By Darius Amiri, Rose Law Group Partner and Chairman of the Immigration Law Department
A recent decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) has changed the rules for certain immigrants who travel outside the United States using a mechanism known as Advance Parole.
Advance Parole is commonly used by people with pending green card applications, as well as certain individuals with DACA, temporary protected status, or pending asylum cases. In the past, having Advance Parole generally provided an important protection: even if someone had previously been in the United States without lawful status, traveling with Advance Parole would not normally trigger the three- or ten-year bar on returning to the United States.
That has now changed.
In a decision issued on August 13, 2026, the BIA ruled that traveling outside the United States on Advance Parole can count as a departure for purposes of the unlawful-presence bars. This is a drastic departure from previously well settled precedent, and it matters, because under U.S. immigration law, someone who has been in the United States without lawful status for more than 180 days can face a three-year bar from returning to the United States, or obtaining a visa or a green card, after departing. And if that person has accumulated one year or more of unlawful presence, the potential bar is generally 10 years.
Previously, Advance Parole provided a significant exception to this rule. The BIA had held since 2012 that leaving the United States with Advance Parole did not count as the type of “departure” that triggered these bars. The new decision reverses that longstanding rule.
In practical terms, having a valid Advance Parole document is no longer necessarily enough to make international travel safe if you have a history of significant unlawful presence.
This change could affect people who:
- Have a pending adjustment of status (green card) application;
- Have accrued more than 180 days of unlawful presence in the United States;
- Have Advance Parole through a pending green card or asylum application;
- Have DACA or TPS and have been granted Advance Parole; or
- Are considering international travel while waiting for another immigration benefit.
The decision applies prospectively, meaning travel that occurred before August 13, 2026, will not be treated as having triggered the unlawful-presence bar under this new interpretation. But the bottom line is that if a person who has Advance Parole and had ever spent a significant amount of time in the United States without lawful status, that person should not do not assume that they can safely travel simply because USCIS approved their Advance Parole application. As a consequence of this decision, before leaving the country, it is important to have your immigration history reviewed to determine whether the new BIA decision could affect your ability to return to the United States or complete your immigration process.
This is another example of why immigration rules can change even when someone already has an approved immigration document in hand. If you are considering international travel and have any history of unlawful presence, speak with your immigration attorney before booking that trip.