Can I expedite my authorization to travel?
Santos Lloyd Law Team • March 23, 2023
Many of our clients ask if they can expedite the processing of their authorization to travel abroad. They want to visit their families, go on vacation, or care for personal affairs. When someone applies for an adjustment or change of status in the United States, the person can only leave the country once the case is adjudicated, risking being denied entry into the United States and giving up the pending application.
You can always leave the country to travel abroad if you need to go. However, the problem is getting back into the United States and the consequences on your pending application.
The technical term for "authorization to travel" is advance parole. Advance parole is a travel document permitting foreign nationals to re-enter the U.S. after traveling abroad. These foreign nationals typically have applications pending for immigration benefits or changes in non-citizen status. Advance parole is obtained by filling out an I-131 application before leaving the U.S. If you don't, it will likely result in you being denied entry to the country and forfeiture of any pending application—two bad things.
What you are ultimately asking is to skip the line. Because granting an expedited request means that USCIS would adjudicate your benefit ahead of others who filed earlier, they carefully weigh each expedited request's urgency and merit. So, you better have a solid reason to skip the line.
USCIS is very careful when granting those requests, and they usually fail. You must be aware that when you apply for an adjustment or change of status inside the United States, you will be locked in the country for the near future. This is the rule.
With that in mind, USCIS may consider an expedited request if you can argue and prove the following:
- Severe financial loss to a company or person
A company can demonstrate that it would suffer a severe financial loss if it is at risk of failing, losing a critical contract, or having to lay off other employees. Suppose you can prove with clear and convincing evidence that your entire department will be fired if you do not show up to a business meeting in Brazil.
On a more personal level, job loss may be sufficient to establish severe financial loss for a person, depending on the individual circumstances. Following along the lines of the situation above, if the inability to travel for work would result in you losing your job might warrant expedited treatment. I said it might warrant it. Please remember that you must back up all your arguments with legitimate documents. So, merely telling the USCIS that your company will fire you if you don't attend a meeting will not work. You will need documentation from your employer to support your argument, which clearly explains that your job is in jeopardy. - Emergencies and urgent humanitarian reasons
Humanitarian reasons are those related to human welfare. The definition of emergency may vary from person to person. The classic examples of "a real emergency" are serious illness, disability, or a critical need to travel to obtain medical treatment abroad in a limited amount of time. Again, it must be some serious stuff. Your desire to travel to visit your family or go on a much-needed and "urgent" vacation does not meet the definition of an emergency.
If you need to travel abroad while your duly filed I-131 is pending, and you are at risk of severe financial loss or have an emergency, feel free to contact us, and we will be happy to help.
This blog is not intended to be legal advice and nothing here should be construed as establishing an attorney client relationship. Please schedule a consultation with an immigration attorney before acting on any information read here.
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Advance parole is a travel document that permits you to travel outside the United States for temporary travel and return to the United States . Applicants for advance parole need to file Form I-131, Application for Travel Document with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and pay the filing fee. When the application is approved, USCIS issues the applicant a Form I-512L, the advance parole document. The document must be presented to immigration officials to seek admission into the United States after traveling abroad. There are several ways a person can qualify for and obtain advance parole. Applicants for adjustment of status, DACA recipients, and individuals who need to travel for urgent humanitarian reasons are three common types of applicants that can apply for advance parole , however there are more. Applicants for adjustment of status can apply for advance parole when they file their green card application or when the green card application is pending. Adjustment of status applicants must obtain advance parole before traveling outside the United States to avoid an issue with the green card application. Obtaining advance parole through an adjustment of status application does not require an emergency or humanitarian purpose for travel. Note, when you file for advance parole through an adjustment of status application the filing fee for Form I-131 is not required. DACA recipients may also apply for advance parole to travel abroad for humanitarian reasons or for employment or educational purposes only. Humanitarian reasons include medical attention or treatment, visiting a sick relative or for a relative’s funeral services. Educational purposes include studying abroad, academic research and more. Employment purposes include work, training, meetings, interviews, and other specific work assignments. Certain individuals may also apply for advance parole due to an urgent humanitarian reason or to further a significant public benefit. To show that the travel is due to humanitarian, education, or employment reasons, the applicant must provide proof of such to USCIS. As mentioned, these are the three most common ways to obtain advance parole, but they are not the only ways. If you have questions about other ways to obtain advance parole, if you think you qualify for advance parole or have questions about your eligibility, please schedule a consultation with one of our experienced attorneys and we will be more than happy to assist you.
