Evidence of Admission or Parole

What evidence proves admission or parole for Form I-485?

See Inspected and Admitted and Parole and Adjustment of Status.

INA §245(a) requires inspection plus admission or parole

Ordinary adjustment under INA §245(a) generally requires that the applicant was:

• Inspected and admitted into the United States; or
• Inspected and paroled into the United States.

This threshold requirement is separate from:

• Current lawful status;
• Unauthorized employment;
• INA §245(c) bars;
• Visa availability;
• Admissibility under INA §212;
• Underlying immigrant classification; and
• Adjustment discretion.

Form I-94

Form I-94 is the most common official evidence of a noncitizen's admission or parole.

An I-94 can identify:

• Name;
• Date of entry;
• Port of entry;
• Class of admission;
• Admit-until date;
• Parole notation;
• I-94 number; and
• Other immigration information.

For many air and sea admissions, CBP now maintains the I-94 electronically rather than issuing a paper card.

Electronic I-94 records

An applicant who entered through a participating port may be able to retrieve the most recent I-94 information through CBP's electronic system.

The applicant should compare the electronic record with:

• Passport;
• Visa;
• Admission stamp;
• Travel dates;
• Prior immigration filings; and
• Any earlier I-94 records.

Passport admission stamps

A passport stamp can corroborate a qualifying admission.

The relevant pages may show:

• Date of admission;
• Port of entry;
• Class of admission;
• Duration of authorized stay;
• Parole notation;
• Deferred inspection notation; or
• Other CBP markings.

If the passport containing the admission stamp has expired, the old passport remains important evidence and should be preserved.

The visa helps reconstruct the entry but is not itself proof of admission

A visa authorizes a person to seek admission at a port of entry. It does not by itself establish that admission actually occurred.

A visa copy is useful because it can show:

• Classification sought;
• Passport used;
• Issuing post;
• Visa validity;
• Biographic information; and
• Consistency with the I-94 or entry stamp.

CBP records can establish admission history

When the applicant cannot locate the original I-94 or passport, CBP records can be important.

Potential evidence includes:

• Electronic I-94 history;
• Arrival and departure records;
• TECS-related records obtained through appropriate procedures;
• Deferred inspection records;
• Border Crossing Card records;
• Port-of-entry records;
• FOIA responses;
• Carrier information; and
• Other DHS records.

Records requests should be made early when adjustment eligibility depends on an old or undocumented entry.

Replacement I-94 evidence

Where appropriate, Form I-102 can be used to seek replacement or correction of certain arrival-departure records.

This can be useful where:

• A paper I-94 was lost;
• The I-94 was mutilated;
• Certain record corrections are required;
• An initial document was not properly issued; or
• USCIS documentation is needed for the immigration record.

Admission can exist even if the entry was not substantively lawful

USCIS policy distinguishes procedural regularity of admission from whether the applicant was legally entitled to admission.

A person may have been inspected and admitted even if the person:

• Was inadmissible at entry;
• Used an incorrect visa classification;
• Made a misrepresentation;
• Presented documentation later found defective; or
• Otherwise was not substantively entitled to admission.

Those facts can create separate inadmissibility or fraud problems.

Wave-through admission

Matter of Quilantan, 25 I&N Dec. 285 (BIA 2010), addresses a person who physically presented for inspection and was permitted to enter without being asked for documentation.

A qualifying wave-through can constitute an admission for INA §245(a) purposes if the person:

• Presented at a port of entry;
• Was subject to the inspection process;
• Was permitted by an immigration officer to enter; and
• Did not simply evade inspection.

How to prove an old wave-through entry

Wave-through cases often lack an I-94 or passport stamp.

Secondary evidence can include:

• Detailed applicant declaration;
• Declaration from the driver;
• Declarations from passengers;
• Contemporaneous travel records;
• Border-crossing receipts;
• Employment or school records shortly after entry;
• Prior immigration filings reporting the same entry;
• Government records;
• Vehicle records;
• FOIA evidence; and
• Other corroboration.

The declaration should describe the port, approximate date, inspection lane, officer interaction, vehicle or method of crossing, companions, questions asked, and how the applicant was permitted to proceed.

Canadian entries may lack traditional I-94 evidence

Some Canadian visitors historically entered the United States without receiving a paper I-94.

A Canadian applicant may need to establish admission through:

• Passport evidence;
• CBP travel records;
• Border Crossing Card or other records where applicable;
• Vehicle records;
• Contemporaneous travel documents;
• Prior immigration filings;
• Applicant declaration; and
• Other secondary evidence.

