Latest update November 28th, 2024 3:00 AM

Guyana's largest selling daily and New York's most popular weekly

Latest News

ImmigrationTalk…Traveling Under Advance Parole may not lead to Inadmissibility

Jun 24, 2012 News

By Attorney Gail S. Seeram    
Under U.S. Immigration laws, individuals who depart the United States after having lived there without lawful status for one year or more are barred from returning for 10 years. The “10-year bar” is a statutory penalty for having accrued one year or more of unlawful presence in the U.S. The bar is triggered upon departure from the U.S.
If an individual with a 10-year bar seeks to return to the U.S., before remaining outside the U.S. for 10 years, then that person must file a waiver in order to be lawfully admitted into the U.S.
Individuals who depart the United States while their application for adjustment of status is pending incur an additional problem. Normally, when one leaves the U.S. while one’s adjustment of status application is pending, that application is considered abandoned. To avoid abandoning the application, the applicant must apply for and obtain advance parole prior to leaving the US.
Noncitizens who had one year or more of unlawful presence in the U.S. but had received advance parole from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reasonably believed that they would be readmitted into the U.S. upon their return without having incurred a 10-year bar. Unfortunately, USCIS did not agree.
USCIS had taken the position that a person who obtains advance parole and returns lawfully is subject to the 10-year bar. The position was based on the conclusion that the person “departed” the U.S. However, recently, that position has been overturned by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) in the case, Matter of Arrabally.
This important decision by the BIA, in essence, established the following conditions under which certain noncitizens who are not legal permanent residents could travel abroad, while awaiting adjudication of their adjustment of status application in a situation in which they would have been otherwise inadmissible as legally barred from being admitted into this country.
To travel, such an individual needs (1) to have his or her bona fide adjustment of status application pending before the USCIS; (2) be otherwise not inadmissible or have a prima facie eligibility for a waiver of such inadmissibility; (3) to have been granted advance parole by the USCIS; (4) travel abroad temporarily; (5) be returning to the USA in order to continue pursuing this very application for adjustment of status.
If all of these conditions are met, such individuals, the BIA held, do not make a “departure” from the USA for purposes of triggering the overstay bars.
This is a significant victory for individuals who need to travel during the pendency of their adjustment of status application. Matter of Arrabally is also a significant victory for those who have previously been denied adjustment based on their ineligibility for an unlawful presence waiver after departure under advance parole. These individuals may now have grounds to reopen their adjustment of status application, pursuant to new case law.
The Board of Immigration Appeals cautioned that the decision did not protect an applicant of other grounds of inadmissibility. Applicants who are subject to inadmissibility for prior criminal convictions or misrepresentations will still need to obtain waivers in order to obtain their green cards.
Moreover, if for any reason, the pending application for adjustment of status is denied, the applicant could be placed into removal proceedings as an “arriving alien,” which could significantly affect their eligibility for relief.
Leaving the United States, where one has accrued unlawful presence is a very intricate issue. Many different factors play a part in determining whether a bar is in effect, and if so, if any relief is available from that bar.
Therefore, it is imperative to consult an experienced and knowledgeable immigration attorney before leaving the country to find out the risks of departure and the possibility of return.

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show | November, 20th, 2024

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

 

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Bakewell supports Kashif and Shanghai Futsal tourney

Bakewell supports Kashif and Shanghai Futsal tourney

Nov 28, 2024

Kaieteur Sports- Long time sponsor, Bakewell with over 20 years backing the Kashif and Shanghai Organisation, has readily come to the fore to support their new yearend ‘One Guyana’ branded Futsal...
Read More
Captains Face Off ahead of Petra-Republic Bank U18 Football League Final

Captains Face Off ahead of Petra-Republic Bank...

Nov 28, 2024

CWI announces women’s squad for multi-format series in India

CWI announces women’s squad for...

Nov 28, 2024

The Mangra Family: Building a Dynasty of Strength and Dedication

The Mangra Family: Building a Dynasty of Strength...

Nov 28, 2024

Windies break home Test drought with 201-run win over Bangladesh

Windies break home Test drought with 201-run win...

Nov 27, 2024

President Ali sees sports as ‘centrepiece’ of Guyana’s transformation

President Ali sees sports as ‘centrepiece’ of...

Nov 27, 2024

Features/Columnists

  • The illusion of compliance

    …Peeping Tom  Kaieteur News- A company can meet the letter of the law. It can tick every box, hit every target. Yet,... more

Publisher’s Note

Freedom of speech is our core value at Kaieteur News. If the letter/e-mail you sent was not published, and you believe that its contents were not libellous, let us know, please contact us by phone or email.

Feel free to send us your comments and/or criticisms.
Contact: 624-6456; 225-8452; 225-8458; 225-8463; 225-8465; 225-8473 or 225-8491.
Or by Email: [email protected] / [email protected]

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]