USCIS Asks Applicants
to Apply for Travel Documents
before End Oct
The US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) anticipates
an unusually high volume of requests for advance parole
and other travel documents this winter, given the occurrence
of three major religious observances - Christmas, Hanukkah,
and Hajj during the month of December. USCIS has urged applicants
needing a travel document (Reentry Permit, Refugee Travel
Document, or Advance Parole) to file Form I-131, Application
for Travel Document (available online at www.uscis.gov),
before the end of October 2006.
A Shura Council message says: If you are applying for renewal
of your advance parole document (I-512L or I-512), USCIS
will accept and adjudicate a Form I-131 filed up to 120
days before the date your current advance parole expires.
If you currently have a valid reentry permit or refugee
travel document that will soon expire, you may obtain a
new reentry permit or refugee travel document by filing
Form I-131 and returning the current document to USCIS.
A new Form I-131 may be filed regardless of the expiration
date of your current reentry permit or refugee travel document…
USCIS recommends all immigrants with pending applications
for adjustment of status check the USCIS website at www.uscis.gov,
call customer service at 1-800-375-5283, consult an immigration
attorney, or an immigration assistance organization accredited
by the Board of Immigration Appeals before making any foreign
travel plans.
Please Note: Individuals requesting advance parole must
be approved before leaving the United States. Travel outside
of the United States without advance parole may result in
serious consequences including being unable to return to
the United States and having pending immigration-related
applications denied. An asylum applicant who leaves the
United States on advance parole and returns to the country
of claimed persecution shall be presumed to have abandoned
his or her asylum application absent compelling reasons
for such return.
The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility
Act of 1996, stipulates that immigrants who depart the United
States after being unlawfully present in the United States
for certain periods can be barred from admission to lawful
permanent resident status, even if they have obtained advance
parole. Those immigrants who have been unlawfully present
in the United States for more than 180 days, but less than
one year are inadmissible for three years; those who have
been unlawfully present for a year or more are inadmissible
for 10 years. Immigrants who are unlawfully present and
depart the U.S. and subsequently re-enter under a grant
of parole, may nevertheless be ineligible to adjust their
status.
USCIS recommends all immigrants with pending applications
for adjustment of status check the USCIS website at www.uscis.gov,
call customer service at 1-800-375-5283, consult an immigration
attorney, or an immigration assistance organization accredited
by the Board of Immigration Appeals before making any foreign
travel plans.
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