Advance Parole

Advance Parole is a document that allows certain aliens to re-enter the United States without an immigrant visa or non-immigrant visa after traveling abroad. Such aliens must be granted Advance Parole before leaving the United States. If they have not obtained Advance Parole prior to traveling abroad, they may not be permitted to re-enter the United States upon their return without obtaining some kind of visa.

There are two main functions of an Advance Parole: 1) It enables an alien to come back to the U.S. after traveling abroad without having to obtain a visa to enter the U.S., 2) It preserves the pending Adjustment of Status or other application for protected status that the alien has filed. Moreover, if an alien applies for an Adjustment of Status (Form I-485) and then enters the U.S. on a visa, instead of an advanced parole document, the pending I-485 petition may be considered to have been abandoned except in the situations that they come back with valid H-1 and L-1 visas. For instance, an applicant for Adjustment of Status who leaves the U.S. and re-enters on a non-immigrant visa, such as an F-1 visa, will generally be considered to have abandoned his/her adjustment of status application. The exceptions to this rule apply to H-1 and L-1 holders, and will be discussed in a chapter below.

Normally, an interview is not required for the Advance Parole application. USCIS Service Centers and/or local offices will mail the Advance Parole document directly either to the applicants or to applicant’s attorney after reviewing the materials received and approving the application.

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