Fran Holmes, the District Director at the INS’s Buffalo District Office (BDO), has announced an important change in the BDO’s procedures. The BDO will no longer allow routine parole of US citizen spouses at ports of entry. The current options for entry of spouses of US citizens are now (1) apply for the K-3 visa or (2) meet the statutory criteria for parole set forth in 8 CFR 212.5a. The following is the text of her message:

Effective on March 18, 2002, the Buffalo District Office limited the approval of parole of spouses of US Citizens who apply at the border. Persons must meet the criteria of parole categories listed in 8 CFR 212.5a. Lacking "urgent humanitarian reasons" or "significant public benefit" parole will be denied.