Humanitarian Parole allows some Afghans to enter the U.S. without visas for limited periods of time because they are in danger, need medical treatment, or for other urgent reasons.
The U.S. Government approves Humanitarian Parole requests only when people have no other legal option to enter the U.S. and it rejects most applications. USCIS will not process or approve an humanitarian parole application until the applicant is outside of Afghanistan.
Humanitarian parole allows entry into the U.S., it does not confer immigrations status and does not provide a path to permanent residency. Parolees may be able to obtain lawful status in the U.S. through other statuses, if they are eligible.
To be eligible for humanitarian parole, an applicant must have an urgent humanitarian, medical, or significant public benefit reason to come to the United States.
Examples of significant public benefit include law enforcement and national security reasons, or foreign or domestic policy considerations.
Teachers, people who have relationships with NGOs or the U.S. military, former government officials or contractors, and others are eligible for humanitarian parole.
Appying for humanitarian parole is complex. We encourage you to seek professional advice.
USCIS usually takes between 3 and 6 months to adjudicate humanitarian parole applications. Because thousands of applications have recently been filed, expect it to take longer.
Once the initial application is approved, USCIS will schedule a consular interview. Prior to the interview, you must complete Form DS-160 and pay the filing fee.
If approved for parole, you MUST travel to the U.S. within 30 days.
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