Littleredrocker is right about that being a zipper foot and you can adjust it to left or right. Even if you can sew with the needle clearing the zipper foot, it is not a good foot to do regular sewing with because it does not make contact over the entire feed dogs. It is best for where you have to stitch right up against something.
Just google "learning to use a zipper foot" and you get all sorts of choices to learn.