USCIS recently updated its website with information regarding the agency’s practice of denying pending Form I-131 advance parole applications for abandonment due to international travel. Specifically, USCIS indicates on its website that if an applicant files Form I-131, Application for Travel Document, to request an advance parole document and departs the United States without possession of an advance parole document that is valid for the entire time the applicant is abroad, USCIS will consider the pending Form I-131 to be abandoned.
Recap: If you currently have a valid Advance Parole document while an application for a new advance parole document is pending at USCIS, international travel will not result in a denial of the pending application. This only applies if you are returning to the U.S. with an advance parole document. This does not apply if you need to return to the U.S. using a nonimmigrant visa.
