Humanitarian or significant public benefit parole

USCIS uses its discretion to authorize parole. Parole allows an individual, who may be inadmissible or otherwise ineligible for admission into the United States, to be paroled into the United States for a temporary period. The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) allows the secretary of homeland security to use their discretion to parole any alien applying for admission into the United States temporarily for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit. (See INA section 212(d)(5).)

An individual who is paroled into the United States has not been formally admitted into the United States for purposes of immigration law.

Parole is not intended to be used solely to avoid normal visa processing procedures and timelines, to bypass inadmissibility waiver processing, or to replace established refugee processing channels.

Individuals who are outside of the United States may be able to request parole into the United States based on urgent humanitarian reasons or a significant public benefit.

A USCIS officer considers each request and the evidence provided on a case-by-case basis, taking into account all of the circumstances. (See Section 212(d)(5) of the INA.) The burden of proof is on the petitioner to establish that we should authorize parole. We will authorize parole only if we conclude, based on all the evidence the petitioner submits and any other relevant evidence available to us, that: There are urgent humanitarian or significant public benefit reasons for the beneficiary to be in the United States; and The beneficiary merits a favorable exercise of discretion.

An applicant may demonstrate urgency by establishing a reason to be in the United States that calls for immediate or other time-sensitive action, including (but not limited to) critical medical treatment, or the need to visit, assist or support a family member who is at an end-of-life stage of an illness or disease.

You may request parole for yourself or for someone else by filing Form I-131, Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records. A petitioner is an individual or entity who is filing Form I-131 for someone else who is outside the United States. You may also request parole for yourself (self-petitioner) from outside the United States. A petitioner does not have to be a resident of the United States or related to the beneficiary.

The Form I-131 may be filed online for an  Initial parole document for aliens who are currently outside the United States but are not applying under a specific parole program or process. This includes individuals applying on behalf of someone else who is outside the United States for the first time (initial application), but not under a specific parole program or process.  (Part 1. Box 7. on Form I-131). Do not file online if you are requesting a fee waiver.

Alternatively, you may submit Form I-131 on paper by mail, following the Form I-131 filing instructions.

Complete a Form I-134, Declaration of Financial Support, for each beneficiary to show how each beneficiary will be financially supported in the United States.

After we receive your Form I-131 and Form I-134, you will receive a: Biometric services appointment notice, if applicable; Notice to appear for an interview, if required; and Notice of our decision.

If USCIS conditionally approves a request, the conditional approval notice will inform the petitioner that the beneficiary must complete a Form DS-160, Application for a Nonimmigrant Visa, and appear for an appointment with the Department of State consular section at a U.S. embassy or consulate to verify their identity and collect biometrics for additional security vetting.

If no derogatory (negative) information or new identity information is found during vetting, the consular section issues a document referred to as a boarding foil that allows the beneficiary to travel to the United States within 30 days of it being issued.

If CBP authorizes parole for the beneficiary, CBP will issue the parolee a Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record, documenting the length of their parole period.

We typically grant parole for no more than 1 year, although we may grant parole for a longer duration depending on the reason for the parole.

We may, at our discretion, grant a parolee temporary employment authorization, if it is not inconsistent with the purpose and duration of their parole. You may request employment authorization after being paroled into the United States by filing Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization.

If you file your parole request properly with the appropriate fee (or request for fee waiver), the Lockbox will send you a receipt notice confirming that we have received your forms and will send the parole request to the USCIS International and Refugee Affairs Division (USCIS-IRAD) in Washington, D.C., for adjudication.

For information on the types of documents and evidence you should submit to support a request for parole, please see Guidance on Evidence for Certain Types of Humanitarian or Significant Public Benefit Parole Requests.

Issuance of a boarding foil does not guarantee parole, but it allows the beneficiary to proceed to Step 7 below.

If we deny your parole request, and you believe we incorrectly decided your case, you may file a motion requesting we reconsider the decision, reopen the proceeding, or both.

File a motion with Form I-290B, Notice of Appeal or Motion. You must file it within 33 days of the date on the denial notice and include the correct fee amount or a request for a fee waiver.