RetireJapan

Has anyone ever had to get a re-entry permit to the USA while living in Japan?

What is the best way to do this? Which is easiest location to return for re-entry permit filing? Does one have to do biometrics while waiting for approval?

Anyone know a company, travel agent or individual who specializes in getting a re-entry permit to the US from Japan?

Wife has green card that is not expired, but forgot to get re-entry permit. We have been in Japan about 6-8 months now.

I think you need to contact the US Embassy Consular Section.

According to Form I-131 instructions:

"You must be physically present in the United States when you file the Reentry Permit application and complete the biometrics services requirement. After filing your application for a Reentry Permit, USCIS will inform you in writing when to go to your local Application Support Center (ASC) for your biometrics services appointment."

It apparently takes around six weeks between applying and receiving the instructions about the biometrics appointment. It's possible to leave the country and come back for the biometrics appointment, but there's no way you can be out of the country for that. Expedited service for reentry permits is available only in certain very exceptional circumstances.

If you have a good reason for being out of the country when the reentry permit is finally issued (the process can take a long time, even months), it appears to be possible to arrange for pickup at a US embassy or consulate, but the request has to be made.

For official details about reentry permits, see the following pages:

https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/after- ... t-resident

https://www.uscis.gov/i-131

Lots of immigration-related sites discuss reentry, so you might check around. I certainly wouldn't want to risk "dropping by" someplace like Guam to apply for a reentry permit (assuming that travel is possible right now). The basic idea is that you have a permanent address to go back to and from which you are applying; from Guam you would be sending the actual application to Texas and around six weeks later would have to be at the address you wrote on the form to receive the information about making the biometrics appointment.

Shocking, btw, to see that the application fee for a reentry permit is $660, including the biometrics. The government really sticks it people for these things.