Originally Posted by elihu

Good point. Even then, getting permission from DHS can be misleading. Advanced parole is easy for anyone to obtain; the issue is that the person can be denied admission at a port of entry if he or she has stayed for longer than 180 days, which would be a no-no. So no leaving the country. At the same time, though, given that it might entail some kind of authorized stay and a much less palpable fear of deportation, it's worth it.



There isn't, exactly, but what they are doing is giving deferred action and using prosecutorial discretion. Unless you're an immediate relative not subject to numerical limitations on visas (that is, a parent, child under 21, or spouse), not even an immigration judge can adjust your status to that of a permanent resident, which makes the chance of her getting permanent residency later pretty slim until she gets married.

Still, good advice. There's no need to rush to DHS to get arrested for a week or two at the least, have to post bond, get an immigration lawyer (though I read it's pro bono now because of AILA), and go through the entire process until DHS actually comes out with whatever it is they're cooking up.