Just Came Back Through Miami Airport with Pending VAWA and Valid Advance Parole

Ivan b

Hey everyone, Since traveling with Advance Parole can be super stressful, I wanted to share as many details as I can from my recent experience. I was out of states for 4 weeks. On my last arrival at JFK in January, I was asked many questions, and with the waiting time, the whole process took around 3 hours, even though there was not a huge line at secondary inspection. Because of that, I was more nervous this time and wondering if they would ask similar questions again. This time, I traveled from Istanbul to Miami with Turkish Airlines. First, before boarding, I asked the officers if Advance Parole ever gets denied. They told me it can happen in two ways: 1. When they scan the passport and enter “parole” into the APIS system, the system can give a red flag right away. They said this is very rare and usually happens in serious situations, such as if someone is wanted internationally. 2. Sometimes the system may request approval from the U.S., and that approval can come within two hours or even two days, depending on the day and time. In my case, when they entered my information, it took only about 3 seconds to show “cleared for boarding.” When I arrived at Miami Airport, the officer at passport control saw the Advance Parole document in my hand and said, “You know how it works. For processing, you need to go to secondary inspection.” I said yes. She only asked me where I was coming from and whether I had anything to declare, like alcohol, etc. Then I went to secondary inspection. I waited around 5 minutes. An officer called my name and said, “Have a seat, please.” He asked me: 1. “Have you adjusted your status, and do you have a pending application?” I said yes. 2. “Are you married?” I said no. 3. He asked something like, “Did your spouse pass away, or how did you adjust your status? Because it looks like it has been about 3 years.” I said I have a pending I-360 form. He kept checking and said, “Special immigrant?” I told him I have a pending VAWA application. He said, “Okay, give me two minutes.” He walked away. I think his computer was not working for some reason. Then he called my name again and took me to another officer’s desk. They took my fingerprint, and all the officers were very nice. We walked back to the room together. He stamped both my passport and my Advance Parole paper and told me, “Goodbye, take care.” Before leaving, I asked him, “If you don’t mind me asking, is there a limit for traveling with Advance Parole?” He said, “Don’t ask me, look at what the paper says,” and showed me that it says “multiple entry.” So I said, “No limit?” Then he confirmed that as long as my case is valid and pending, and the Advance Parole document is valid, I can travel multiple times. Overall, the entire process took about 20 minutes. Based on my personal experience: if you do not have a criminal background, your case is still pending, your Advance Parole document is valid, and you can properly answer the officers’ questions, do not be scared to travel.

Josh ADE6h

thank you for this information God bless you. what are you from any of the banned countries?

phani cheru5h

thank you so much for sharing your experience

RJ Mo4h

thank you

Hi hi43m

@Ivan b you have combo card or paper

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