Advance Parole for Traveling Adjustment of Status Applicants

The term "Adjustment of Status" refers to the long process that some intending immigrants who are already living in the United States use to apply for permanent resident status (a green card) there. After filing an Adjustment of Status application with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the intending immigrant is allowed to live legally in the United States and apply for a work permit while awaiting a USCIS interview. At that interview, or soon after, the application for permanent residence will normally be either approved or denied.

However, the wait for a USCIS interview is often many months long, and numerous immigrants wish to travel outside the United States during that time. Perhaps they'd like to visit their home country or take a vacation. But without advance planning, such travel can destroy one's immigration case. For starters, if the immigrant doesn't apply for an receive what's called "Advance Parole" before leaving, USCIS will assume the immigrant is no longer interested in the green card and is "abandoning" the application. USCIS will then cancel the case and you'd have to start over.

By applying for Advance Parole, you can get a travel document that gives you permission to return to the United States in order to resume your Adjustment of Status application when your travel is completed. Fortunately, it's easy to apply for, using a form that you'll submit at the same time as your Adjustment of Status application.

Advance Parole Application Process

You can apply for Advance Parole using USCIS Form I-131, available on the USCIS website. You won't even have to pay the fee that other people do. It's included in your Adjustment of Status application fee.

Important Cautions Before Using Advance Parole

Here are a few crucial things to know about Advance Parole.

• Having Advance Parole granted does not mean you are guaranteed permission to re-enter the United States. It just means that you haven't abandoned your Adjustment of Status application.
• If you are an asylee and return to the country from which you escaped then the U.S. might deny your Adjustment of Status application. The logic is that if you feel secure returning to a country from which you sought asylum then you are not really afraid of persecution there and do not need the protection of the United States.
• If you've been living in the U.S. unlawfully, you're fortunate that a 2012 decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) called Matter of Arabally and Yerabelly held that departures by people with pending adjustment applications and advance parole permission would NOT be considered to trigger the three- and ten-year time bars that are otherwise problematic grounds of inadmissibility. But if in doubt, consult an attorney.

Exceptions to the Advance Parole Requirements

There are exceptions to the Advance Parole requirement.

If you hold a valid H-1, H-4, K-3, K-4, L-1, L-2, V-2, or V-3 visa or status then you may travel without Advance Parole approval. For example, if you are traveling for the same employer that your H or L visa was issued for then you don't need Advance Parole. The H or L status must be valid and you must have evidence that you filed an Adjustment of Status application.