Immigration attorney Willy Allen announced this Tuesday that he has decided to suspend the use of Advance Parole as a migration tool for his clients and will not recommend it in the immediate future, following the change in criteria from the BIA affecting Cubans seeking to apply for the Adjustment Act and DACA and TPS holders.
The trigger is the decision Matter of Delcarmen-Lara, issued by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) on August 13, 2026, which revoked the 2012 precedent of Arrabally and reconsidered that leaving the U.S. with Advance Parole constitutes a "departure" that can activate reentry bans due to illegal presence: three years for those who accrued more than 180 days but less than a year, and ten years for those who accrued a year or more.
"In this moment, I will not use Advance Parole anymore, and I will not recommend that my clients use it," declared Allen during the weekly program he hosts alongside presenter Tania Costa, which was exceptionally broadcast this Tuesday instead of its usual slot on Mondays at 11:00 AM, from Miami.
The lawyer explained that for decades he had used that travel permit with TPS clients from Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Haiti who had entered the U.S. by land or by boat, as well as with DACA beneficiaries and some Cubans from the I-220A program, to obtain legal entries that would later allow them to adjust their immigration status.
"Now," he said, "that strategy has become invalidated. 'Simply because it can be another tool to put people in a more difficult situation when they return to the United States,' he warned."
Tania Costa used an image to illustrate the change: "Until now, Advance Parole was like a pause allowed in your immigration process. In other words, they gave you permission to go out and come back in. That is over now. Now, when you return, they say, let’s see if you can enter."
Attorney Willy Allen clarified that Advance Parole is still technically requestable, but he will not take that risk with his clients. "It can be requested, but the problem is that I am not going to take the risk of the person traveling," he noted.
The impact is especially relevant for Cubans awaiting to apply for the Cuban Adjustment Act, which allows for the request of permanent residency after at least one year and one day in the U.S. Those who have accumulated unlawful presence and exit with that permit after this August 13th could trigger a bar that would prevent them from adjusting their status, the lawyer added.
Allen also suspended the use of Advance Parole even for individuals who had always maintained legal status in the U.S. and used it in family emergencies while waiting for the resolution of their adjustment, whether through marriage or the Cuban adjustment process.
The lawyer acknowledged that at least one person from his team has already left the country with that permit following the change in policy. "We will have to fight it in the future," he admitted.
The BIA's decision was criticized by organizations such as AILA, which described it as punishing individuals for following the rules and noted that it reverses 14 years of established jurisprudence. The BIA stated that the new interpretation applies prospectively: trips taken before August 13, 2026, are not affected.
Allen had previously warned about the risks of Advance Parole for Cubans with I-220A, and this new situation reinforces his stance of utmost caution regarding any international travel that could jeopardize an ongoing immigration process.
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