USCIS has issued a reminder that some applicants may be required to obtain Advance Parole prior to traveling abroad for the holidays. Advance Parole requests should be submitted on the Application for Travel Document, Form I-131, prior to the applicant leaving the U.S. to travel abroad. Advance Parole provides permission to individuals to re-enter the U.S. after traveling abroad in order to leave the U.S. without abandoning pending applications for adjustment of status.

Those relevant individuals that choose to travel abroad during the upcoming holidays and are required to obtain Advance Parole should already have applied for and, potentially, received their authorization documents. Individuals that have not yet done so, USCIS guides, should not leave the U.S. without such documentation; they may not be able to re-enter the U.S. Finally, it is suggested by USCIS that individuals that have received Advance Parole should read the travel warning in Form I-131’s instructions relating to unlawful presence to ensure their travels will not lead to a three- or ten-year restriction of inadmissibility to the U.S.