Posted by Michael Pollak on Mon, Aug 02, 2010 @ 01:55 PM
An interesting read from Julia Preston of the New York Times regarding allegations from Republican lawmakers that the Obama administration is attempting to enact “meaningful immigration reform absent legislative action” — that is, without the consent of the American people through a vote in Congress. USCIS MEMO
Immigration Policy Aims to Help Military Families by Julia Preston
The Obama administration, responding to requests from Democratic and Republican lawmakers, has taken steps to make it easier for illegal immigrants who are spouses and family members of Americans serving in the military to gain legal status.
The new policy was described in an internal memorandum from Citizenship and Immigration Services that was released last week by Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, and caused a furor in Washington on Friday.
The memo outlined measures that the agency could take under existing laws to “reduce the threat of removal for certain individuals present in the United States without authorization,” instead of waiting for Congress to pass an immigration overhaul to give legal status to millions of illegal immigrants.
With the title “Administrative Alternatives to Comprehensive Immigration Reform,” the memo prompted protests from Mr. Grassley and other Republicans that the Obama administration was trying an end run around Congress, rather than confronting a divisive debate on immigration legislation during an election season. The memo was first reported on the Web site of The National Review, a conservative magazine.
Officials of the immigration agency denied on Friday that they were pursuing any plan to legalize millions of illegal immigrants by fiat.
Aside from a title that administration officials acknowledged was provocative, the memo describes possible changes to the immigration agency’s interpretation of immigration law, including several that have been recommended by lawmakers from both parties to make it easier for immigrants who are trying to work within the system to gain legal status.
According to the memo, one of those changes has been quietly put into practice since May. The new policy allows illegal immigrants who are spouses, parents and children of American citizens serving in the military to complete the process of becoming legal residents without having to leave the United States — a procedure that is known in immigration law terms as granting parole. The memo says agency officials approved the new parole approach “to preserve family unity and address Department of Defense concerns regarding soldier safety and readiness for duty.”
In a letter on July 9, 18 members of the House, including nine Republicans, urged Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to make broader use of that measure and several others to “provide some relief” to active-duty soldiers with close relatives who did not have legal immigration status. The measures the lawmakers advocated are also proposed in the immigration agency’s memo, including the broader use of “deferred action,” a power that allows immigration authorities to cancel deportations.
Among the Republicans signing the letter were Representatives William M. Thornberry of Texas and Representative Michael R. Turner of Ohio, both members of the House Armed Services Committee, as well as Representatives Mike Pence of Indiana and Sam Johnson of Texas. Mr. Turner and Mr. Johnson are staunch opponents of amnesty for illegal immigrants. The letter was also signed by Representative Zoe Lofgren of California, the Democrat who is chairwoman of the House immigration subcommittee.
Department of Homeland Security officials estimate that many thousands of military service members have close relatives who are illegal immigrants. Under a legal Catch-22 in immigration law, those families could face as much as 10 years of separation if the immigrant relative leaves the United States to pursue a legal visa.
The representatives’ letter cited the case of Lt. Kenneth Tenebro, an Army officer and American citizen who had served in Iraq. His Philippine-born wife, Wilma, had been caught in that same legal bind. On July 6, the immigration agency granted deferred action for one year for Mrs. Tenebro, suspending the threat of deportation and offering her new channels to fix her status. Until now, officials said, they have applied the new policy for the military on a case-by-case basis.
Mr. Grassley and 11 other Republican senators who signed a letter this week to Secretary Napolitano about the immigration agency memo, said they were concerned that immigration officials would use their discretionary powers to grant a blanket legal status to millions of illegal immigrants.
“We remain concerned about potential plans for a large-scale effort to offer parole or to defer action on undocumented aliens in the United States,” the senators wrote. “We do not believe that such actions should be used for a large population of illegal aliens or used to bypass Congress and the legislative process.”
Mr. Grassley and a group of Republicans had written a similar letter on June 21.
Administration officials sought to play down the memo. They said the proposals were largely “notional” and most had not been approved as policy by Alejandro Mayorkas, the director of Citizenship and Immigration Services. However, the memo is signed by some of the highest officials in the agency, including Roxana Bacon, the general counsel, and Denise Vanison, the chief of the office of policy and strategy.
The memo finds that it is “theoretically possible to grant deferred action to an unrestricted number of unlawfully present individuals,” but rejects that option as politically “controversial” and too expensive. The memo suggests the agency could instead “tailor the use of this discretionary option for particular groups.”
Christopher Bentley, the spokesman for the immigration agency, said, “To be clear, D.H.S. will not grant deferred action or humanitarian parole to the nation’s entire illegal immigrant population.”
