I just got back to the states after travelling on advance parole.

I applied for AP for humanitarian reasons. My application was received on July 7 and it was approved on September 2.

Last Wednesday, September 21st, I went to my home country (Mexico) to visit my family, I stayed for 7 days and returned this past Tuesday. I travelled by plane both ways through Dallas/Fort Worth International airport. When I arrived back I went to the non-citizens lane with my declarations form which I had filled out on the plane, and then I approached the immigration officer.

He asked for my visa and passport. I handed him my Advance Parole documents inside my passport. They must be more familiar with AP documents because he said "there should be two of these" to himself. He then took my fingerprints and photos and interviewed me at the same time. He then escorted me to secondary inspection.

The officer was very nice, and even allowed my USC wife and son to go in with me.

I sat in the small room 40 minutes until another officer called my name. I went to the window where he was, and asked me for my name then handed me my passport and advance parole both stamped no questions asked. Both were stamped with "Paroled until 9-28-16". The immigration officer marked the parole stamp with "DACA" in the purpose section.

The purpose of my trip was not only to see my family, but also to fix my unlawful entry so that I could adjust status. I completed the entire process with help from an attorney. I had actually gone to get a consultation on the new provisional waiver process, and she suggested using advance parole to cure the unlawful entry as a faster, and easier alternative.

It was a big risk to take (especially since I have a small child), but it was worth it, since I will not have to file a hardship waiver.