Permission to travel must be obtained from the probation officer prior to leaving the Northern District of Illinois. Notifying the probation officer of your intent to travel does not constitute permission to travel. Therefore, you should not make payments toward any travel plans until your request is approved. Travel requests should be submitted a minimum of two weeks in advance of planned travel. The probation officer will notify you prior to your departure date as to whether your travel request has been approved or denied. Please be advised that travel is generally not allowed within the first sixty days of supervision or while you are in treatment. Your ability to travel may be restricted based on the nature of your conviction and/or criminal history. In addition, if you have an outstanding court ordered financial obligation, it is our office’s policy to restrict leisure travel. This remains the case even if you are in compliance with payment schedules and/or cost of travel will be paid for by a third party. It is noted that travel requests may be denied for other supervision related reasons as identified by the probation officer. However, travel may be granted when exceptional circumstances exist. These determinations will be made by the probation officer on a case by case basis. The probation officer may authorize travel within the United States and to certain U.S. Territories that have U.S. Probation Offices; specifically, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands. However, the probation officer does not have the authority to approve international travel. Those requests must be approved by the Court. If you decide to approach the Court to request permission to travel internationally, you must provide the probation officer with a copy of your motion, in addition to any notice of hearings on the motion. If Court permission is granted, the probation officer may provide you with a written travel permit. As a condition of approved travel, you may be required to report to the probation office in the district to which you are traveling. You may also be required to report to the U.S. Probation Office immediately upon your return to the Northern District of Illinois. In all cases you must provide the probation officer with the following: the names of the people or person you are visiting; the address where you will reside while traveling; a telephone number at which you can be reached; and, the purpose of your travel.
