Advance Parole is a travel authorization issued by USCIS that allows certain individuals with pending immigration applications, such as adjustment of status applicants, to leave the United States and return without abandoning their case. It is not a visa and does not grant lawful status by itself. Instead, it allows a person to request parole into the United States upon return. A visa, by contrast, is issued by a U.S. consulate abroad and is typically required for entry into the United States in a specific nonimmigrant or immigrant category. Advance Parole is mainly used by people already inside the U.S. who are waiting for immigration benefits.