News Update - December 6, 2008

By Alan Lee, Esq.

USCIS Issues Reminder of Advance Parole Requirement for Holiday Travel

Most immigrants who have pending applications for adjustment of status must obtain an advance parole document from USCIS prior to leaving the country in order to re-enter the country and continue processing the adjustment of status application. Individuals who need advance parole or travel documents and wish to travel during the holidays should have already applied or received their documents from USCIS.. If an individual has not, he or she should not travel outside of the United States.

Lawful permanent residents who leave the country should take with them their green cards to help them verify their LPR status upon return the U.S.. Refugees and Asylees also need travel documents and should apply for those prior to departing the U.S.. Nonimmigrants who have applied for a change to a different status cannot leave the U.S. before the USCIS makes a decision or their applications will be considered abandoned.


The author is a 26+ year practitioner of immigration law based in New York City. He was awarded the Sidney A. Levine prize for best legal writing at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1977 and has written extensively on immigration over the past years for the ethnic newspapers, World Journal, Sing Tao, Pakistan Calling, Muhasha and OCS. He has testified as an expert on immigration in civil court proceedings and was recognized by the Taiwan government in 1985 for his work protecting human rights. His article, "The Bush Temporary Worker Proposal and Comparative Pending Legislation: an Analysis" was Interpreter Releases' cover display article at the American Immigration Lawyers Association annual conference in 2004, and his victory in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in a case of first impression nationwide, Firstland International v. INS, successfully challenged INS' policy of over 40 years of revoking approved immigrant visa petitions under a nebulous standard of proof. Its value as precedent, however, was short-lived as it was specifically targeted by the Administration in the Intelligence Reform Act of 2004.

This article © 2008 Alan Lee, Esq.

 

Copyright © 2003-2012 Alan Lee, Esq.
The information provided here is of a general nature and may not apply to any particular set of facts or circumstances. It should not be construed as legal advice and does not constitute an engagement of the Law Office of Alan Lee or establish an attorney-client relationship.