Exceptions to Traveling Internationally While Your Adjustment of Status Application is Pending

If your adjustment of status is pending and you do not have an advance parole document, there are only a few situations in which you may be able to travel internationally without your traveling being considered an abandonment of your Green Card application. In general, without an advance parole document, you may only be able to travel internationally and maintain your application for adjustment of status if your visa falls into an H, K, L, or V status.

H status under U.S. immigration law typically means that you are in the United States on a non-immigrant visa for work or as a dependent of a worker. In most cases, you will have either an H-1B visa or an H-4 visa, although there are other types of H visas, too. According to USCIS, a person in the U.S. with H-1B status has a non-immigrant classification that “applies to people who wish to perform services in a specialty occupation, services of exceptional merit and ability relating to a Department of Defense (DOD) cooperative research and development project, or services as a fashion model of distinguished merit or ability.” To obtain an H-1B visa for a speciality occupation, there are many different requirements, including “theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge,” and “attainment of a bachelor’s or higher degree in the specific specialty.” An H-4 visa is a type of visa that is issued to a dependent family, including a spouse and children, of a holder of an H-1B visa or another type of H visa.

K status usually means having a K-1, K-3, or K-4 visa as a foreign fiancé, spouse, or child of a spouse of a U.S. citizen. K visas are also nonimmigrant visas. A K-1 visa is for a foreign-citizen fiancé of a U.S. citizen, a K-3 visa is for a foreign-citizen spouse of a U.S. citizen, and a K-4 visa is for a foreign-citizen child of the foreign-citizen spouse. In general, having one of these types of visas means that you may be able to travel internationally while you are waiting on your Green Card Application.

L visas are non-immigrant visas for temporary workers who are employed by employers abroad, and who are transferring to the United States in an intra-company transfer to work in an executive or managerial capacity in the U.S., or to work in a position that requires specialized knowledge. L status typically means that you will have an L-1A or L-1B visa. To be in the U.S. on an L-1A or L-1B visa, the employer will usually need to show that they have a new physical location in the U.S., that the employee with the visa has been working in that capacity for at least one continuous year in the last three years, and that the new physical office in the U.S. will support the worker’s position within a year of the visa being granted.

Finally, a holder of a V non-immigrant visa may be able to travel internationally without an advance parole document. A V visa is for a spouse, child, or step-child of a current U.S. permanent resident. While H, K, L, or V status can allow you to travel internationally while your adjustment of status is pending without abandoning your application, you should not assume that you are able to travel internationally without advance parole until you have spoken with an experienced immigration lawyer. Your visa must remain valid throughout the dates of your travel, and you may need to meet additional requirements.

Contact a San Antonio Immigration Lawyer

If you are considering traveling internationally while your adjustment of status is pending, you should know that it is essential to avoid doing so until you have spoken with an immigration lawyer about your case. To be absolutely clear, for most people who are waiting on a Green Card application, traveling internationally while your adjustment of status is pending will mean that you abandon your Green Card application. Do you need assistance obtaining an advance parole document or applying for adjustment of status? Our San Antonio immigration attorneys can help you. Contact the Lozano Law Firm for assistance.

Lozano Law Firm - Abogados de Inmigración

5718 University Heights Blvd #104,

San Antonio, TX 78249

(210) 899-2290

https://www.AbogadoLozano.com/