US Board of Immigration Appeals advance parole ruling

The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) issued a precedential decision in ‘Matter of Delcarmen-Lara’ that fundamentally changes the legal consequences of international travel for certain green card applicants. This ruling expressly overrules the 2012 precedent set in ‘Matter of Arrabally and Yerrabelly’, which previously held that temporary trips made via advance parole did not trigger unlawful-presence bars.

Under the new interpretation, departing the United States using advance parole now constitutes a “departure” for the purposes of three- and ten-year inadmissibility bars. Consequently, foreign nationals who have accumulated unlawful presence may trigger reentry bans upon their return: those with more than 180 days of unlawful presence may face a three-year bar, while those with more than one year may face a ten-year bar.

The BIA stated the decision applies prospectively. The shift particularly impacts groups such as recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) who rely on advance parole for travel. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) noted that the specific consequences depend on the duration of unlawful presence accumulated prior to travel.