'none'. But think you need to attach your i-485 receipt in your RTD application to waive the fee.
Q3: You are not supposed to still travel with your national passport (aka 'NP' on this website) once you are an asylee from that country. So you should only submit your RTD to the embassy for a visa stamp. The RTD is like a passport book with empty pages on it for visa.
Q4: It took ~5 months for me. Usually it should take 3-4. See my timeline for details.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your detailed reply!
In your case did you apply the RTD with a fee?
I was aware that I would need to attach a copy of my I-485 receipt though...
The RTD that you received - how long is it valid for?
And also have ever used it for abroad traveling yet?
 
heriberto84 said:
Hello, i applied for RTD without a lawyer as well, is not a complicated process, for me it took me about 4 moths from the time i sent the aplication to the time i got my RTD in the mail. Not to mention, that i applied after two years of having my Green Card, if you don't have your green card yet, then you have other options, but if your application for green card is pending, than the best thing to do is to wait until you receive your green card and then apply, wish you all the best.By the way, do not travel with your passport along with your RTD, that is illegal and you migh get in trouble if you get caught, you have to use one or the other, most countries do accept the RTD as a form of passport..
Click to expand...
Thank you for the information!
Glad that I now know the importance of traveling with a RTD vs a passport.
Have you used your RTD for traveling yet?
I was wondering how smooth it could be when an asylee returns to U.S. using a RTD...?
 
ddr333 said:
Thanks for your detailed reply!
In your case did you apply the RTD with a fee?
I was aware that I would need to attach a copy of my I-485 receipt though...
The RTD that you received - how long is it valid for?
And also have ever used it for abroad traveling yet?
Click to expand...

yes i did pay the fee.
The RTD is valid for a year since issuance.
No, I have not used it yet. But I applied for a visa stamp on it.
 
I have not traveled with my RTD yet, but I will be sharing my experiences here on this forum, until the end of my journey, which is is citizenship. I will be traveling to Guatemala in December, so if you travel before me, make sure you share your experience as well, it will be kindly appreciate it.
 
heriberto84 said:
I have not traveled with my RTD yet, but I will be sharing my experiences here on this forum, until the end of my journey, which is is citizenship. I will be traveling to Guatemala in December, so if you travel before me, make sure you share your experience as well, it will be kindly appreciate it.
Click to expand...
Sure absolutely!
But I won't be traveling until October of the next year though...
I will make sure to share the experience here after I come back.
 
heriberto84 said:
I have not traveled with my RTD yet, but I will be sharing my experiences here on this forum, until the end of my journey, which is is citizenship. I will be traveling to Guatemala in December, so if you travel before me, make sure you share your experience as well, it will be kindly appreciate it.
Click to expand...
One more question: does your RTD indicate your nationality??? Or it just has your name and date of birth info, and asylee / refugee info?
 
I am yet to hear experiences of people Traveling with Refugee travel documents ,I know visas are used based on nationalities
 
Can any one help me out that if I could send I-131 form along with I-485? Does that will effect in both form if submitted together?

Thanks
 
Shyam, this is perfectly fine to do. Go ahead, submit both. Chances are you'll get the RTD before your GC and when you do travel and return, you can present the GC at the airport. RTD is good for getting visas for other countries since they can't stamp anything on your GC. My experience has been that back in the US they will look at both RTD and GC, and stamp your RTD. In fact, once an immigration officer suggested that I would be better off with a reentry permit instead, since it's valid for 2 years vs. 1 yr for RTD.
 
Renewing RTD, Is Reentry Better? What about the cost?

I am a Green Card holder as a result of Asylee Status . I applied for a travel document it was issued and it will expire in April 2018 , but I am planning to travel abroad.

My questions
  • Am I allowed to apply for the renewal of my travel document 2 or 3 months earlier (in advance) before my current one expires (I mean can I send my application for renewal now or in few days) ?
  • Will I also have to submit my unexpired RTD or send them letters that I will submit it if they need it ?
  • Also if the processing time will count from the date of application or from the date of expiry of my current document?
  • Can I use my GC+NP to travel?

I will appreciate any feedback.
 
DoubleAA said:
Renewing RTD, Is Reentry Better? What about the cost?

I am a Green Card holder as a result of Asylee Status . I applied for a travel document it was issued and it will expire in April 2018 , but I am planning to travel abroad.

My questions
  • Am I allowed to apply for the renewal of my travel document 2 or 3 months earlier (in advance) before my current one expires (I mean can I send my application for renewal now or in few days) ?
  • Will I also have to submit my unexpired RTD or send them letters that I will submit it if they need it ?
  • Also if the processing time will count from the date of application or from the date of expiry of my current document?
  • Can I use my GC+NP to travel?

I will appreciate any feedback.
Click to expand...
Hello yes you can send it at anytime before expiration , and you will have to send as well the unexpired RTD , the processing time from the date of the application, i got my GC recently and I used it to travel with my NP I didn’t have a problem entering the states but it really depends if your asylum case was based on fear of your COP government in my asylum case it had nothing to do with my COP government so i feel ok using My NP+GC
 
DoubleAA said:
Renewing RTD, Is Reentry Better? What about the cost?

I am a Green Card holder as a result of Asylee Status . I applied for a travel document it was issued and it will expire in April 2018 , but I am planning to travel abroad.

My questions
  • Am I allowed to apply for the renewal of my travel document 2 or 3 months earlier (in advance) before my current one expires (I mean can I send my application for renewal now or in few days) ?
  • Will I also have to submit my unexpired RTD or send them letters that I will submit it if they need it ?
  • Also if the processing time will count from the date of application or from the date of expiry of my current document?
  • Can I use my GC+NP to travel?

I will appreciate any feedback.
Click to expand...

Hi,

I have the same problem. My current Travel Document will be expired on May 20. I will go to Germany on March 29 but Germany asks your travel document must be valid 4 more months after your visit. I decided to apply for renewal but there is no information about how to send my current Travel Document to the USCIS. Thank you.
 
You send your current RTD TOGETHER with your application for a new RTD. You always return it to them, even if it expired.
 
7of9 said:
You send your current RTD TOGETHER with your application for a new RTD. You always return it to them, even if it expired.
Click to expand...
You are awesome. Thank you for the quick answer. I checked it on some websites and they were saying the same things. I sent my application on yesterday included the old one( actually it`s not old LOL). Let`s see how long does it going to get the renewal one. Some people saying that renewal one doesn`t take too much time to get it. My first one came in 3 months.
 
turqi said:
You are awesome. Thank you for the quick answer. I checked it on some websites and they were saying the same things. I sent my application on yesterday included the old one( actually it`s not old LOL). Let`s see how long does it going to get the renewal one. Some people saying that renewal one doesn`t take too much time to get it. My first one came in 3 months.
Click to expand...

They received my first application on Nov 30, o haven't received any notice yet, i called uscis yesterday they didn't see any online receipt number for me, do you know how long it tales them to send our the receipt ?
 
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