Archive · 14 Aug 2026
Leaving US on advance parole may trigger 10-year re-entry ban
Some people who are not US citizens live in America while waiting for permission to stay.
If they stay too long without proper permission, the government says they have 'unlawful presence.'
In the past, these people could leave the US for a short trip using a special paper called advance parole.
The old rule said that kind of trip did not count as really leaving the country.
A government court called the Board of Immigration Appeals just changed that rule.
Now, leaving on advance parole counts as a real departure.
If someone stayed in the US without permission for more than six months, they could be banned from coming back for three years.
If they stayed for a year or more, the ban could last ten years.
The new rule only applies to cases filed after the decision date.
The government says the rule is simple: leaving the US means something, so there are consequences.
The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) ruled that traveling outside the US on advance parole counts as a 'departure,' reversing its 2012 Matter of Arrabally and Yerrabelly decision.
Foreign nationals with more than 180 days of unlawful presence could now face a three-year re-entry bar (180 days to under one year) or a ten-year bar (one year or more).
During a bar period, individuals are ineligible for visas, re-entry, or adjustment of status to permanent residence.
The change applies prospectively, only to cases filed after the August 13 decision in Matter of Delcarmen-Lara, 29 I&N Dec. 830.
The change comes amid the Trump administration's broader immigration crackdown, which has included a US Supreme Court ruling allowing protections to be stripped for Haitians and Syrians and the scheduled end of TPS for South Sudanese nationals.
- Who
- The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), part of the US Department of Justice, issued the ruling, which affects foreign nationals seeking green cards who have accrued unlawful presence; USCIS spokesperson Zach Kahler commented on the change.
- What
- The BIA ruled that traveling abroad on advance parole is a 'departure' from the US, which can trigger three- or ten-year unlawful presence re-entry bars, overturning the 2012 Matter of Arrabally and Yerrabelly decision.
- When
- August 13 (a Thursday, US time); the ruling applies prospectively to cases filed after the decision date.
- Where
- United States — the ruling concerns US immigration filings and travel outside the US on advance parole.
- Why
- The BIA now holds that departing the US on advance parole should trigger the unlawful presence bars Congress enacted; the article notes the change comes amid the Trump administration's broader immigration crackdown.
Immigrants and practitioners
BIA and USCIS
Does advance parole travel count as a departure?
Immigrants and practitioners
Foreign nationals and practitioners long relied on the 2012 Matter of Arrabally and Yerrabelly rule that travel on advance parole did not count as a departure, so it should not trigger unlawful presence bars; the sudden reversal upends settled expectations.
BIA and USCIS
USCIS spokesperson Zach Kahler said the ruling follows a 'straightforward principle' that departing the United States means something, and consequences apply when someone with unlawful presence leaves and later seeks admission, including via advance parole.
Is the change a fair enforcement or a hardship?
Immigrants and practitioners
The article frames the ruling as 'the latest setback' for foreign nationals amid a broader crackdown that has also stripped protections for Haitians, Syrians, and South Sudanese nationals.
BIA and USCIS
The BIA applied the ruling prospectively because people relied on the old rule, and USCIS says filings will be decided based on laws, regulations, and binding legal precedent.
- Ruling
- Matter of Delcarmen-Lara, 29 I&N Dec. 830
- Decision date
- August 13 (Thursday, US time)
- Ruling body
- Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), US Department of Justice
- Overturned case
- Matter of Arrabally and Yerrabelly (2012)
- 3-year bar
- 180 days to one year of unlawful presence
- 10-year bar
- One year or more of unlawful presence
- Application
- Prospective — only cases filed after the decision date
- Advance parole
- USCIS travel document letting certain non-citizens leave and return lawfully