Hey everyone,

I've been following this forum for a long time, trying to decide whether or not to travel with advance parole. I finally took the leap. Seeing so many people on here share their experience helped me build up the courage to go, and it WORKED! Here's my situation:

1998 - voluntary departure order - turned to alternative order of removal because I never departed
2013 - granted DACA (renewed twice now)
2016 - I-130 granted (USC wife)
Jan 2017 - granted AP based on employment-related travel, valid for multiple entries.
June 2017 - motion to reopen with EOIR denied (ICE opposed)
July 8, 2017 - departed LAX to Mexico City
July 10, 2017 - arrived at LAX at approx. 5pm Monday evening, and entered with Advance Parole!

So, I did all of this after consultation with several attorneys, and I have no criminal record. But I also had an attorney on standby at the airport with a G-28 in hand in case things went wrong. We also found AILA-CBP liaison meeting notes (online) in which CBP said their policy was to process AP as normal as long as the prior order was issued before AP was issued. Nonetheless, coming back in I was ready with all kinds of proof I had been there on business, and deleted my email and social media apps in case they decided to search my phone. As it turns out none of that was necessary. Coming in was pretty easy. I first went to the little booth with a female CBP officer. She was nice, asked why I was traveling and how long I'd been there. She took my fingerprints and photo, then she said I had to go to secondary. I tried asking if my wife could come with me, but she said no and that it should be fast because there weren't a lot of flights coming in at that time. She took me to a room that's off to the side with a big waiting area that was pretty empty. There another officer took my forms, saw that I had DACA and AP with multiple entries and commented that he had never seen anyone with DACA get multiple entries before, so he asked what kind of work I do. So I was just making small talk, telling him about what I do while he was typing some things into the computer. Within 15 minutes my form was stamped and I was good to go!

It is still so surreal that I went back to Mexico after 25+ years. Now I can finally take the next steps to apply for the green card!! But, my advice would still be that you all should be careful. Under the current administration things can change at any time, so just keep your eyes on the most recent developments and have a backup plan ready.