⚠️Travel Advisory: Increased Risk of Airport Detentions for Foreign Nationals During Domestic Air Travel
Dear colleagues,
I would like to bring to your attention an emerging risk of airport detentions involving foreign nationals traveling on domestic flights.
Reports from immigration attorneys indicate a growing number of foreign nationals have been detained by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) at U.S. airports during domestic travel, even when they had pending immigration petitions or applications and were in a period of authorized stay.
No publicly announced rule specifically targeting domestic air travelers has been identified. Nevertheless, the reported incidents suggest heightened airport enforcement, particularly involving individuals whose underlying nonimmigrant status/or visa had expired, but they had timely filed their petitions or application for change of status, extension of status, adjustment of status or asylum. Some of them also held valid employment authorization or advance parole documents at the time of their detention.
To our international community at Penn: If your underlying nonimmigrant status has expired and you are currently relying on a timely filed, pending immigration petition/application, even with valid employment authorization document or advance parole in hand, should understand that domestic air travel currently carries a potential detention risk.
ISSS Recommendations:
- Postpone Non-Essential Domestic Flights: Postpone non-essential domestic flights if your petitions or applications are currently pending.
- Carry Proper Evidence: If traveling is unavoidable, please carry proper printed or original evidence listed below
- USCIS approval/receipt notices (if your petitions/applications are pending)
- I-94 printouts
- EAD (if any)
- Advance Parole/travel documents (if any)
- Your drivers’ license/ real ID (if any)
- Premium Processing Option: If premium processing is available, communicate with your department and see whether upgrading your petition to premium processing is an option.
Please contact your ISSS advisor if you have any further questions. ISSS is monitoring developments and will continue to assess whether additional guidance is warranted.
Best,
Rudie Altamirano, Ph.D.