Daily AncestorReentry permit
A reentry permit was a paper issued from July 1924 that let an alien living in the U.S. travel abroad and be readmitted on return.
The Immigration Act of 1924 required everyone arriving to show an entry document, and it provided reentry permits for resident aliens going abroad. The immigrant applied before leaving, paid a fee and named the original port, date and ship of arrival so the record could be checked.
Two clues follow. The original arrival line may be marked P or Permit with an application number and sometimes the office where it was filed, such as Detroit. On the return trip, the permit details appear in the visa columns of the new passenger list. Before 1924 the nearest thing was a letter based on a verification of landing.
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Daily Ancestor. "Reentry permit." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/immigration/reentry-permit. Last checked 2026-10-12.