Posted by Michael Pollak on Tue, Jul 27, 2010 @ 10:20 AM
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced that beginning October 1, 2010, domestic offices and U.S. territories, including the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam, will no longer accept cash payment. Eliminating the acceptance of cash will reduce USCIS operating costs. As an alternative to cash, our customers may pay using checks (including personal checks), money orders, and credit cards. Checks and money orders must be made payable to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Processing of your application will not be affected by the use of an alternative payment method.
Please see the attached document or visit www.uscis.gov for additional information.
Posted by Michael Pollak on Wed, Jun 02, 2010 @ 08:28 PM
Houston - CBP Service Port Director Estell announced that CBP at George Bush Intercontinental Airport – IAH will be going to an automated CBP Form I-94W (paperless) for Visa Waiver Program (VWP) travelers who successfully apply on-line for the required Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). After June 8, 2010, the ESTA registered VWP travelers will not be issued a paper I-94W. The CBP officers will stamp VWP visitors’ passports with the admission stamp and annotate their passports with the admission class and the exact admission validity date. The stamp will be the evidence of the VWP visitors’ status.
Read more here.
Posted by Michael Pollak on Mon, May 17, 2010 @ 10:03 AM
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is an immigration benefit granted by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to eligible individuals in the United States who are nationals of a country (or persons without nationality who last habitually resided in such country) that has been designated for TPS. A country may be designated for TPS on the basis of on-going armed conflict, environmental disaster or other extraordinary and temporary conditions that prevent such nationals from safely returning to their homelands. TPS is granted to eligible individuals from the designated countries for time-limited periods, depending on the length of the country designation or an extension of that designation.
Individuals who have been granted TPS may work in the United States and may apply to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to receive an Employment Authorization Document (EAD). An EAD is a plastic, credit card-sized document that shows proof of the individual's authorization to work in the United States and contains a photograph of the individual.
When securing employment in the United States, TPS beneficiaries, like any other individual whom an employer hires, will be requested by their employers to attest to their authorization to work in the United States using the USCIS form, Employment Eligibility Verification, Form I-9. To complete the Form I-9 process, they also must present to their employers a document or combination of documents of the employees' choosing evidencing their identity and employment authorization from the list of acceptable documents.
The EAD issued to TPS beneficiaries by USCIS is one of the documents listed as acceptable for the Form I-9. This document establishes both identity and employment authorization under "List A" of the Form I-9. The expiration date on the card is usually the end of the TPS period for which the bearer last registered. When DHS extends a specific TPS country designation, it sometimes issues a Federal Register notice containing a temporary blanket automatic extension of expiring EADs for TPS beneficiaries from that country to allow time for USCIS to issue new EADs with updated validity dates. The USCIS Web site and the Federal Register notice will describe this EAD auto-extension and will note the date when the auto-extension ends. The auto-extension is typically for 6 months, but the time period can vary.
This Fact Sheet provides guidance to employees and employers on the treatment of auto-extended EADs issued to TPS beneficiaries when completing the Form I-9 process.
Employers
If presented for completion of Form I-9 by your employee, you must accept a TPS-related EAD that is expired on its face if it nevertheless remains unexpired based on an auto-extension of the EAD by DHS as announced in a notice published in the Federal Register. Also, the card must reasonably appear on its face to be genuine and to relate to the employee presenting it to be acceptable. The following information will appear on the card:
- The notation "A-12" or "C-19" appears on the face of the EAD under "Category."
- The expiration date of the most recent TPS extension period on the face of the card. This date will appear in the Federal Register notice announcing the auto-extension of EADs and may also be found at www.uscis.gov/tps.
Employers should enter the document name, number, and expiration date in Section 2 under List A, noting the end of the auto-extension period. You may not request that an employee provide proof that he or she is a national of a country that has been designated for TPS.
When the automatic extension of the EAD expires, you must reverify the employee's employment authorization. The employee may choose to present an unexpired EAD with an updated expiration date, or any other document from List A or C of Form I-9 evidencing that he or she continues to be authorized to work in the United States. You should enter the document name, number and expiration date in Section 3 of the Form I-9.
In addition to completing the Form I-9 process described above, employers that participate in E-Verify may also confirm the employment authorization of the TPS beneficiary by submitting the required data from the Form I-9 to E-Verify. However, the employer may only check the employment authorization of new hires through E-Verify. If the TPS beneficiary is a current employee, the employer may not use E-Verify to confirm employment authorization and should complete only the reverification required in Section 3 of the Form I-9.
