This practice advisory reviews recent changes and current practice in filing FOIA requests with DHS and with the different offices within DHS. Since January 22, 2026, all have transitioned exclusively to online filing. The only exception is for persons who lack internet access, such as incarcerated requestors, who may still file on paper, by mail.

In this community explainer, we will discuss the effects of this decision, how it impacts advance parole travel and applications for adjustment of status, and what applicants must consider moving forward.

On August 13, 2026, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) issued a decision on Matter of Delcarmen-Lara, that overruled Matter of Arrabally and Yerrabelly and held that travel on advance parole is now a "departure" for purposes of the unlawful presence bars at INA § 212(a)(9)(B)(i).

This practice advisory, authored with our partners at the End SIJS Backlog Coalition, Children's Immigration Law Academy, Make the Road New York, National Immigration Project, Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network, and Safe Passage Project, offers strategies at every stage of an SIJS client’s removal proceedings to advocate against the client’s removal and to preserve the record for appeal.