Can You Travel Internationally While Your Adjustment of Status Is Pending?

Did you enter the United States with a nonimmigrant visa? To request lawful permanent resident status and obtain a green card, you’ll need the help and advice of a Boston green card attorney.

To acquire a green card, you’ll complete, with the help of your Boston green card lawyer, an «Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status» (Form I-485) and submit the completed form to USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services).

Your situation is unique, so it’s best to consult a Boston immigration lawyer for guidance. Your lawyer will ensure that your I-485 is complete and accurate and that no mistakes on your part delay the process. I-485 processing times generally range from eight months to two years.

What Should You Know While Your Adjustment of Status is Pending?

If you are in the United States with a Q2, J1, J2, S, K1, K2, D, or C visa, in most cases, you are not eligible for status adjustment, and you must leave the U.S. by the departure date on your Form I-94 («Arrival/Departure Record»).

To adjust your status and acquire a green card, you must also extend your current nonimmigrant status. You must submit your green card application along with a request to extend your current immigration status; otherwise, USCIS will deny your green card application.

Whether or not USCIS approves your green card request, several benefits are available simply by applying. One benefit is Advance Parole.

What is Advance Parole?

Generally, traveling abroad while your Adjustment of Status (Form I-485) application is pending can result in the denial of your application. If you wish or need to travel internationally while your I-485 is pending, you must obtain an Advance Parole document before leaving the U.S.

Leaving the U.S. without proper authorization disrupts the continuous presence required for the in-country adjustment process, and you may be unable to re-enter the U.S. USCIS will deny your I-485 application, and you’ll have to restart the process or pursue consular processing abroad.

The solution is Advance Parole. If your I-485 application is pending, an Advance Parole document is the travel document that legally authorizes you to travel abroad and return to the U.S. without abandoning your I-485 application or needing to restart the process.

How Does Advance Parole Work?

Under USCIS policy, a departure from the U.S. by an Adjustment of Status applicant is not an «abandonment» of the I-485 application if the applicant is granted Advance Parole for such absence and «paroled» upon return.

You apply for Advance Parole by completing, with the assistance of your Boston green card attorney, USCIS Form I-131 («Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records»).

Your Advance Parole document must be approved and in your physical possession when you leave the United States. In most cases, USCIS considers traveling while your Advance Parole application is still pending to constitute the abandonment of your I-485 application.

Does Advance Parole Guarantee Re-Entry?

An Advance Parole document doesn’t guarantee your re-entry into the United States. You still must be admissible upon your return. At ports of entry, Customs and Border Protection officers have the final authority to «parole» you back into the U.S.

Individuals with certain criminal records or prior immigration violations may face additional scrutiny or be denied entry to the United States.

Exceptions to the Advance Parole Requirement

Several exceptions allow certain immigrants to travel abroad without Advance Parole and not have USCIS consider their Adjustment of Status application abandoned:

1. H-1B and H-4 Status: Applicants with H-1B or H-4 status who have an unexpired visa stamp in their passport may travel abroad and re-enter the U.S. using their valid H-1B or H-4 visa. They must return to employment with the same H-1B sponsoring employer.
2. L-1 and L-2 Status: Similarly, an applicant who maintains valid L-1 or L-2 nonimmigrant status and has a valid visa stamp may generally travel and re-enter the United States using the valid L visa without abandoning the pending I-485 application.
3. K-3 and K-4 Status: Applicants with valid K-3 (spouse of a U.S. citizen) or K-4 (child of a K-3 visa holder) status are also generally exempt from the Advance Parole requirement.

Even if you fall under the H or L visa exception, it’s still smart to apply for and receive Advance Parole. Advance Parole serves as a critical backup in case your nonimmigrant visa stamp expires.

Who Else May Qualify for Advance Parole?

Along with applicants for Adjustment of Status, noncitizens who may qualify for Advance Parole include the following:

1. Asylum applicants must seek Advance Parole before departing the United States for temporary travel to avoid abandoning a pending I-589 («Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal») application.
2. Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients must have Advance Parole to depart and re-enter the United States without breaking the continuous physical presence requirement for maintaining TPS.
3. Current Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients may seek Advance Parole, but only to travel for humanitarian, educational, or employment purposes.
4. Other noncitizens may seek Advance Parole if they can demonstrate their travel is for an urgent humanitarian reason or furthers a significant public benefit.

Bring Your Immigration Needs to Toland Law

USCIS thoroughly scrutinizes and reviews every application and request. If you are seeking a green card or an Advance Parole document, you need legal advice and counsel that you thoroughly trust. Begin by scheduling a meeting with a Boston green card lawyer at Toland Law.

That lawyer will guide and advise you through each step of the process. We help clients acquire visas, green cards, asylum status, Advance Parole documents, and immigration waivers. If you face the possibility of removal, Toland Law will fight vigorously to help you stay in the U.S.

Learn more about our immigration services or begin the Advance Parole application process by scheduling a free consultation now with a Boston immigration attorney at Toland Law. From anywhere in the world, you can reach our offices at 857-347-3701. We are ready to help.