Undocumented individuals who are immediate relatives of a US citizen are caught between a rock and a hard place: they aren’t permitted to adjust their status inside the country because they have not been “admitted or paroled,” yet upon leaving the U.S. to apply for the immigrant visa, they almost always trigger inadmissibility grounds based on their unlawful presence in the U.S. When unlawful presence bars are triggered, individuals are required to remain outside the U.S. for either three or ten years, depending on the length of their prior unlawful presence in the U.S. Although these bars can be waived, the legal standard is onerous and arbitrary. Waivers are only granted if USCIS is satisfied that the U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse or parent (not child) will experience “extreme hardship” if the foreign national is not allowed to come back to the U.S. as a lawful permanent resident. Both preparing and adjudicating the waiver can take many months, and positive outcomes are far from guaranteed. The process is grueling for families who remain in a state of constant fear and uncertainty about their futures. Parole in Place essentially provides a fast-track for the undocumented family members of some military members to get green cards without having to apply for waivers or leave the country.