PAROLE Humanitarian Parole and Parole in Place
Parole is not a visa and not a status. It is a discretionary permission under INA 212(d)(5) to enter or remain in the United States temporarily for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit, granted case by case. Parole in place is the version used for people already inside the country, most commonly military families. People search for it as though it were a visa, which is why it belongs in this list, but it confers no lawful status and no path of its own.
- Duration
- Set case by case for the period needed to accomplish the humanitarian purpose. There is no standard term. Parole ends on its stated expiry date or when it is revoked, whichever is earlier.
- Extensions
- Re-parole is requested on Form I-131 from inside the United States, filed no more than 180 days before the current period expires. Filing earlier than that does not speed anything up and risks rejection without a fee refund.
- Work
- Not automatically. A parolee must file Form I-765 under category (c)(11) for an employment authorisation document. The Public Law 119-21 surcharge on a parolee EAD is $560 for an initial application and $280 for a renewal, on top of the USCIS filing fee, and neither can be waived.
- Dual intent
- false - parole is neither an admission nor a status, so the concept does not apply. A parolee is legally treated as an applicant for admission, which has consequences for adjustment of status eligibility.
- Dependents
- There is no derivative parole. Each family member needs their own Form I-131 request and is assessed on their own facts, although related requests are normally considered together.
- Path to a green card
- Parole itself confers none. Its practical significance is that being paroled into the United States can satisfy the inspected-and-admitted-or-paroled requirement for adjustment of status under INA 245(a), which is why military parole in place matters so much to service members' families. Everything else depends on an independent immigrant petition.
- Processing time
- USCIS states it is receiving an extremely high number of parole requests and that applicants should expect delays, and that it is still working through the volume received since autumn 2021. There is no premium processing and no published service level. Incomplete evidence at filing is the main cause of further delay.
- Annual cap and waiting lines
- none - parole is discretionary and case by case, not numerically limited
Who qualifies
- People outside the United States with an urgent humanitarian reason, such as a medical emergency, an imminent family death or a funeral, or an organ donation
- People whose parole would produce a significant public benefit, including assistance in a law enforcement matter
- Current or former US armed forces service members and their spouse, parent, son or daughter, through military parole in place
- Adopted children with an urgent medical condition in the legal custody of a petitioner awaiting a final adoption-related visa
- Applicants for adjustment of status under INA 245 returning from temporary travel, through advance parole
- People granted status as Cuban and Haitian entrants
Requirements
- A Form I-131 request, filed by the individual or by someone on their behalf
- Evidence going to urgency, humanitarian need or public benefit; USCIS publishes guidance on evidence for particular parole types
- For parole in place, evidence of the qualifying military relationship
- Requests for re-parole should be filed no more than 180 days before the current parole expires, or they may be rejected or denied without refund
- Parole is always discretionary. Meeting the criteria does not create an entitlement
- Where parole is granted at a port of entry, CBP collects the Public Law 119-21 parole fee unless an exception applies
How to apply
- 1
Identify the correct Form I-131 part and box, because the categories are not interchangeable and filing the wrong one can lead to denial without a refund
- 2
Read the USCIS guidance on evidence for the particular parole type before assembling the request
- 3
File Form I-131 online where the category permits it, which includes parole for people outside the United States not applying under a specific programme, and several named re-parole processes
- 4
Attach evidence of the urgent humanitarian reason or significant public benefit, and of financial support, typically on Form I-134
- 5
Military families requesting parole in place should file with no fee and evidence of the service relationship
- 6
