Important change for anyone planning to travel outside the United States with Advance Parole
On August 13, 2026, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) issued a precedential decision, Matter of DELCARMEN-LARA, 29 I&N Dec. 830 (BIA 2026), changing a long-standing rule regarding travel with Advance Parole.
Previously, under Matter of Arrabally and Yerrabelly (2012), leaving the United States pursuant to an approved Advance Parole document was not considered a “departure” for purposes of the unlawful presence bars.
The BIA has now expressly overruled that decision.
If a person has accrued one year or more of unlawful presence in the United States, traveling abroad with Advance Parole is now considered a “departure” for purposes of INA §212(a)(9)(B)(i)(II). As a result, such travel may trigger the 10-year unlawful presence bar.
This is particularly important for people who planned to use Advance Parole and then return to the United States to continue the Adjustment of Status process. Having an approved Advance Parole document by itself no longer prevents the consequences associated with previously accrued unlawful presence.
However, there is a very important point.
The BIA specifically held that the new rule applies prospectively only. The Board recognized that people had relied for many years on Matter of Arrabally and Yerrabelly. Therefore, the new interpretation is not being applied retroactively to Advance Parole travel that occurred before the new rule.
In DELCARMEN-LARA itself, the respondent traveled using Advance Parole and was paroled back into the United States on January 1, 2024. Because the new holding applies prospectively, the BIA did not treat that prior trip as a “departure” under its new interpretation.
What does this mean in practice?
If you have ever accrued unlawful presence and are considering traveling outside the United States with Advance Parole, you should not assume that the trip is automatically safe simply because your Advance Parole has been approved.
Before traveling, it is important to determine:
- whether you accrued unlawful presence;
- how many days of unlawful presence you accrued;
- whether any exceptions to the unlawful presence rules apply to you;
- whether departure could trigger an inadmissibility bar;
- whether a waiver of inadmissibility may be required.
An approved Advance Parole document does not guarantee that other grounds of inadmissibility will not apply.
Source: Matter of DELCARMEN-LARA, 29 I&N Dec. 830 (BIA 2026) — official BIA decision
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