Humanitarian Parole (Form I-131)
Humanitarian parole is an extraordinary measure, sparingly used to bring an otherwise inadmissible alien into the United States for a temporary period of time due to a very compelling emergency. Note that humanitarian parole may only be requested for persons who are outside of the United States. Parole into the United States may be granted temporarily on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.
Individuals may submit a request for humanitarian parole using Form I-131, Application for Travel Document. Instructions on how to file an application for humanitarian parole are included with Form I-131. Form I-134, Affidavit of Support is also required to ensure that the applicant will not become a public charge. If the sponsor is not eligible to file an I-134, a different sponsor may be submitted with the required information below.
A humanitarian parole should include information that is specific, verifiable and complete. Evidence of the claimed circumstances must also be enclosed.
Humanitarian parole cannot be used to circumvent normal visa-issuing procedures, nor as an instrument to bypass immigrant visa availability or processing for refugee status. Absent urgent circumstances, unless an individual has exhausted all other legal immigration avenues (such as applying for a non-immigrant visa), parole will not be approved.
All applicants for humanitarian parole over age 14 must be fingerprinted, using form FD-258. Fingerprints may be taken at U.S. embassies or consulates.
To expedite the processing of this application, we recommend using express mail to send it to the United States. Inquiries about the parole should be e-mailed to uscis.athens@dhs.gov with the notation “Requesting Information about Humanitarian Parole” on the subject line.