I Have an Advance Parole, Do I Need a National Interest Exception?

If you have a green card petition pending and you obtained your Advance parole card based for example on marriage to U.S. citizen or green card holder, you do not need to apply for a National Interest Exception (NIE).

You filed an Adjustment of Status petition based on marriage to a U.S. citizen last year. You just received your Advance Parole card and you would like to travel outside the U.S. using the Advance Parole. The question then arises: if you visit any of the countries (e.g. a Schengen area country) that is currently on a list of restricted countries, do you need to apply for a National Interest Exception?

The answer to the question in the above scenario is no. To be more specific, the Presidential Proclamation restricting travel from the Schengen area countries, the UK and Ireland, Brazil and South Africa specifically does not apply to “spouses of U.S. citizens”, so in the scenario above, because the proclamation does not apply to you, you don’t need a NIE to come back. Please note that we recommend travelling with the U.S. citizen spouse, or if that’s not possible, you should carry the original marriage certificate

If you have a pending Adjustment of status petition based on an employment-based petition or other family member category, you may need a NIE.

Please note that if you filed an Adjustment of Status petition, it’s crucial to wait for your Advance Parole card before you leave the U.S., as otherwise your Adjustment of Status petition would be considered abandoned.

Please see our blog post that goes over the Advance Parole entry procedure once you land in the U.S.