The answer to the question above is, depending on your circumstances, yes! USCIS has established very clear criteria for when a request to expedite a pending travel permit application can be made. These criteria include: Severe financial loss to a company or person, provided that the need for urgent action is not the result of the petitioner’s or applicant’s failure to: Timely file the benefit request, or Timely respond to any requests for additional evidence; A company can demonstrate that it would suffer a severe financial loss if it is at risk of failing, losing a critical contract, or having to lay off other employees. For example, a medical office may suffer severe financial loss if a gap in a doctor’s employment authorization would require the medical practice to lay off its medical assistants. Job loss may be sufficient to establish severe financial loss for a person, depending on the individual circumstances. For example, the inability to travel for work that would result in job loss might warrant expedited treatment. The need to obtain employment authorization by itself, without evidence of other compelling factors, does not warrant expedited treatment. In addition, severe financial loss may also be established where failure to expedite would result in a loss of critical public benefits or services. Emergencies and urgent humanitarian reasons; In the context of an expedite request, humanitarian reasons are those related to human welfare. Examples may include, but are not limited to, illness, disability, extreme living conditions, death in the family, or a critical need to travel to obtain medical treatment in a limited amount of time. An emergency may include an urgent need to expedite employment authorization for healthcare workers during a national emergency such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonprofit organization (as designated by the Internal Revenue Service) whose request is in furtherance of the cultural or social interests of the United States; A nonprofit organization seeking to expedite a beneficiary’s benefit request must demonstrate an urgent need to expedite the case based on the beneficiary’s specific role within the nonprofit in furthering cultural or social interests (as opposed to the organization’s role in furthering social or cultural interests). Examples may include a medical professional urgently needed for medical research related to a specific social U.S. interest (such as the COVID-19 pandemic or other socially impactful research or project) or a university professor urgently needed to participate in a specific and imminent cultural program. Another example is a religious organization that urgently needs a beneficiary’s specific services and skill set to continue a vital social outreach program. U.S. government interests (such cases identified as urgent by federal agencies such as the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Labor, National Labor Relations Board, Equal Opportunity Commission, U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, or other public safety or national security interests); or U.S. government interests may include, but are not limited to, cases identified as urgent by other government agencies, including labor and employment agencies, and public safety or national security interests. Clear USCIS error. Not every circumstance that fits in one of these categories will result in expedited processing; expedite requests are discretionary, highly subjective and never guaranteed. Expedite requests are initiated by calling the USCIS contact center and providing your case Receipt Number and reasons for the request. The approximate processing time for an expedite request is 7-10 business days. When you call to request expedited processing, the USCIS Contact Center creates and forwards a service request to the office with jurisdiction over your application or petition. After receiving the service request, the reviewing office may request additional documentation to support expedited processing. A decision on an expedite request is not an approval or a denial of the underlying benefit request. The expedite decision simply informs the requestor whether USCIS will take the benefit request out of date order and issue a decision (approval or denial) faster than the normal processing time.
For many of our clients, premium processing has long felt less like a luxury and more like a necessity. Whether it's an artist with a tour date, a startup founder with investors waiting, or an executive whose H-1B extension is tied to a project deadline, the ability to get a USCIS decision in fifteen business days has been a cornerstone of business and entertainment immigration planning. But 2026 has brought meaningful changes. On March 1, 2026, USCIS implemented a new round of premium processing fee increases under the biennial inflation adjustment authorized by the USCIS Stabilization Act. With fees now climbing across every eligible form, employers, foreign nationals, and their counsel are asking a fair question: at these prices, is premium processing still worth it? The short answer is: often yes but no longer always. Here is what has changed, what hasn't, and how to think strategically about your filings this year. What Premium Processing Actually Buys You Premium processing is an optional, fee-based service that obligates USCIS to take action on a qualifying petition or application within a defined window. "Action" does not necessarily mean approval USCIS may issue an approval, a denial, a Request for Evidence (RFE), a Notice of Intent to Deny, or open an investigation. But it must do something within the guaranteed timeframe, or refund the premium fee. The current adjudication windows are: 15 business days for most Form I-129 nonimmigrant petitions (including H-1B, L-1, O-1, P-1, TN, and E-3) and most Form I-140 employment-based immigrant petitions 45 business days for Form I-140 petitions in the EB-1C (multinational executive/manager) and EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW) categories 30 business days for eligible Form I-539 change-of-status applications and Form I-765 applications for F-1 OPT and STEM OPT employment authorization When USCIS issues an RFE, the clock pauses and restarts only when the agency receives the response, a detail that surprises many petitioners and is worth planning around. The 2026 Fee Increases at a Glance The Department of Homeland Security's final rule, published in the Federal Register on January 12, 2026, raised premium processing fees by an average of roughly 5.7 percent based on inflation between June 2023 and June 2025. Any Form I-907 postmarked on or after March 1, 2026, must include the updated fee, or USCIS will reject the filing outright.
