Here is a
question answered via Allen Wernick concerning Dreamers and AP! Relevent parts are highlighted.
Quote:
Q USCIS granted me deferred action. Prior to that, I was here unlawfully for more that a year. If the USCIS grants me advanced parole and I travel abroad, will I face the 10-year bar to permanent residence? I came here with a tourist visa and overstayed. Volunteering or studying abroad before graduating is one of my goals.
A hopeful premed student, New York
A The three- and 10 -year “unlawful presence” bars do not apply to individuals who travel abroad with USCIS travel permission, what you correctly call “advanced parole.” That rule applies to Dreamers with deferred action and also those here with Temporary Protected Status. Moreover, if you reenter with advanced parole and you qualify for an immigrant visa in the “immediate relative of a U.S. citizen category,” you can interview in the United States. That’s the process called “adjustment of status.” That’s true even if your earlier entry was without inspection. USCIS clarification of these rules means that hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants have an easier path to permanent residence.
Let’s start with the unlawful presence bars. A person who departs the United States after having been unlawfully present here for more than 180 days faces a minimum three-year bar to returning. The bar is 10 years for those here unlawfully one year or longer. The law provides a waiver for some, but those waivers can be difficult to get. However, if you travel abroad with advanced parole, that does count as a “departure” for unlawful presence purposes. So, even after your travel, you would not face the unlawful presence bars.
Traveling with advanced parole also cures an unlawful entry. Suppose you snuck into the United States without speaking to a border officer. Now, you travel in return with advanced parole. Your reentry counts as having been “inspected and admitted,” a requirement for adjusting status. So, if you are an immediate relative of a U.S. citizen, defined as a spouse, parent (of a son or daughter age 21 or older) or unmarried child of a U.S. citizen, you can adjust status.
To illustrate, suppose John came here when he was 12. His mother and father brought him here from Mexico, crossing the border at night, without speaking to an immigration officer. He is now 30. The USCIS grants him deferred action, employment authorization and advanced parole. He goes to visit a sick grandmother in Mexico and returns showing his advanced parole document. If John marries Susie, his U.S. citizen girlfriend, he can adjust status. USCIS cannot use his prior unlawful status, including his unlawful entry, against him.
Which Dreamers qualify for advanced parole? Generally, Dreamers can get advanced parole if they travel for any educational, business or humanitarian purpose. USCIS gives as examples: semester-abroad programs, academic research, or employment — such as overseas assignments, interviews, conferences, training, meetings with clients, travel to obtain medical treatment, attend funeral services for a family member, or visit an ailing relative. You apply for advanced parole using USCIS form I-131. To get the form and filing instructions, go to uscis.gov. USCIS forms change often. Check to make sure you are using the latest version. USCIS says that it is taking three months to issue a decision on an advanced-parole request. In a true emergency, USCIS can speed up processing of an advanced parole application.
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