New COA for Military Parole in Place (MIL)

USCIS, Oct. 15, 2024

"DHS recently issued a new class of admission (COA) of Military Parole in Place (MIL) to better reflect parole granted under a longstanding process for certain U.S. military service members and their families. Previously, these individuals were issued a general parole COA of Public Interest Parolee (CP).

This announcement provides information to SAVE user agencies about documentation and the SAVE verification process for individuals who are paroled in the United States with the MIL COA. Individuals with this COA can be paroled in one year increments.

Documentation

Parolees with the MIL COA may present one or more of the following:

• A copy of their electronic Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record, from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website at i94.cbp.dhs.gov, which will include a COA of MIL;
• Paper Form I-94 with a COA of MIL; or
• Form I-766, Employment Authorization Document, also known as an EAD, with a C11 parole category. Note: MIL parolees are not employment authorized incident to their parole. They must apply for and receive an EAD to be employment authorized.

SAVE Verification

Based on information entered from a benefit applicant’s documentation, SAVE can provide an initial verification response of parolee with a MIL COA. The initial response may also include employment authorization information if the parolee has an EAD. An initial SAVE verification response is automated and includes one immigration status or category and employment authorization, if any.

Parolees may have more than one valid immigration status or category and may also present valid immigration documents that demonstrate other pending applications or approved statuses or categories. If the automated SAVE response is unexpected, is not sufficient for an agency to make a benefit eligibility determination, or the benefit applicant disagrees with the SAVE response, the agency should institute Additional Verification. SAVE Additional Verification provides a detailed verification response, including:

• Additional immigration statuses and categories, if any; and
• Pending immigration applications.

Additional Information

The USCIS website provides additional information about Discretionary Options for Military Members, Enlistees, and Their Families, including parole in place."