AUGUST 19, 2026
Contact: info@haitianbridge.org,  Paige Censale, pcensale@haitianbridge.org

SAN DIEGO, CA — The Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA) is raising serious concerns about a new Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) decision that fundamentally changes the consequences of international travel for certain immigrants who have accrued unlawful presence in the United States.

In Matter of Delcarmen-Lara, 29 I&N Dec. 830 (BIA Aug. 13, 2026), the BIA overruled its longstanding 2012 precedent and held that leaving the United States under advance parole constitutes a “departure” for purposes of the unlawful-presence bars. As a result, individuals who have accrued more than 180 days of unlawful presence may trigger a three-year or ten-year bar upon traveling abroad—even when they possess advance parole. The ruling applies prospectively to travel occurring after August 13, 2026.

The decision could have significant consequences for immigrants who have relied on advance parole while pursuing lawful immigration pathways, including certain individuals with pending adjustment-of-status or asylum applications and others with immigration protections that may provide access to advance parole. 

“This decision creates a dangerous trap for immigrants who have been told that advance parole provides a lawful mechanism to travel and return to the United States,” said Guerline Jozef, Executive Director of Haitian Bridge Alliance. “Families should not have to choose between seeing loved ones abroad and risking a three- or ten-year separation from the country they call home. At a time when Haitian families and other famillies are already facing extraordinary immigration uncertainty, this decision adds another layer of fear and instability.”

HBA urges affected individuals not to assume that an approved advance parole document makes international travel safe under the new legal framework and should consult qualified immigration counsel before leaving the United States to determine how the ruling may affect their individual circumstances.

ABOUT HAITIAN BRIDGE ALLIANCE

Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA), also known as “The Bridge”, is a grassroots community organization that advocates for fair and humane immigration policies, foreign policy, and provides migrants and immigrants with humanitarian, legal, and social services, with a particular focus on Black migrants, the Haitian community, women and girls, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and survivors of torture and other human rights abuses. HBA also seeks to elevate the issues unique to Black migrants and builds solidarity and collective movement toward policy change. Anpil men chay pa lou (“Many hands make the load light”). Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook: @haitianbridge