Advance parole

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Advance parole is an immigration document (Form I-512) issued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to enable an alien to be paroled into the United States. It is not a U.S. visa or a re-entry permit; it is only issued to people without permanent residency. Advance parole is a permit for a non-U.S. national, who does not have a valid immigrant visa, to re-enter the United States after traveling abroad. Such persons include those who have applied to adjust their status to that of permanent resident or to change their non-immigrant status. Advance parole must be approved before the applicant leaves the United States, or any residency application be denied unless exceptional circumstances are demonstrated by the alien. [1]

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that administers the country's naturalization and immigration system. It is a successor to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), which was dissolved by the Homeland Security Act of 2002 and replaced by three components within the DHS: USCIS, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Parole in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) of the United States generally refers to any alien who is under the supervision of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Any alien who is inadmissible to the United States may apply for advance parole, which is also known as "humanitarian parole," and when granted allows the alien to stay in the country until the document expires. Humanitarian parole is granted only in exceptional circumstances and on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of the DHS.

Visa policy of the United States Policy which denotes whether a citizen of a country requires an ESTA or a normal visa to enter the mainland of the United States and / or its overseas territories

The visa policy of the United States deals with the requirements which a foreign national wishing to enter the United States must meet to obtain a visa, which is a permit to travel to, enter, and remain in the United States. Visitors to the United States must obtain a visa from one of the United States diplomatic missions unless they come from one of the visa-exempt countries or Visa Waiver Program countries. The same rules apply to Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands while different rules apply to Guam, Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa.

Contents

Who needs advance parole?

Aliens in the United States need an advance parole if they have:

A refugee, generally speaking, is a displaced person who has been forced to cross national boundaries and who cannot return home safely. Such a person may be called an asylum seeker until granted refugee status by the contracting state or the UNHCR if they formally make a claim for asylum. The lead international agency coordinating refugee protection is the United Nations Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The United Nations have a second Office for refugees, the UNRWA, which is solely responsible for supporting the large majority of Palestinian refugees.

Note: Aliens holding valid K-3 or K-4 visas, as well as H-1 (temporary worker in a specialty occupation) or L-1 (intra-company transferee) visas and their dependents in H-4 or L-2 status who have filed for adjustment of status do not have to file for advance parole as long as they maintain their non-immigrant status. [2]

Aliens in the United States are not eligible for an advance parole if they are:

J-1 visa non-immigrant visa issued by the United States to research scholars, professors and exchange visitors participating in programs that promote cultural exchange, especially to obtain medical or business training within the U.S.

A J-1 visa is a non-immigrant visa issued by the United States to research scholars, professors and exchange visitors participating in programs that promote cultural exchange, especially to obtain medical or business training within the U.S. All applicants must meet eligibility criteria, English language requirements, and be sponsored either by a university, private sector or government program. 343,800 J-1 visas were issued in 2017.

Removal proceedings are administrative proceedings to determine an alien's removability from the United States and his or her eligibility for relief under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Procedural defenses such as collateral estoppel and double jeopardy do not apply to the current removal proceedings, and the burden of proof required in these proceedings differ between lawful permanent residents of the United States and foreign nationals.

Application

To obtain an advance parole, an applicant must file Form I-131 ("Application for Travel Document"), with supporting documentation, photos, and fee, at a local USCIS office or the service center having jurisdiction over their place of residence.

The document

Advance parole can come on a letter-sized piece of paper titled "Authorization for Parole". For applicants who apply for advance parole together with an employment authorization document (EAD), USCIS issues a "combo card", a variant of the EAD card which contains the words "SERVES AS I-512 ADVANCE PAROLE".

Employment authorization document

A Form I-766 employment authorization document or EAD card, known popularly as a work permit, is a document issued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that provides temporary employment authorization to noncitizens in the United States.

Re-entry into the United States

Advance parole does not guarantee admission into the United States. Aliens who have obtained advance parole are still subject to the inspection process of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the port of entry. However, aliens who would otherwise be automatically inadmissible due to a period of unlawful presence, will not be inadmissible if they have advance parole. [3]

See also

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References

  1. 8 U.S.C.   § 1229a(e) ("The term 'exceptional circumstances' refers to exceptional circumstances (such as battery or extreme cruelty to the alien or any child or parent of the alien, serious illness of the alien, or serious illness or death of the spouse, child, or parent of the alien, but not including less compelling circumstances) beyond the control of the alien.")
  2. 8 CFR § 245.2(a)(4)(ii)(C), July 1, 1999, http://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/SLB/HTML/SLB/0-0-0-1/0-0-0-11261/0-0-0-24520/0-0-0-24707.html
  3. Matter of Arrabally and Yerrabelly, 25 I&N Dec. 771 (BIA 2012) ("An alien who leaves the United States temporarily pursuant to a grant of advance parole does not thereby make a 'departure . . . from the United States' within the meaning of section 212(a)(9)(B)(i)(II) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C.   § 1182(a)(9)(B)(i)(II) (2006). Matter of Lemus, 24 I&N Dec. 373 (BIA 2007), clarified").

Further reading