When a non-citizen seeking admission to the U.S. is not clearly qualified for admission, the inspecting immigration officer may elect to release the non-citizen on parole pending further investigation. Immigration authorities may also grant parole for humanitarian reasons or reasons of public interest. INA 212(d)(5). Parole allows a non-citizen to travel within the United States while remaining entitled in most cases to the same procedural rights in removal proceedings as a person who is just arriving at the U.S. border. A person who is paroled into the country is not officially “admitted” and is generally, not entitled to the greater procedural rights in a later removal proceeding of a person who has been inspected and accepted. In the past, parole was sometimes granted to groups of non-citizens en masse, as an alternative to asylum or as a relief analogous to temporary protected status. IIRIRA ended this practice by requiring each parole decision to be rendered on a case by case basis. INA 212(d)(5)(A). To learn more about the immigration parole process, contact our office at (732) 450-8300 for a free consultation with an experienced immigration attorney.
Advance Parole Immigration Status
The concept of parole has been extended to include “advance parole” where a non-citizen in the U.S. who wishes to leave, but who will not possess a status entitling him or her to re-admission, may be issued advance parole before departing, thus ensuring a successful return to the United States. Advance parole is most commonly granted to people with pending applications for adjustment of status (waiting for green card.) Advance parole does not remove any applicable grounds of inadmissibility apart from the lack of a valid immigration visa. Consequently, a non-citizen who departs from the U.S. after committing a crime that constitutes a ground of inadmissibility, or who has accumulated more than 180 days of unlawful presence in the U.S. may still be detained at the border as an inadmissible non-citizen. To overcome this problem, the non-citizen must apply for a visa at a consulate outside the United States and request a Waiver of Inadmissibility. Any pending adjustment of status application, however, may be invalidated.
| Removal Hearing | Adjustment of Status Permanent Resident |
| Registry For Non-Permanent Residents | Stay of Final Removal Order |
| Asylum | Temporary Protected Status |