USCIS Alert: Departing on Advance Parole Counts as a Departure and May Trigger the 3- and 10-Year Bars
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has posted an alert on the official page for Form I-131, the application for travel documents: in the precedent decision Matter of Delcarmen-Lara, 29 I&N Dec. 830 (BIA 2026), the Board of Immigration Appeals overruled its 2012 decision in Matter of Arrabally and Yerrabelly. Under the new precedent, as of August 13, 2026, departing the United States after obtaining an Advance Parole Document (Form I-512L) is a “departure” for purposes of inadmissibility under section 212(a)(9)(B)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
In practical terms, people who accrued more than 180 days of unlawful presence, depart the United States on advance parole, and seek admission within the statutory three- or ten-year period may be found inadmissible. Under the earlier Arrabally precedent, travel on an advance parole document was not treated as a “departure” under that provision.
Form I-131 is used to apply for travel documents, parole documents, and arrival/departure records; its current edition is dated 01/20/25. USCIS published the change as an alert box at the top of the form page. The Delcarmen-Lara decision was issued on August 13, 2026.
(Source: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services)
Source: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国国土安全部总部大楼。GSM 固定图库。 / Photo: U.S. Department of Homeland Security headquarters. GSM asset library.