Navigating the immigration landscape as a professional athlete can feel as demanding as a championship final, but understanding the P-1A visa can help you to plan ahead and successfully petition USCIS when the time comes to apply. For individual athletes like surfers, Rodeo cowboys, or Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighters, the P-1A serves as the primary gateway to competing in the United States. While it is often compared to the O-1 visa, the P-1A has a distinct threshold that is more easily accessible than the O-1; rather than proving "extraordinary ability," you must demonstrate "international recognition". This means your achievements must be renowned or leading in more than one country, showcasing a level of skill that is substantially above the ordinary. For those competing in individual sports, the spotlight is entirely on your personal accolades and standing rather than a team or league’s reputation as in the case of a team sport athlete. You must show that you are personally well-known within your sport across multiple countries, and that the U.S. events you intend to enter typically draw other internationally recognized participants. One of the most significant advantages for the solo competitor is the duration of stay, as individual athletes can often secure a P-1 visa for an initial period of up to five years, which can eventually be extended to a total of ten. This stands in stark contrast to team athletes, who are generally limited to the duration of a specific season or contract with a team. If you are looking to be proactive about your future eligibility, you should treat your career milestones as a collection of evidence for the "Two-Out-of-Seven" rule used by USCIS. To qualify, you must provide evidence satisfying at least two of the following seven criteria: Evidence of having participated to a significant extent in a prior season with a major U.S. sports league. 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If you have a pending asylum application in the United States, you will now be required to pay an Annual Asylum Fee (AAF) in order to keep your application pending. Understanding this new fee and why it is important could be the difference between maintaining your pending asylum application and facing removal from the country . If your asylum application has been pending for more than one year, you will be required to pay an annual fee of $102 . The good news is that this fee is charged per asylum application, not per person. This means a family applying together on a single Form I-589 will only pay $102 total. However, it is important to know that there are no fee waivers available for this annual payment. It is crucial to take this fee seriously because the consequences for missing your payment are severe . If you receive a notification from USCIS that your fee is due, you will be given exactly 30 days to pay it. If you fail to pay by the deadline, the government may enforce the following penalties: Rejection of your Application: USCIS will reject your pending asylum application. Loss of Work Authorization: Any pending applications for employment authorization (Form I-765) based on your asylum case will be denied. Furthermore, if you already have an approved work permit, you will lose your work authorization immediately. Risk of Deportation: If you do not have an underlying legal status in the U.S., USCIS may initiate your removal (deportation) from the United States. Because of the severe consequences of failure to pay the fee within 30 days, it is vitally important to update your address with USCIS. This ensures you will actually receive the payment notice and can pay it on time without jeopardizing your case. How to Pay: Paying your fee promptly is the best way to protect your asylum status and work authorization. You can easily check if your fee is due and make your payment online by visiting: https://my.uscis.gov/accounts/annual-asylum-fee/start/overview To submit your payment, you will need two important pieces of information: Your A-Number (Alien Registration Number). The receipt number from your asylum application receipt notice. Once you enter this information, you will see a blue “Pay and submit” button. You can pay securely using a credit card, debit card, or a transfer from a U.S. bank account. Always make sure to save a copy of your receipt to ensure you have evidence of payment. Staying informed and keeping up with the Annual Asylum Fee is an essential part of the asylum process in 2026. Watch your mail for notifications, keep your address updated, and pay your fee as soon as it is due to ensure your case stays on track.
