[sweaty]

This happened to me (and is in part why I'm a tad salty in the comments), I was a H1B and in the process of adjustment of status. While your green card application is pending, you're legally in a grey area if your H1B expires. I had to leave for family circumstances but advanced parole took months to process, I figured it would be okay since it was a serious emergency. Upon returning I was told I couldn't re-enter the US because even though my stay in the US was completely legal, I had technically overstayed the terms of my H1B. The USCIS policy and CBP policy differs around this. There's a specific USCIS policy memo that mentions this actually. So I'm now banned, no leniency, no understanding for the situation.

[UncleMeat]

I'm very sorry this happened to you. US immigration is heartless in a huge number of ways.

[whoooooo123]

What does 'advanced parole' mean in this context?

[junar]

Advance parole is the permission to leave and re-enter the US while your green card application is pending. USCIS is pretty backlogged right now, so getting anything approved, including advance parole, can take longer, which leads to bad experiences like this one.

https://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizens/advance-parole