Advance Parole, some frequently FAQs and their answers

Advance Parole, some frequently FAQs and their answers

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The Advance Parole or I-131 petition is a document that, for many people, can be enigmatic because it is not customary for most people to use a record to leave the country.

So, what is Advance Parole and when can you use it? Below, you will find the most frequently asked questions about the I-131 or Advance Parole petition.

Nonetheless, it is always advisable that you have an immigration lawyer at the moment of any legal process, if it is your case. The immigration attorney in question will be the one who will give you all the information you require about how to proceed in your particular situation.

1. What is an Advance Parole?

The Advance Parole is a document the USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) will issue to you to legally leave the US, This document is made for certain migrants who intend to travel and do not want to jeopardize their status.

Traveling outside the US at specific critical points in the immigration process can cause severe problems for migrants. And even in the worst-case scenario, the person may be banned from entry for years.

If you are a DACA recipient or TPS holder, there are conditions for obtaining Advance Parole. However, illegal immigrants, for obvious reasons, are not eligible.

2. Who can obtain Advance Parole? 

For those who wish to obtain Advance Parole, it may not be that much of a difficulty. There are many contexts in which this document is perfectly obtainable without much effort behind it.

You have to be a foreign national in the US and want to travel outside the country. The obtaining of this document can get complicated when you have certain specific tasks depending on your immigration status.

If you are a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) recipient, you can access Advance Parole through USCIS under three categories: educational, work, or humanitarian purposes.

On the other hand, if you have Temporary Protected Status (TPS), you can be eligible to travel outside the US. However, this will depend on where you want to travel to and other particularities of your status within the US.

There are also cases where you’re Green Card or other documents are pending. For these cases, you are equally eligible for Advance Parole.

You are eligible for Advance Parole if you have guaranteed benefits under the Family Unity Program. The same applies to those who have asylum status or are pending to obtain it. Nonetheless, USCIS may consider it contradictory if you wanted to go back to your original country with a pending asylum petition.

In one way or another, all of these cases require the assistance of an immigration attorney. The laws can often be highly confusing, and at other times you may need more preparation to defend yourself properly. It is always best to have an immigration lawyer with you.

3. Who cannot obtain Advance Parole?

Just as there is a format of cases eligible for Advance Parole, there are also cases in which it is impossible to obtain. The structure of who is suitable within your profile as a migrant for the I-131 petition depends on several factors.

If you are in the US without a valid immigration status, you are not eligible for Advance Parole. To legally leave and enter the US, you must be legal to some extent in the US in the first place.

The same applies to people who are under removal or deportation proceedings. The I-131 petition is not valid if you are not lawfully present. You could also not be considered as a beneficiary of Advanced Parole if you are pending status.

4. What happens if I travel without Advance Parole?

Traveling without Advance Parole can result in being barred from re-entering the country, and it can be detrimental to you as a migrant to such an extent that you may not be able to re-enter for years. Also, in case of re-entry, you would be facing a lot of unwanted problems.

You need to know that if you were in the process of being granted a I-131 petition, and you traveled without completing the process, you will be considered to have abandoned the petition. It means that you will have the same concern as if you had yet to go through the legal process for this document.

Your legal status as an immigrant after traveling outside the US without Advance Parole will depend on your standing before travel. However, in most cases, you will be prohibited from re-entering the country.

The ban on entry into the country may even escalate to ten years, taking into account Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) section 212(a)(9)(A)(i)(II) unless there is the assurance of an I-212 waiver.

In addition, in the case of TPS (Temporary Protected Status), the USCIS takes a different position. In these cases, the USCIS claims that Advance Parole travel is not a reason to execute an outstanding removal order. Only this is unique to TPS cases. For those with DACA, the story may be very different.   

If your travel is extremely urgent, you can request an expedited to speed up the process. And going further, you can also speed up the process even more if you meet the requirements for highly urgent travel.

5. How can I apply for Advance Parole?

Among the information requested for the I-131 petition, you may need photos, signatures, and other documents. Also, the conditions of this petition may change concerning your immigration status.

A critical thing about Advance Parole is that you need to have a compelling reason to be able to leave the US. For example, wanting to leave the US for vacation is not a valid reason. On the other hand, leaving the US for work can be considered a good reason.

6. What can I do with an Advance Parole?

There are two crucial points for which obtaining Advance Parole can result in many benefits for you. And these two points are important, without counting that you will be escaping from possible and serious immigration problems for leaving the US without permission.

