Can CHNV parolees adjust status inside the United States?

Parolees can generally file for adjustment of status under INA § 245(a), which includes those "paroled into the United States." However, adjustment requires an independently qualifying immigrant category — family-based (through a U.S. citizen or LPR family member), employment-based (through an employer sponsor and I-140), or humanitarian (asylum, refugee, VAWA). Parole itself is not an immigrant category. PM-602-0199 adds a second layer: even if the parolee is independently eligible, the I-485 adjudicator must now weigh discretionary factors, and remaining after parole expiration is explicitly listed as an adverse factor.

What happened to the CHNV parole program?

The Biden administration's CHNV (Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, Venezuelan) humanitarian parole program, which admitted over 500,000 people between 2022 and 2025, was terminated by the Trump administration in early 2025. Parole grants issued under the program were set to expire on their original two-year terms and were not being extended. Many CHNV beneficiaries are now facing parole expiration without a clear path to extended status or permanent residence. A federal court issued a temporary injunction halting some terminations, but the legal situation remains in flux.

Does PM-602-0199 affect parolees with pending asylum claims?

USCIS Policy Memo PM-602-0199 (May 21, 2026), which reframes Adjustment of Status as discretionary extraordinary relief, governs adjustment of status under INA § 245 — not asylum adjudication under INA § 208. A pending asylum application is a separate legal proceeding. However, if a parolee is both pursuing asylum and seeking AOS (which can happen in certain circumstances), the discretionary analysis under PM-602-0199 would apply to the AOS portion. A pending asylum claim may itself constitute a positive equitable factor in the AOS analysis, but it does not exempt the applicant from discretionary review.

What is the unlawful presence bar and how does it apply to parolees?

Under INA § 212(a)(9)(B), individuals who accrue more than 180 days of unlawful presence and then depart face a 3-year reentry bar. Those who accrue more than one year face a 10-year bar. Parole does not accrue unlawful presence while it is valid. However, once parole expires, unlawful presence begins accruing unless the individual has filed a timely application for another status. CHNV parolees whose parole has expired and who have not filed for an alternative status are accruing unlawful presence — making departure to pursue consular processing potentially catastrophic.

Immigration Policy

USCIS AOS Memo: Impact on Humanitarian and CHNV Parolees

Humanitarian parolees — including CHNV program beneficiaries — are in the most precarious position under PM-602-0199. Remaining after parole expiration is an explicit adverse factor.

May 22, 2026·4 min read

Part of the PM-602-0199 series

This article covers humanitarian and CHNV parolee implications of USCIS PM-602-0199. For the full memo analysis see that article. For TPS holders see this companion.

Humanitarian parolees occupy the most difficult position under PM-602-0199. The memo explicitly names "remaining in the United States rather than departing" as an adverse discretionary factor — and for the hundreds of thousands of CHNV program beneficiaries whose parole grants have expired or are expiring without a renewal pathway, that is precisely their situation.

The problem is layered: parole itself is not an immigrant category. It is permission to be present, not a path to a green card. Adjustment of status requires a separately qualifying immigrant basis — family, employment, or humanitarian. PM-602-0199 then adds a discretionary overlay on top of that eligibility question.

Urgent letter notice with warning marking representing CHNV humanitarian parole expiration and PM-602-0199 impact — CHNV parolees face a two-layer problem: finding an underlying immigrant category, then surviving the PM-602-0199 discretionary analysis.

The CHNV Situation

The Biden-era CHNV humanitarian parole program admitted Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan nationals beginning in 2022. The Trump administration terminated new authorizations in early 2025. Existing grants issued under the program were issued for two-year terms and are expiring on their original dates.

The USCIS Policy Manual on Parole governs discretionary humanitarian parole. Parole under INA § 212(d)(5) is issued on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit — it carries no inherent path to permanent residence.

For CHNV beneficiaries without a qualifying family petition or employer sponsor, the options for regularizing status are narrow:

Asylum under INA § 208 — if the applicant has a well-founded fear of persecution on a protected ground. Backlogs at the asylum office run years; immigration court backlogs are longer.
Family-based petition — requires a U.S. citizen or LPR family member willing and able to sponsor. Not available to everyone.
Employment-based petition — requires an employer sponsor. Labor certification (PERM) timelines are 18–24+ months before the I-140 stage.
VAWA self-petition — for those who have suffered abuse by a U.S. citizen or LPR spouse, parent, or child.

The unlawful presence trap

CHNV parolees whose parole has expired and who have not filed for an alternative status are accruing unlawful presence under INA § 212(a)(9)(B). Departure to pursue consular processing triggers the 3-year or 10-year reentry bar once unlawful presence exceeds 180 days or one year respectively. For many CHNV beneficiaries, leaving is not a safe option.

What PM-602-0199 Adds to an Already Difficult Picture

For CHNV parolees who do have a qualifying immigrant category — through family or employment — PM-602-0199 requires the I-485 adjudicator to conduct a full discretionary analysis. The memo's adverse factor list reads like a description of the CHNV population:

Remaining in the United States after the authorized period expired
Parole issued as a temporary measure, not an immigration admission
Conduct inconsistent with the temporary purpose of the parole grant

Against these negative factors, the officer must weigh positive equities: U.S. family ties, employment history, tax compliance, community involvement, and the humanitarian circumstances underlying the original parole grant.

The humanitarian circumstances are the strongest positive equity available. Attorneys representing parolees with documented humanitarian need — family separation, country conditions, health conditions — should present that evidence explicitly as a PM-602-0199 positive equity, not merely as background.

Practical Guidance

File for any available alternative status immediately if the parole grant has expired or is about to expire. A pending application for another nonimmigrant status stops unlawful presence from accruing.
Asylum applications, even if pending for years, provide status protection and create a record of legitimate immigration proceedings.
Do not depart the United States if unlawful presence has accrued beyond 180 days without obtaining an I-601A provisional unlawful presence waiver first. Departure triggers bars that may be impossible to overcome.
For parolees with qualifying family or employment sponsors, the I-485 equities presentation must be robust — document the humanitarian basis for the original parole, the applicant's integration, and any U.S. family ties comprehensively.

Key Takeaway

For CHNV parolees, PM-602-0199 is not the primary obstacle — finding a qualifying immigrant category is. But for those who do qualify, the discretionary framework means a comprehensive equities record is now essential, not optional.

For the complete PM-602-0199 framework see USCIS PM-602-0199: Adjustment of Status Is Now Discretionary. For TPS holders facing similar status uncertainty see How PM-602-0199 Affects TPS Holders.

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