Wait for a decision; parole is discretionary and processing has been slow since the surge in requests from autumn 2021
- 7
If approved, expect to pay the Public Law 119-21 Immigration Parole Fee unless a statutory exception applies
- 8
File Form I-765 under category (c)(11) separately if you need to work, and budget for the $560 or $280 surcharge
Fees and forms
| Form I-131 initial parole document under INA 212(d)(5)(A) for someone outside the United States, not under a specific parole process, Part 1 Item 7 | $630 paper, $580 online |
| Form I-131 initial parole in place under INA 212(d)(5)(A) for someone inside the United States, not under a specific parole process, Part 1 Item 9 | $630 paper |
| Form I-131 re-parole from inside the United States under a named process | $630 paper, $580 online |
| Form I-131 re-parole with an EAD request | $1,150 paper or $1,050 online, plus the $280 Public Law 119-21 EAD fee payable separately |
| Form I-131 military parole in place, current or former service member or their spouse, parent, son or daughter | $0 filing fee, but the $1,020 Public Law 119-21 parole fee still applies on approval and the USCIS fee waiver does not reach parole in place |
| Form I-131 advance parole for someone with a pending Form I-485 | $630 paper, $580 online |
| Public Law 119-21 Immigration Parole Fee, payable on approval or at the port of entry | $1,020 from Jan. 1, 2026, up from $1,000 which applied from Oct. 16, 2025. Charged each time parole is granted, including parole in place and re-parole. Not waivable. Statutory exceptions cover medical emergencies, organ donation, imminent family death, funerals, certain adopted children, pending INA 245 adjustment applicants returning from travel, people returned to a contiguous country for a hearing, Cuban and Haitian entrants and certain law enforcement matters |
| Form I-765 initial parolee EAD, category (c)(11) | $520 paper or $470 online, plus a $560 Public Law 119-21 fee paid separately |
| Form I-765 renewal parolee EAD | $520 paper or $470 online, plus a $280 Public Law 119-21 fee paid separately |
| Form I-941 entrepreneur parole | $1,200, or $1,020 online where USCIS notifies you of conditional approval, plus the Immigration Parole Fee |
What changed in 2025 and 2026
- March 25, 2025: DHS published the Termination of Parole Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans, FR doc 2025-05128, effective on publication. Existing CHNV parole periods were terminated on April 24, 2025 where they had not already expired, no new requests are processed, and DHS said it intended to revoke parole-based employment authorisation on termination. The Supreme Court allowed the terminations to proceed on May 30, 2025.
- Jan. 20, 2025 onward: following the Securing Our Borders executive order, USCIS paused acceptance of Form I-134A, the online request to be a supporter, pending a review of all categorical parole processes. That pause is what closed the door on Uniting for Ukraine and the other supporter-based processes. Automatic re-parole consideration continues for certain Afghan nationals who meet the published criteria, with others applying for re-parole on Form I-131.
- The parole landscape narrowed sharply across 2025 and 2026. Case-by-case humanitarian and significant public benefit parole under INA 212(d)(5) remains available on Form I-131, but the large country-specific parole processes that operated from 2021 onward have been wound down. Confirm the current status of any named programme on uscis.gov before relying on it.
- Oct. 16, 2025 then Jan. 1, 2026: the Public Law 119-21 Immigration Parole Fee took effect at $1,000 on Oct. 16, 2025 under 90 FR 48317, then rose to $1,020 on Jan. 1, 2026 under the FY 2026 inflation notice at 90 FR 52085. The adjustment is charged on any parole granted on or after Jan. 1, 2026 regardless of when the request was filed. DHS reads the fee as attaching each time parole is granted under INA 212(d)(5)(A), which expressly includes parole in place and re-parole as well as initial parole. It is not waivable and not reducible, and USCIS collects it through a conditional approval notice issued before final adjudication: non-payment by the stated deadline results in denial, so do not pay it when filing Form I-131.
- Military parole in place now carries the fee even though the Form I-131 filing fee is zero. The USCIS filing fee waiver for parole applicants expressly does not apply to parole in place, and no Public Law 119-21 fee is waivable, so a service member family filing a $0 Form I-131 should still budget $1,020 on approval.
