If you have a I-220A form and are considering traveling for vacation, immigration attorney Liudmila Marcelo's warning is clear: do not do it, not even within the continental United States.
Marcelo, who regularly advises the Cuban community in live broadcasts alongside journalist Tania Costa from CiberCuba, was straightforward in responding to a question about travel: "If you have I-220A, I don’t even recommend traveling within the country, let alone to Puerto Rico or Hawaii, which many clients have asked me about."
The lawyer clarified that her stance does not mean that everyone who travels will be detained, but that the risk is real and unpredictable.
"It's not that I'm saying you will be stopped if you travel, because you might travel and nothing may happen to you, but you will never hear me say that it's safe to travel, it's all quiet," she pointed out.
The central theme of Marcelo is uncertainty: no one can know which airport will have Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents that day or whom they will decide to detain.
"You don't know who among all the travelers that day they will want to detain or in which airport they will be. Therefore, that advice will not come from me," he stated.
The lawyer distinguished between leisure travel —which she strongly advises against— and journeys for justified reasons. Those who live in one state and have their court appointment in another, or those who need to visit a sick relative, have valid reasons to travel. However, traveling solely for vacation is, in her view, an unnecessary risk.
The I-220A is an order of release on recognizance issued by ICE that allows the migrant to remain out of custody while their case progresses in immigration court.
It does not grant permanent immigration status, is not equivalent to parole, and does not authorize free travel. According to ICE itself, holders of this document must obtain written permission from their case officer before moving or traveling outside the approved area.
The detention of migrants with I-220A has intensified since early 2025, particularly in Texas, where Marcelo has noted that it occurs "almost daily" in cities such as San Antonio, Houston, and El Paso, even during routine reporting appointments with ICE.
Marcelo also issued a specific warning for permanent residents who wish to travel abroad: "Remember that you cannot travel abroad if you have an ongoing case or even a case that has already been closed."
And he added a warning regarding criminal records: "Recently, a decision was made that even with an ongoing case, without proving whether you are guilty or not, they can then revoke your residency or initiate a process to withdraw it."
That decision corresponds to the ruling in the case Blanche v. Lau, resolved by the U.S. Supreme Court on June 23 with a result of six votes to three in favor of the government.
The Supreme Court ruling establishes that border agents do not need clear and convincing evidence to treat a returning permanent resident from an international trip as if they were an admission applicant if there is a pending criminal charge, even without a conviction.
For those who have an I-220A and want to know what they should do this summer to protect their immigration status, Marcelo recommended checking the EOIR portal several times a week, as immigration courts are advancing hearing dates and some judges are already setting final dates for the end of 2026 or early 2027.
A class action lawsuit involving 992 Cubans with I-220A is still ongoing in Miami, seeking to equate this document with parole to open the pathway of the Cuban Adjustment Act, but as of now, it has no definitive resolution.
Si tienes el formulario I-220A u otras dudas sobre tu estatus migratorio, mantente informado con la cobertura actualizada de en CiberCuba.
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