If you are a DACA recipient, this is one of the most practically important immigration topics you need to understand right now. The relationship between DACA, advanced parole, and the possibility of obtaining a green card is complicated, the current administration has created significant delays in the process, and the decisions you make now could have a major impact on your immigration future. Here is what you need to know.
What is the connection between DACA and adjustment of status?
Many people who came to the United States as children and now have DACA protection originally entered the country without inspection, a status known as EWI. This matters enormously for immigration purposes because entering without inspection is one of the factors that makes a person ineligible to adjust status, meaning they cannot apply for a green card from within the United States even if they would otherwise qualify, for example through marriage to a U.S. citizen.
This is one of the most frustrating aspects of the DACA situation. A DACA recipient who is married to a U.S. citizen, has been living here for years, and has a completely clean record may still be unable to simply file for a green card inside the United States because of the manner in which they originally entered as a child.
What is advanced parole and why does it matter so much?
Advanced parole is a form of travel permission that allows certain noncitizens to leave the United States and return legally. For DACA recipients, advanced parole serves a purpose that goes far beyond just being able to travel. When a DACA recipient with an EWI entry obtains advanced parole, travels outside the United States, and then returns, that return constitutes a lawful entry into the country. That lawful entry can potentially cure the original EWI problem, making the person eligible to apply for adjustment of status from within the United States if they meet the other requirements.
In plain terms, for a DACA recipient who is married to a U.S. citizen, obtaining advanced parole, traveling, and returning lawfully can open the door to a green card application that was previously unavailable because of the original EWI entry. This is not a loophole. It is a recognized pathway in immigration law, and it has been used successfully by many DACA recipients in the past.
What has changed under the current administration?
Here is where the situation has become significantly more difficult. Advanced parole applications for DACA recipients are filed on Form I-131. Historically, these applications took approximately five to eight months to process and receive approval. Under the current Trump administration, many of these applications have been sitting without action for over a year. The administration is not approving them at the rate that prior administrations did, leaving DACA recipients who have filed for advanced parole in a prolonged state of uncertainty.
This creates real problems for people who have humanitarian needs to travel, family members abroad they need to visit, educational requirements that involve international travel, or business reasons to leave the United States. They have filed the application, paid the fees, and are waiting with no clear end in sight.
Should you still apply for DACA advanced parole right now?
This is the strategic question, and the answer for most DACA recipients is still yes, with the understanding that approval is not guaranteed and may take a very long time under current conditions. Here is the reasoning.
First, having an approved advanced parole in hand is significantly better than not having one. Even if you are not planning to travel immediately, having an approved advanced parole gives you options you would not otherwise have. If circumstances change, if a family member abroad becomes ill, if an opportunity arises, if the policy environment shifts, you have the authorization ready to use.
Second, the lawful entry benefit that comes with using advanced parole is one of the most meaningful immigration benefits available to DACA recipients with EWI entries. For those who are married to or will eventually marry a U.S. citizen, that lawful entry can make the difference between being eligible and ineligible for adjustment of status. Getting the advanced parole process started now, even in a slow-approval environment, positions you to take advantage of that benefit when the opportunity arises.
Third, the government already knows where you are. Your DACA application included your address and personal information. Filing for advanced parole does not meaningfully increase your exposure in any practical sense for the overwhelming majority of applicants.
What are the risks and what should you discuss with an attorney?
Advanced parole under the current administration does come with considerations that need to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. There are situations where traveling on parole could create complications depending on the specific facts of a person’s history, their country of origin, and the current policy environment at the time they attempt to use it. Parole itself has been a topic of legal and policy debate under this administration, and the legal landscape around it continues to evolve.
This is exactly why consulting with an experienced immigration attorney before filing for advanced parole, and certainly before using it to travel, is essential. The analysis is case-specific and the stakes are high. What is the right move for one DACA recipient may not be the right move for another depending on their individual circumstances.
What is the most important takeaway?
For many DACA recipients who entered without inspection, having advanced parole pending or approved is better than not having it. You do not have to use it if you get it. But having it available gives you options, and in immigration, options are everything.
If you have not yet applied for DACA advanced parole, the time to think seriously about it is now. Talk to an immigration attorney about your specific situation, understand what the potential benefits and considerations are for your case, and make an informed decision about whether to apply.
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