Humanitarian Parole Process to be Handled Directly by INS HQ
Posted Jun 15, 2001

A March 16, 2001 INS Memorandum provides for the transfer of humanitarian parole authority from the three overseas INS offices back to INS headquarters in Washington, D.C. Humanitarian parole is a special mechanism under the law that allows persons in extraordinary humanitarian situations to enter the U.S. even though they may not qualify for a visa. Since the parole is granted only in the most compelling circumstances, many of the requests are denied, and from the government's point of view the decision-making process can be very complex and difficult.

The Memorandum, issued by Michael Pearson, Deputy Associate Commissioner, Office of Field Operations at INS, indicates that in 1992 the humanitarian parole function was delegated to the three overseas INS offices, in Bangkok, Thailand; Mexico City, Mexico; and Rome, Italy. However, that change was intended to be temporary. INS now intends to have the Parole Branch at INS Headquarters decide the parole applications. Please note that the overseas INS offices retain the authority to grant parole in emergent situations without a formal application. But the formal humanitarian parole application process will now be a function of the Parole Branch.

Generally the applicant files the parole application with the U.S. Embassy or consulate where he or she resides, and then the Embassy forwards it to the overseas office. Now, the cases will instead be forwarded to Washington, D.C. In order to ensure a smooth transition, the memo outlines a three-phase plan. From March 1, 2001, parole applications within the jurisdiction of the Bangkok office are being forwarded to INS headquarters. Then from June 1, 2001, the Mexico City cases are to be sent to headquarters. And finally, from September 1, 2001, INS headquarters should start receiving cases that come under Rome's jurisdiction.

It is unclear whether this change will lead to faster processing times or affect the percentage of requests that are approved. However, as INS points out in explaining the decision to centralize the process, the move to headquarters should ensure consistency and will free up the overseas offices to concentrate on their other tasks.