Entry without inspection does not satisfy ordinary INA §245(a)

A person who crossed the border without presenting for immigration inspection generally has not been inspected and admitted or paroled.

Such an applicant should examine whether another adjustment rule applies, including:

• INA §245(i);
• VAWA adjustment;
• SIJ adjustment under INA §245(h);
• T adjustment under INA §245(l);
• U adjustment under INA §245(m);
• Refugee or asylee adjustment under INA §209;
• Parole in place where legally available; or
• Another special statute.

See Entry Without Inspection and INA §245(i).

What counts as immigration parole?

For ordinary INA §245(a), qualifying parole generally refers to parole under INA §212(d)(5)(A).

Examples can include:

• Humanitarian parole;
• Significant public benefit parole;
• Advance parole followed by actual inspection and parole on return;
• Parole in place; and
• Other DHS parole granted under the immigration parole authority.

Evidence of humanitarian or significant public benefit parole

A person paroled into the United States may have evidence including:

• Form I-94 showing parole;
• Passport parole stamp;
• Parole authorization document;
• USCIS approval notice;
• CBP parole documentation;
• Advance authorization records; and
• Other DHS records identifying INA §212(d)(5)(A) parole.

The adjustment filing should identify the specific parole event on which INA §245(a) eligibility is based.

Advance parole can produce a qualifying parole upon return

Advance parole authorizes DHS to consider the traveler for parole upon return to the United States.

The adjustment applicant should retain:

• Advance parole document;
• Form I-131 approval evidence;
• Passport;
• Return parole stamp;
• New Form I-94;
• Date of return;
• Port of entry; and
• Any CBP documentation.

Advance parole travel can have consequences beyond INA §245(a)

Proof that a person was paroled upon return answers only the admission-or-parole component of adjustment.

International travel can separately affect:

• Unlawful-presence inadmissibility;
• Prior removal orders;
• INA §212(a)(9)(C);
• Pending removal proceedings;
• Adjustment abandonment rules;
• Asylum or refugee issues;
• Continuous physical-presence requirements; and
• Other category-specific requirements.

Parole in place

Parole in place is a discretionary exercise of INA §212(d)(5)(A) parole authority for certain persons already physically present in the United States.

Where parole in place is validly granted, evidence can include:

• Form I-94;
• USCIS parole approval documentation;
• Parole period;
• A-number;
• Identity information; and
• Any category-specific supporting record.

A qualifying parole-in-place grant can satisfy the parole component of INA §245(a) even though the applicant's original physical entry may have occurred without inspection.

See Parole in Place.

I-220A is not INA §212(d)(5)(A) parole

Release from immigration detention on conditional parole under INA §236(a) is legally different from immigration parole into the United States under INA §212(d)(5)(A).

Documents such as Form I-220A may establish:

• Release from DHS custody;
• Conditions of release;
• Reporting obligations; and
• Immigration enforcement history.

But Form I-220A standing alone does not establish the parole required by INA §245(a).

Bond release is not admission or parole

Release from immigration detention after posting bond generally does not itself create an admission or INA §212(d)(5)(A) parole.

The applicant's eligibility should instead be based on:

• Any admission before detention;
• Any actual §212(d)(5)(A) parole;
• A later qualifying admission or parole;
• A special adjustment statute; or
• Another independent basis satisfying the applicable adjustment requirements.

Order of supervision is not admission or parole

An order of supervision allows certain persons subject to removal orders to remain in the United States under specified conditions.

It does not itself establish:

• Inspection and admission;
• INA §212(d)(5)(A) parole;
• Lawful nonimmigrant status;
• Permanent residence; or
• INA §245(a) eligibility.

The original and subsequent immigration history must still be examined.

TPS grant alone is not an admission

The Supreme Court held in Sanchez v. Mayorkas that a grant of Temporary Protected Status does not itself constitute an admission for INA §245(a).

Accordingly, a person who entered without inspection and later obtained TPS does not satisfy §245(a) merely because TPS was granted.

TPS-authorized travel can produce a qualifying admission

Current USCIS policy provides that certain TPS beneficiaries who travel with DHS authorization and return to the United States may be inspected and admitted into TPS.

Where the current policy applies, evidence can include:

• TPS approval evidence;
• Travel authorization;
• Passport;
• Return inspection record;
• Form I-94;
• Class-of-admission information; and
• USCIS records confirming the post-travel admission.

