Advance parole is a travel document issued by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, “USCIS” that authorizes certain noncitizens inside the United States to depart and return to the United States after temporary travel abroad. The amount of time allowed for travel on advanced parole is based on the expiration date of the parole document which is typically issued for a period of one year. Noncitizens that will qualify for Advanced Parole include:
Applicants for adjustment of status:
Must be obtained before departing the United States to avoid abandoning the pending I-485 application. Advanced Parole is granted based on a pending adjustment application. We discuss eligibility criteria for adjustment of status here.
TPS Applicants:
Previously, TPS applicants were granted advanced parole, but because of recent changes in policy by USCIS, TPS applicants are granted a special authorization that results in an admission into the U.S. instead of being paroled into the U.S. This travel authorization essentially serves the same purposes that parole served except that in limited situations entry on parole has some different legal consequences when compared to entry on this type of travel authorization. We discuss TPS protection here.
DACA Applicants:
May seek advance parole, but only if they need to travel for humanitarian, educational, or employment purposes. Humanitarian purposes include travel to obtain medical treatment, attend funeral services for a family member, or visit an ailing relative. Educational purposes include semester-abroad programs and academic research. Employment purposes include overseas assignments, interviews, conferences, training, or meeting with clients overseas. DACA Applicants must seek confirmation from an immigration attorney to make sure that parole is available at the time of application based on the possibility that pending court litigation has suspended the availability of parole in the past and this litigation is still unsettled. We discuss DACA here.
Applicants for asylum:
Although technically available, this is not recommended simply for the fact that travel in returning to the country of nationality can risk in damaging the claim of persecution. We discuss asylum protection here.
Although there are benefits to obtaining Advanced Parole, there are some risks. As a result consultation with an immigration attorney is important when evaluating whether to apply for Advanced Parole.
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