Advance Parole: Need to leave the United States but are waiting for a green card? Get authorization first!
By
Michael Phulwani, Esq. and Attorney Dev B. Viswanath
An advanced parole application should be submitted by a person who has applied for permanent residency but wishes to travel outside of the United States while the application is pending. If an individual leaves the United States and is denied advance parole, they run the risk of losing their residency application. Other categories of visa applicants in the United States can apply for advance parole in order to travel abroad without risking abandonment of their status. Advance parole is not only available to individuals who have applied for permanent residency.
The Application for Advance Parole can be filed concurrently with an Application for Permanent Residence (usually through status adjustment) and an Application for Employment Authorization. A person cannot leave the United States until their advance parole application is accepted. Please be aware that even though a re-entry permit and advance parole can be applied for using the same form, the two benefits are very different, and this difference should be acknowledged. A "combo card" will be given to a person who applies for advance parole alongside an employment authorization card and receives both. A version of the employment authorization card called a "combo card" has the words "SERVES AS I-512 ADVANCE PAROLE" written on the bottom.
Either a single trip or multiple trips will qualify for advanced parole. The USCIS can decide how long advanced parole stays in effect. Under the current administration, the requirement that USCIS decide employment authorization applications within ninety days of receipt has been lifted. As a consequence of this, applicants for adjustment of status are experiencing significant delays in the issuance of advance parole and employment authorization cards. It is currently requiring a few additional months for these records to be mediated. In order to accommodate these delays, applicants should plan accordingly. However, even if their advance parole document was not granted, individuals in other visa statuses that permit international travel, such as O visas, H1 B visas, and L1 visas, may be permitted to reenter the country based on that visa status. The sole factor to take into account in this regard is the possibility that travel and admission based on a different nonimmigrant status will not safeguard the underlying adjustment application.
Advance parole will assist you in achieving your objectives and preserving your application if you are currently residing in the United States and intend to travel internationally prior to receiving a "green card." To ensure that advance parole will enable them to travel while a permanent residence application is pending, applicants who may have overstayed their visas or committed another violation that renders them inadmissible should consult an experienced attorney.
