Advance Parole Lawyers

COMPASSIONATE REPRESENTATION TO PROTECT YOUR IMMIGRANT STATUS

Travel Outside the U.S. with Advance Parole

An advance parole is a document that allows an individual to re-enter the United States without an immigrant visa or nonimmigrant visa after having traveled abroad. It must be granted before he or she leaves the U.S. If the person did not obtain advance parole before traveling abroad, then there is a great possibility that they may not be permitted to re-enter the United States upon their return without obtaining this kind of visa.

Contact an attorney with advance parole experience here at Pagliara Law Group today by calling 201-470-4181

Advance parole does not guarantee admission into the United States. Individuals who have obtained advance parole are still subject to the inspection process at the port of entry.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?

You may apply for advance parole if you currently reside in the United States and have a personal or bona fide reason to travel temporarily abroad.

Examples of a personal or bona fide reason to travel temporarily abroad may include:

• An application for adjustment of status pending
• Being granted benefits under the Family Unity Program
• Being granted temporary protected status
• Having an asylum application pending

You do not require an advance parole if you have applied for adjustment of status and are maintaining H-1 status (temporary workers in specialty occupations), L-1 status (intra-company transferees), or are a dependent in H-4 or L-2 status.

You may not apply for advance parole if you are:

• In the United States without a valid immigration status
• A beneficiary of a private bill
• In removal proceedings
• Currently in a valid non-immigration status
• Subject to the two-year foreign residence requirement due to having held J-1 status

It takes about two to three months to process an advance parole application. After that, the document is renewable and valid up to one year, during which time an alien may make multiple entries into the United States. Renewal application must be filed at least 120 days before the previously issued advance parole expires.

HOW TO APPLY

Your application must include the following:

• USCIS Form I-131, Application for Travel Document
• Two identical color photographs taken within 30 days of filing the application that meet passport regulations
• Copy of your current passport
• Copy of the USCIS Form I-94, Arrival-Departure Document issued to you while you entered the United States
• Copy of the receipt notice or other evidence that your application for Green Card is pending with the USCIS
• Copies of documents which indicate your current status

THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ADVANCE PAROLE & RE-ENTRY PERMIT

Advance parole is issued to aliens who do not have permanent residence status, while a re-entry permit is issued to permanent U.S. residents. Re-entry permits look like a passport while advance paroles are single pieces of paper bearing the photo of the alien.

In a nutshell, an alien with an advance parole still needs a foreign passport to enter the U.S., while a permanent resident to the U.S. with a re-entry permit does not need a foreign passport to enter the county.

Advance parole is valid for a year while a re-entry permit is valid for two years.

ABANDONMENT OF STATUS ADJUSTMENT

An Application for Adjustment of Status is not deemed abandoned just because an applicant uses advance parole to travel outside the U.S. Advance parole may be granted for any business or personal reason.

For instance, a foreign national who has a pending Adjustment of Status case may re-enter the U.S. with their advance parole document while preserving their Adjustment of Status application.

H or L status holders who travel outside the U.S. without seeking advance parole are not considered as having abandoned the Status of Adjustment application if the following conditions are met:

• They are in possession of a valid H or L status before traveling abroad
• They come back to the US with a valid H-1 or L-1 visa
• They resume employment with the same employer for whom H or L status was issued prior to departure from the U.S.

In such a situation, the alien needs to have a valid H-1B or L-1 visa or apply for an H-1 or L-1 visa at a U.S. Consulate abroad.

CONTACT PAGLIARA LAW GROUPTODAY

Successful adjudication of your immigration case through the numerous deadlines and complex processes can be extremely difficult without help from an experienced immigration lawyer.   At Pagliara Law Group, we can help you through the preparation of your petitions and applications, coach you for your USCIS interview, and clear out issues on your green card, visas, and many others.