July 9, 2004

USCIS Reminds Applicants for Adjustment of Status to Obtain Advance Parole Before Traveling Abroad

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has issued a press release to remind applicants with pending applications for adjustment of status to that of a permanent resident and certain categories of applicants for permanent residence in the U.S., to apply for an Advance Parole prior to any international travels from the U.S.

An Advance Parole is a document issued and approved by the USCIS which permits adjustment applicants to apply for reentry to the United States after traveling abroad in order to continue the processing of the adjustment of status applications.

Applicants for adjustment of status with valid H and L status as well as corresponding valid visa stamps in their passports are not required to have Advance Paroles for international travels. However, such applicants with valid visa stamps in their passports are legally required to present, at the port of entry, the original Receipt Notices issued by the USCIS for their adjustment of status applications, when returning to the U.S.; otherwise and pursuant to USCIS regulations, the USCIS is legally required to treat such applicants’ pending adjustment of status applications as abandoned, resulting in the denials of these applications.

Foreign national employees who are employed with employment authorization cards, issued pursuant to pending adjustment of status applications, must exercise more vigilance prior to international travels from the U.S. Such foreign national employees and their dependents with expired nonimmigrant status who have traveled outside of the U.S. will not be readmitted into the U.S. without an Advance Parole, except under very extraordinary and limited circumstances.

Foreign national employees and their dependents, with pending adjustment of status applications, who still hold valid nonimmigrant status such as H or L classification but not valid visas for their international travels, can seek to renew or apply for their nonimmigrant visas at a U.S. Consulate abroad prior to returning to the U.S. In view of heightening border security into the U.S., increasing levels of scrutiny and background checks for nonimmigrant visa applications at the U.S. Consulates abroad, such nonimmigrant visa applicants are expected to encounter a longer waiting time in obtaining their visas and therefore delays in returning to the U.S. “Visa revalidation,” a procedure for certain nonimmigrant visas to be renewed within the U.S. through the U.S. Department of State, will be phased out as of July 16, 2004, and after this date, most visas can no longer be renewed in the U.S. Hence, even for such foreign national employees and their dependents, having valid Advance Paroles will serve as added security for reentry to the U.S., especially when issuance of their nonimmigrant visas have encountered severe delays at the U.S. Consulates abroad.

Admission to the U.S. with an Advance Parole, like any other types of entry documents, is discretionary. Foreign national employees and their dependents who have prior or pending immigration problems should not travel internationally without consulting an immigration lawyer. We have also attached a copy of the press release issued by the USCIS.

  USCIS Press Release (PDF/123 kb, 1 page)