DACA is not admission, parole, or lawful status

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals can provide deferred action and employment authorization, but a DACA grant itself does not constitute:

• Admission;
• Parole;
• Lawful nonimmigrant status; or
• Permanent residence.

A DACA recipient seeking ordinary §245(a) adjustment must separately establish the required admission or parole or another statutory adjustment basis.

Special adjustment categories may not require ordinary §245(a) admission or parole

Not every Form I-485 applicant relies on the ordinary INA §245(a) gateway.

Different rules apply to qualifying:

• INA §245(i) applicants;
• VAWA self-petitioners;
• Special Immigrant Juveniles;
• T nonimmigrants;
• U nonimmigrants;
• Asylees;
• Refugees;
• Registry applicants; and
• Other special statutory categories.

See Special Adjustment Categories.

K, VWP and crewman admissions illustrate why admission is only step one

A person can clearly prove a lawful admission and still face a separate adjustment restriction.

Examples include:

• K-1 entrant restricted by INA §245(d);
• K-2 entrant restricted by the K adjustment rules;
• Visa Waiver Program entrant subject to INA §245(c) restrictions and VWP procedural rules; and
• Alien crewman subject to the statutory adjustment bar.

See Visa Waiver Adjustment of Status and K-1 Adjustment Restriction.

Fraudulent documents used at entry

A person may have been procedurally inspected and admitted despite using a false document or making a material misrepresentation.

The adjustment case must separately determine:

• Whether an admission legally occurred;
• What representation was made;
• Whether it was false;
• Whether it was willful;
• Whether it was material;
• Whether INA §212(a)(6)(C)(i) applies;
• Whether another inadmissibility ground applies; and
• Whether a waiver is available.

Most recent entry versus earlier qualifying entry

Form I-485 requests information concerning the applicant's most recent arrival, but legal eligibility can require review of the full entry history.

Questions can include:

• What was the most recent entry?
• Was it an admission or parole?
• Was there an earlier qualifying admission?
• Did a later departure trigger inadmissibility?
• Did a later EWI occur?
• Was advance parole used?
• Was TPS-authorized travel used?
• Did the applicant depart under a removal order?
• Did the applicant reenter unlawfully?

The complete chronology can affect both INA §245(a) and INA §212.

Secondary evidence when primary entry records are unavailable

USCIS evidentiary rules allow secondary evidence when required primary evidence cannot be produced.

Potential corroboration includes:

• Applicant declaration;
• Witness declarations;
• Airline records;
• Boarding passes;
• Credit card records;
• Hotel records;
• School records beginning shortly after arrival;
• Employment records;
• Medical records;
• Prior immigration applications;
• Government correspondence;
• CBP or USCIS FOIA results; and
• Other contemporaneous evidence.

The applicant bears the burden of proof

The person seeking adjustment must establish eligibility.

Where the admission or parole record is uncertain, USCIS is not required to presume that a qualifying entry occurred merely because:

• The applicant has lived in the United States for many years;
• The applicant possesses a Social Security number;
• The applicant has employment authorization;
• The applicant previously received another immigration benefit;
• The applicant lacks an entry record; or
• No government record affirmatively proves EWI.

The adjustment filing should affirmatively establish the qualifying event through the best available evidence.

Example: lost I-94

Example: wave-through at land border

Example: I-220A after EWI

Example: advance parole return

Evidence of admission or parole checklist

• Current and prior Forms I-94.
• Electronic CBP I-94 record.
• Current passport.
• Prior passports containing relevant entries.
• Visa used for the qualifying entry.
• Admission stamp.
• Parole stamp.
• Parole authorization document.
• Form I-131 approval or advance parole evidence where relevant.
• Return I-94 after advance parole travel.
• Parole-in-place approval and I-94 where applicable.
• TPS-authorized travel and return admission evidence where applicable.
• CBP travel history.
• FOIA records.
• Form I-102 record where applicable.
• Deferred inspection records.
• Detailed declaration for undocumented or wave-through admission.
• Witness declarations where appropriate.
• Contemporaneous secondary evidence.
• Complete entry and departure chronology.
• Evidence addressing any fraud or misrepresentation connected to entry.
• Evidence establishing a special adjustment statute where ordinary §245(a) does not apply.

Common admission-and-parole mistakes

Primary authorities

Related INA245.com guides

Frequently asked questions