Persons applying for permanent residency in the United States through adjustment of status at a local INS office are normally required to receive advance permission to return to the US if they travel abroad while the adjustment of status application is pending. Those who leave without this permission, called advance parole, risk being deemed to have abandoned their permanent residency application. Local INS offices, which issue advance parole documents, have been the subject of complaints due to the widely varying standards used by different offices in determining eligibility for advance parole. Some offices have only allowed travel only in the case of extreme emergencies such as the death of an immediate relative. The number of complaints have grown since new adjustment of status rules which were issued last year have made adjustment possible for many previously ineligible. As the number of adjustment applicants have increased, the length of the average processing time has increased as well. This has created additional hardships for many who are forced to put off travel out of the country for many months.
INS has responded by issuing a memorandum to all regional, district, and service center directors instructing regarding the issuance of advance parole to adjustment applicants. The new policies greatly broaden the standard for approving advance parole and also lengthen the validity of the advance parole time period. The memorandum lists the following policies:
- An application for advance parole may be approved for any alien who has properly filed an application for adjustment of status and who is seeking to depart temporarily for any bona fide business or personal reason.
- Form I-512 for adjustment applicants will be issued valid for a period which coincides with the time normally required for completion of an adjustment application not to exceed one year. Advance parole authorizations will be valid for multiple entries.
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