“HUMANITARIAN PAROLE” FOR MINOR OR SPECIAL CHILDREN BEING LEFT BEHIND

By Michael J. Gurfinkel

Dear Attorney Gurfinkel:

My husband and I are being petitioned by our U.S. citizen daughter, and we are scheduled for our immigrant visa interview. We also have an 11 year old child, who is the sibling of our U.S. citizen daughter/petitioner.

We are being told that our 11 year old is not included under our daughter’s petition, and will have to be left behind. While our daughter could petition the child directly (as F-4) or we could, once we get our green cards (as F-2A), but that could take many years for our 11-year old to get a green card.

Clearly, our 11 year old cannot be left alone in the Philippines, and it would take several years for the child to be petitioned. Is there any other way to keep our family together?

Very truly yours,

MS


Dear MS:

There may be some hope for families in situations such as yours. Recently, the USCIS addressed such a situation in connection with a national stakeholder meeting, via a “question and answer” press release. The question dealt with parents of a minor child who are being petitioned by a U.S. citizen child, and whether there were any options for keeping the family together. The USCIS was asked; “Would USCIS consider granting humanitarian parole in such a case?” The response from USCIS was: “Yes, USCIS would consider a request for humanitarian parole in this situation”.

Humanitarian Parole is considered an “extraordinary measure, sparingly utilized to bring an otherwise an inadmissible alien to the U.S. for a temporary period of time due to a compelling emergency”. In fact, according to the Foreign Affairs Manual, (FAM) on rare occasions, “humanitarian parole may be granted to immigrant visa beneficiaries who have “aged out” or other persons who are not immediately eligible for an immigrant visa.” However, there must be “compelling humanitarian circumstances”. For example, according to the FAM, “if a disabled child [special child] of a fourth preference immigrant visa beneficiary turns 21 years old before an immigrant visa can be issued, humanitarian parole might be an option.”

Therefore, if you have a situation of a minor or special child being “left behind,” both the FAM and USCIS responses indicate that humanitarian parole may be an option, in limited circumstances, provided that you make a detailed showing of “compelling humanitarian circumstances. That is why I would suggest that you seek the advice of a reputable attorney, who can analyze your situation, and assist you in submitting a request for humanitarian parole, so that your child may avoid being left behind.