Advance Parole (Form I-131): Who Requests It, What USCIS Asks For, and Which Documents Are Translated

Advance parole is requested on Form I-131 by a person whose immigration case is pending in the United States and who wants to return after travel abroad. If USCIS approves, it issues Form I-512L; the CBP officer at the port of entry decides on re-entry. Russian and Ukrainian documents are filed with a full certified English translation.

What advance parole is

Form I-131 is the Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records; the current edition is 01/20/25. Under the instructions, DHS may, as a matter of discretion, issue an Advance Parole Document to a person inside the United States who wants to request parole on return from a trip abroad. If approved, USCIS issues Form I-512L, which is presented at a port of entry to seek parole.

Who typically requests it

The instructions list, among others:

• A pending Form I-485 (adjustment of status).
• A pending affirmative Form I-589 (asylum) filed with USCIS.
• A pending initial Form I-821 (TPS).
• DACA (Form I-821D), for educational, employment, or humanitarian purposes, not vacation.
• Deferred Enforced Departure (DED).
• Current parole into the United States.

TPS is different: approved TPS holders receive Form I-512T, a TPS travel authorization. If the initial Form I-821 is still pending when Form I-131 is approved, USCIS issues Form I-512L.

What USCIS warns about

The instructions and the USCIS Travel Documents page (updated August 21, 2026) warn:

• The document does not entitle the holder to be paroled on return; a separate discretionary decision is made at the port of entry by a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer.
• DHS may revoke it at any time, including while the person is abroad.
• For a parolee, parole automatically terminates on departure, even with the document in hand.

Matter of Delcarmen-Lara, August 13, 2026

On August 13, 2026 the Board of Immigration Appeals decided Matter of Delcarmen-Lara, 29 I&N Dec. 830 (BIA 2026), overruling Matter of Arrabally and Yerrabelly, 25 I&N Dec. 771 (BIA 2012). Its holding: a departure from the United States pursuant to a grant of advance parole is a departure within the meaning of INA section 212(a)(9)(B)(i)(II).

The USCIS alert on the Form I-131 page states that as of August 13, 2026, departing after obtaining an Advance Parole Document is a departure for purposes of inadmissibility under INA section 212(a)(9)(B)(i), and that people considering such a departure should be aware that they may be inadmissible on return if they have accrued more than 180 days of unlawful presence.

Leaving without advance parole

For adjustment of status, 8 CFR 245.2(a)(4) deems the departure of an applicant who is not in removal proceedings an abandonment of the pending Form I-485, unless advance parole was granted first and the person was inspected on return. USCIS will deny the case unless the person fits a narrow exception for H, L, K and V nonimmigrants returning with a valid visa in that status.

For asylum applicants, 8 CFR 208.8 presumes the application abandoned if the applicant leaves without advance parole, or leaves with it and returns to the country of claimed persecution without compelling reasons. For a status, deferred action, or DED, the instructions say that leaving without the document may end it.

Evidence listed in the Form I-131 instructions

For a request from inside the United States, the instructions list:

1. 1A copy of a photo ID: an Employment Authorization Document, a driver's license, the passport identity page, or Form I-551. Form I-94 is not acceptable.
2. 2A USCIS document showing current status, such as Form I-797, Notice of Action.
3. 3An explanation or other evidence of the circumstances, the Form I-485 receipt notice, evidence that USCIS received the initial Form I-821, or, for DACA, the Form I-797 for Form I-821D.
4. 4Two identical color passport-style photos, 2 by 2 inches.
5. 5In Part 7: departure date, purpose, countries, number of trips, and length in days.

The list of evidence for the reason for travel (a physician's letter about the treatment abroad; documentation of a relative's serious illness or death plus evidence of the relationship) is written in the DACA section. Other groups file an explanation or other evidence. A civil document with notes on the back is copied on both sides.

Emergency travel and expedite requests

The USCIS Emergency Travel page (updated January 24, 2025) says: for a trip more than 15 days away, a request to expedite the pending Form I-131 is submitted at least 45 days before departure, through the Contact Center at 800-375-5283 or a USCIS online account. For a pressing or critical need to travel in less than 15 days, USCIS may issue an emergency travel document; the request goes through the Contact Center or the My Appointment online form. The page lists:

• A completed and signed Form I-131 with the fee, even if one is already pending.
• Evidence of eligibility for the travel document.
• Evidence of the pressing or critical need to travel.
• Two passport-style photos.
• Any documentation in a language other than English must include a full certified English translation.

USCIS may expedite for severe financial loss, emergencies or urgent humanitarian situations, certain nonprofit requests, government interests, and clear USCIS error (USCIS expedite page, updated September 8, 2026). The Policy Manual's examples of urgent humanitarian situations: illness, disability, death of a family member or close friend, or extreme living conditions caused by natural catastrophes or armed conflict.

Fees in 2026 and where to file

Form G-1055 (edition 10/07/26) sets $630 on paper and $580 online for advance parole. Online filing is open for a pending Form I-485 with an IOE receipt number, initial TPS, DACA, DED, and U status; asylum applicants and parolees file on paper. Under 8 CFR 106.2(a)(7)(iv) there is no fee ($0) if the Form I-485 was filed with its fee between July 30, 2007 and March 31, 2024 and is still pending.

A separate Immigration Parole Fee comes from the H.R. 1 law. It is not paid with Form I-131: the Federal Register notice of October 16, 2025 (90 FR 48317) set it at $1,000, collected once DHS grants parole. From January 1, 2026 it is $1,020 (90 FR 52085), and the notice of October 1, 2026 (91 FR 62534) sets $1,050 for parole granted on or after October 16, 2026. Form G-1055: CBP requires it each time a person seeks parole at a port of entry, unless it finds an exception. The listed exceptions include a lawful applicant for adjustment of status under INA section 245 returning after temporary travel abroad.

On October 7, 2026 USCIS changed the filing location for paper Form I-131; forms postmarked on or before November 9, 2026 and sent to a prior location are accepted. Fees and rules change; the current ones are on uscis.gov.

Which documents are typically in Russian or Ukrainian

The translation rule is 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3): a foreign-language document is accompanied by a full English translation certified by the translator as complete and accurate, with the translator's certification of competence to translate into English. The Form I-131 instructions add the translator's printed name, signature date, and contact information. These documents usually arrive in Russian or Ukrainian:

• A relative's death certificate and, for a funeral, the funeral home letter.
• A hospital discharge summary or a doctor's letter about a relative's illness or the applicant's own treatment.
• Birth and marriage certificates that show the relationship to the ill or deceased relative.
• The internal passport, when it serves as the photo ID; a foreign passport's identity page is bilingual.

A full translation covers seals, stamps, handwritten entries, and annotated backs. Every translation uses one Latin spelling of the name, the one in the foreign passport.