Employees
If you are a TPS beneficiary and have been issued a TPS-based EAD, your EAD will contain the notation "A-12" or "C-19" under "Category" and an expiration date for the last TPS designation or extension of TPS for your country. When completing the Form I-9 for your employer, you may choose to present this EAD as evidence of both your identity and employment authorization under List A of the form if the card is unexpired. Once the expiration date on the face of your card is reached, your EAD is no longer acceptable for the Form I-9, unless DHS has automatically extended the expiration date of your card in a notice published in the Federal Register. Your card will remain valid through the auto-extension period stated in the Federal Register notice and must be accepted by your employer for completion of the Form I-9. You may want to provide your employer with a copy of the Federal Register notice stating the automatic extension of your EAD, in case your employer is not aware that he or she may accept your EAD.
If you choose to present your auto-extended, TPS-based EAD to your employer, your employer will be required to reverify your employment authorization on Section 3 of Form I-9 at the end of the automatic EAD extension period. At that time, you must present your employer with either your new TPS-related EAD containing an updated, valid expiration date, or any other acceptable document from List A or C evidencing that you continue to be authorized for employment in the United States.
Contact Information
For additional information about TPS, please call the USCIS National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5273 or visit the USCIS Web site at www.uscis.gov/tps to find:
- General TPS information;
- A list of countries currently designated for TPS;
- Links to Federal Register notices for TPS designated countries; and
- Each designated country's:
- Most recent designation date;
- Current expiration date;
- Current registration period; and
- Duration of the country's automatic extension of EADs.
Employers seeking information about accepting documents from TPS beneficiaries may contact the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) Employer Hotline at 1-800-255-8155 or visit the DOJ Web site at www.justice.gov/crt/osc.
Employees should contact the Office of Special Council Employee Hotline at 1-800-255-7688 or visit the Web site at www.justice.gov/crt/osc if:
- You believe your employer is treating you in a discriminatory manner based on your immigration or TPS status, or based on your national origin; or
- Your employer will not allow you to work despite having presented your employer with your valid, auto-extended TPS EAD, or your presentation of other documents acceptable for the Form I-9.
Posted by Michael Pollak on Thu, Mar 11, 2010 @ 02:07 PM
Department of Homeland Security has designated Greeceas a member of the Visa Waiver Program. Greek citizens will be required to apply for an Electronic System Travel Authorization through the Web-based system and will be able to visit the U.S. without visas in approximately 30 days. Under the Visa Waiver Program, beneficiaries may visit the United states for 90 days without first obtaining a visa.
Posted by Michael Pollak on Sat, Nov 14, 2009 @ 08:37 AM
WASHINGTON DC-- Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Friday reaffirmed President Obama's commitment to pass comprehensive immigration reform.
"While it's important to emphasize the need for immigration reform from an enforcement perspective, the need for reform stretches far beyond those reasons," Napolitano said in a news release.
Napolitano spoke at the Center for American Progress, an advocacy organization in Washington, D.C., and said the administration, which has prioritized health care and the economy, is looking to overhaul immigration laws.
Immigration reform has been a hot topic for several years and includes the sensitive issue of legalizing approximately 12 million undocumented immigrants. Since then, the issue has simmered and promises to become another controversial issue by President Obama.
U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, said a comprehensive immigration reform was much needed along with continuous enforcement efforts.
"We need to enact reform that encourages people to come forward without fear, so that our law-enforcement agencies can focus their efforts on those individuals who pose a security risk," Reyes said.
Posted by Michael Pollak on Thu, Oct 15, 2009 @ 10:58 AM
On October 14, 2009, the Board of Immigration Appeals dismissed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal in the Matter of Hilario Antonio-Garcia. In that case, DHS arrested a citizen of Guatemala, who entered the USA without inspection or parole and placed him in an Intensive Supervision Appearance Program ("ISAP"), requiring him to wear an electronic monitoring device on his ankle and comply with certain reporting requirements. The respondent filed a motion for a custody redetermination hearing before the Immigration Judge requesting he be allowed to post a monetary bond as an alternative to his continued participation in the ISAP. The Immigration Judge denied the respondent's request for amelioration of the terms of his release. In reaching her decision, the Immigration Judge found that she had broad jurisdiction to consider more than just the appropriate amount of bond (some of those factors include criminal record, ties to the community and flight risk).
The DHS filed a timely appeal arguing that the Immigration Judge
exceeded her authority by considering whether the respondent had to continue his participation in the ISAP. The Board of Immigration Appeals disagreed with DHS' position and held that an Immigration Judge does have jurisdiction to review and modify the condition placed on a respondent's release from DHS custody.
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