Travel During Adjustment of Status.
During the Adjustment of Status process, applicants are considered to have abandoned an application if they leave the U.S.; however, two important exceptions apply.
An application for adjustment is not considered abandoned if the applicant receives advance permission to travel outside of the U.S., otherwise known as "Advance Parole." Advance Parole may be granted for any bona fide personal or business reason, although often the purpose for the trip must be documented and submitted along with the request. Please note that an Advance Parole does not guarantee that the alien would be allowed to re-enter the United States. Therefore, advice of an immigration lawyer should always be sought before the alien leaves the U.S.
The second important exception to potential abandonment applies to a valid H or L category status applicants who may travel outside the U.S. during Adjustment proceedings without seeking Advance Parole, provided:
- Applicant intends to resume employment with the same employer for whom the original H or L visa was originally issued;
- Applicant is in possession of a valid H or L visa; and,
- Applicant is in possession of the original I-797 receipt, which acts as evidence of the filing of an Adjustment of Status application.
Dependents and spouses in lawful H or L status may also travel with the principal applicant as well, provided their dependent status remains valid per its terms.
Although the use of Advanced Parole by the holder of an H or L visa can prevent the abandonment of Adjustment proceedings, it may cause the cancellation of the H or L status of the holder. The decision to travel while an Adjustment of Status application is pending can impact the processing of the application, and in some cases, can be cause for the ultimate denial of the Adjustment of Status application. An immigration attorney should be consulted regarding this decision to ensure that the application is not jeopardized.
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The Law Firm of Antone, Casagrande & Adwers, P.C. helps individuals and businesses worldwide with all of their US immigration needs including employment visas, obtaining green cards for business and corporate employees and family members, visas for doctors, nurses, therapists, and other health care workers, together with waivers for physicians under J visa training program, labor certifications (PERM), national interest waivers, marriage-based adjustments and green cards, fiancee visas, family immigration preferences, students, naturalization and citizenship, including medical waivers, asylum, deportation, hardship waivers, voluntary departure and removal. We serve clients in southeast Michigan including the Detroit Metro area, Ann Arbor, and Lansing. With offices in Farmington Hills, MI, we are close to Southfield, Troy, West Bloomfield, Birmingham, Novi, Rochester and Auburn Hills in Oakland County; Canton, Plymouth, Dearborn, and Detroit in Wayne County; Warren, Sterling Heights, and Mount Clemens in Macomb County; Brighton and Howell in Livingston County; Lansing in Ingham County; City of Monroe in Monroe County, Ann Arbor in Washtenaw County; Grand Rapids in Kent County; Battle Creek in Calhoun County; Kalamazoo in Kalamazoo County; Benton Harbor in Berrien County; Holland in Ottawa County; Flint in Genesee County; Ludington in Mason County; Muskegon in Muskegon County; and Traverse City in Grand Traverse County, Michigan. Although many of our clients are located in the tri-county area of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb, we also serve clients in many cities and states in the U.S. including Cleveland, Toledo and Cincinnati, Ohio; Chicago, Illinois; Milwaukee and Green Bay, Wisconsin; Indianapolis, Indiana; Buffalo, New York; Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego, California; Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona; Dallas, Houston, El Paso and Galveston, Texas; Miami, Florida; Washington D.C.; Virginia, Minnesota, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and many others. In addition to the United States, we also serve Canadian nationals from numerous provinces in Canada, including Toronto and Windsor in Ontario; Montreal in Quebec; Halifax in Nova Scotia; and Vancouver, British Columbia. We also serve cities and countries such as London, England; Scotland and other countries of the United Kingdom (U.K.); Mexico, Paris, France; Frankfurt and Berlin, Germany; Tokyo, Japan; India; Brazil; Rome, Italy; Shanghai and Beijing, China; Belgium; the Philippines, and many other countries in Europe, Asia and South America. |