- Dec. 15, 2025 then Jan. 24, 2026: DHS terminated the Family Reunification Parole processes for Colombians, Cubans, Ecuadorians, Guatemalans, Haitians, Hondurans and Salvadorans at 90 FR 58032, with parole periods to end Jan. 14, 2026, carving out only those with a Form I-485 filed and still pending on Dec. 15, 2025. A preliminary injunction issued Jan. 24, 2026 in Svitlana Doe v. Noem, 25-cv-10495 (D. Mass.), stayed the notice so far as it terminates parole and employment authorisation before the originally stated end dates. USCIS told affected people they may disregard the termination notices while the injunction holds. Whether it survived past January 2026 is unverified.
- April 2025 then March 31, 2026: parole granted through the CBP One appointment process was terminated by email notices giving seven days. On March 31, 2026 the District of Massachusetts vacated those terminations in Sileiri Doe v. DHS, 25-cv-12245, holding DHS had not first determined the purpose of parole was served, and ordered class members restored to their prior parole status. DHS said in April 2026 it would revoke the notices and issue individualised terminations instead. The position after April 2026 is unverified.
- CHNV litigation chain: the district court stayed the mass truncation in April 2025; the Supreme Court stayed that order on May 30, 2025 in Noem v. Svitlana Doe; DHS began issuing individual termination notices on June 12, 2025, revoking parole and parole-based employment authorisation; and the First Circuit vacated the district court stay as to CHNV on Sept. 12, 2025. The termination stands. Developments after February 2026 are unverified.
- Uniting for Ukraine and the Afghan processes were paused rather than terminated by Federal Register notice. No termination notice exists for either. Ukrainian re-parole on Form I-131 is still offered for people paroled on or after Feb. 11, 2022, and USCIS still automatically considers re-parole for defined groups of Afghan nationals. The Afghan fee exemption from the Form I-131 and Form I-765 fees ended on Jan. 31, 2025. The Central American Minors process has no 2025 or 2026 termination notice either; the only one on record is from 2017.
- Feb. 5, 2026: under a court order in Ms. L. v. ICE, 18-cv-00428 (S.D. Cal.), the Public Law 119-21 Immigration Parole Fee ceased to apply to Ms. L. Settlement Class members and their qualifying additional family members, as did the (c)(11) parolee EAD surcharge. Payment notices issued before that date were rescinded.
- The Public Law 119-21 parolee EAD surcharges of $560 initial and $280 renewal apply on top of the Form I-765 filing fee and cannot be waived, though a fee waiver may still be requested for the USCIS filing fee itself.
- Military parole in place remains fee-exempt on Form I-131 for current and former service members and their spouse, parent, son or daughter.
- July 4, 2025: Public Law 119-21 added non-waivable immigration surcharges on top of normal filing fees. The ones that touch nonimmigrants are the Form I-94 fee, held at $24 for FY 2026, the parole fee, adjusted to $1,020 for FY 2026, parolee EAD surcharges of $560 initial and $280 renewal, and a statutory visa integrity fee of at least $250 on nonimmigrant visa issuance. The $250 visa integrity fee is enacted but unverified as collected: it appears nowhere on the State Department fee schedule as of September 2026 and no implementing rule has published.
Where it goes wrong
- Treating parole as a status. It is not, and it confers no lawful admission.
- Filing re-parole more than 180 days before the current parole expires, which risks rejection or denial with no refund.
- Selecting the wrong Form I-131 category to enable online filing, which can lead to denial with no refund of the filing fee.
- Assuming work authorisation comes with parole. It requires a separate Form I-765 under (c)(11) plus a non-waivable surcharge.
- Not budgeting for the Immigration Parole Fee. It is charged each time parole is granted, reaches parole in place and re-parole, and cannot be waived even where the Form I-131 filing fee is zero.
- Paying the parole fee with the Form I-131. USCIS collects it through a conditional approval notice, and paying early or late both cause problems: missing the deadline in that notice means denial.
- Expecting a derivative benefit for family members. Each person needs their own request.
- Leaving the United States on a pending adjustment without an advance parole document, which abandons the application.
- Relying on a country-specific parole process that has since been terminated. CHNV ended on April 24, 2025 and the supporter-based processes stopped taking Form I-134A after January 2025.
Also in not a visa
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