Foremost, you have the great advantage that you can travel outside the US and re-enter without requiring a visa. Although, it is crucial to know how and when, as it will depend on your specific case. 

More importantly, there is a great advantage that when you return, your immigration status will be exactly as you left it. You can get an I-131 petition and leave the US for an emergency, and when you return you will not have to face immigration difficulties for having left.

7. What are the purposes of traveling with Advance Parole?

The reasons for which you may travel under an I-131 petition are divided into 3: work, education, and humanitarian purposes.

• Humanitarian purposes: you can obtain an I-131 petition including specific work such as providing medical services or funerals. However, you may also visit sick family members.
• Educational purposes: these refer to traveling for academic reasons, such as conferences, competitions, graduations, or to complete degrees or semesters.
• Employment purposes: reasons under which you can obtain an I-131 petition include job interviews, conferences, actually needed jobs, and professional concentrations, among others.

As you can see, there are many options to choose from under which you can legally obtain an Advance Parole. It is important to remember that these are the only valid reasons. If you are vacationing, or incurring in recreational activities, you will not obtain Advance Parole to travel outside the US.

8. Do I require other documents to travel with Advance Parole?

At the time of your trip, you will only need your Advance Parole and the rest of the documents you will be traveling with. But to return to the US, you will require the following documents:

• Your immigration attorney’s business card with contact information.
• State ID or driver’s license.
• Evidence of reason for the trip abroad.
• Relevant medical documents.
• Employment authorization card.
• Advance Parole document.
• Foreign passport.
• A copy of your DACA approval notice.

With all this, you will not have any problems returning to the US, but you must remember that when you re-enter, you will still have to be processed. 

9. How does re-entry to the US work with an Advance Parole?

You may be confident of returning to the US with just your Advance Parole. However, your re-entry will be more complex than just submitting the documents listed above, and you will be treated like any other immigrant.

Advance Parole does not guarantee that you will not have to be processed upon re-entry into the US. All those with Advance Parole must go through the immigration inspection process like everyone else.

10. Can the Advance Parole be expedited? 

There are many cases in which traveling can be a real emergency, and you only have a short time for it. For those cases, you can get an Advance Parole to obtain the document faster and avoid legal problems in the future.

Those DACA recipients who have an extreme need to travel and cannot wait the length of time it usually takes to obtain the document have the option to expedite it. However, a series of specific requirements must be met to do so.

To expedite the Advance Parole process, it must be demonstrated in some way that the situation warrants immediate action. Therefore, we have listed the valid reasons to accelerate the processing of an I-131 petition:

• A severe financial loss of a person or a company abroad.
• Urgent humanitarian causes (such as deaths of family members or conditions under which the lives of family members or close relatives are in grave danger).
• Compelling US interests (e.g., cases where the actions of the Advance Parole holder are following US interests).
• Or, lastly, in case there is a clear USCIS error. Although there are cases where it is difficult to prove that it is a USCIS error, this is still a possibility and a completely valid reason.

In addition, there are also exceptional cases where a request can be made to expedite the Advance Parole that has already been filed. In these cases, on the official USCIS website, you can find the official steps to proceed.

You must get in touch with the USCIS Contact Center and submit a receipt number. With this, the USCIS Contact Center will create a petition to the service or office that has jurisdiction over your petition.

11. What can I do if the Advance Parole expedites process needs to be faster?

The USCIS knows that there are situations where the need to leave the country can become extreme. There is an even faster option for this, but this is only for urgent cases.

In these cases, you can request an emergency advance parole appointment at a local USCIS facility by contacting the USCIS Contact Center.

If you need to leave the US under extreme necessity, according to US law, you can get the document on the same day as the petition.

12. Is there a difference between Advance Parole and a Re-entry Permit?

The main difference between the two documents is the immigration status of the person filing the petition.

Advance Parole is for those with unstable, pending, or temporary immigration status. It is done due to its operation, where leaving the US while under such status may result in a prohibition from returning to the country.

The Re-entry Permit, on the other hand, is a document formulated to return permanent residents to the country. Additionally, the Advance Parole functions like a US visa, while the Re-entry Permit functions more like a passport.

One way or another, to get out of any doubt, the ideal is that you have an immigration lawyer with you throughout the process. At Kannan Law, we offer you our immigration attorney services in San Diego, California. We will accompany you during your immigration process and finally help you be considered a permanent resident, so, please contact us.