|  THE
DANGERS OF TRAVELING ON ADVANCE PAROLE
by Michael J. Gurfinkel, Esq.
Many Filipinos who are illegal in the U.S., dream of visiting
friends and relatives in the Philippines. They heard that if they
have an adjustment of status application pending, they could apply
for advance parole, which is “permission” by the government
to leave the U.S. and return within a certain time period. They
mistakenly believe that advance parole “guarantees”
that they can return to the U.S. after their trip abroad.
A word of caution, though, for those who do not
have their plastic green cards yet: better consult with an immigration
attorney before boarding that plane for that anticipated balikbayan
trip.
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
(USCIS) once again cautioned people who are still awaiting adjustment
of status to obtain advanced parole (Form I-131 – Application
for Travel Document) before even making travel plans. (Advanced
parole is a permission to re-enter the U.S. after travelling abroad,
and allows for the continuation of processing for adjustment of
status to that of lawful permanent resident.)
However, while the advanced parole technically allows
you to re-enter the U.S., the USCIS cautions, in the same breath,
that the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility
Act of 1996 (IIRAIRA) provides that “immigrants who depart
the United States after being unlawfully present in the United
States for certain periods can be barred from admission to lawful
permanent resident status, even if
they have obtained advanced parole.”
Those who have been unlawfully present (or out of
status) in the U.S. for between 180 days (six months) and one
year, may not be allowed to re-enter the U.S. for at least three
years. Those illegally present in the U.S. for one year
or more, may not allowed to re-enter the U.S. for at least 10
years, even if you obtained and present an advanced parole
document at the port of entry. For those who were lucky to re-enter
using the advanced parole, they still face the possibility of
being denied adjustment of status to green card, based on the
3/10-year bar.
Under these circumstances, if you have stayed illegally
in the U.S. for more than 180 days, it may be advisable for you
not to leave the U.S. until
you have finally secured your green card.
Also, when a person is granted permanent residence,
he doesn’t get the actual plastic green card right away.
It may take many weeks or months before the plastic green card
is mailed to the person. Instead, the interviewing officer “stamps”
a temporary evidence of lawful permanent residence on one of the
pages of the applicant’s passport. This technically enables
the person to travel outside the U.S., obtain work, and do other
things until he gets the actual plastic green card.
Recently, there have been several incidents at the
Ninoy Aquino International Airport where people got caught trying
to board their planes to the U.S. using these forged stamps.
The USCIS now requires that those who have a temporary
green card stamped on their passports (Form I-551 – Temporary
Green card) to obtain a Boarding Letter from the U.S. Embassy
before boarding the plane back to the U.S. This is being done
to crack down on those people who attempt to travel on “fake”
green card stamps.
If you plan to travel to the Philippines or anywhere outside the
United States, and you don’t have that plastic green card
yet, I suggest you consult with a reputable immigration attorney,
who can advise you if it is safe for you to leave the U.S., even
for a vacation or emergency.
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