In light of the arrival of more than 200 Haitian refugees in Miami this week, we thought a summary of a law designed to help past Haitian refugees would be appropriate.

In 1998, advocacy organizations disappointed that Haitians were not one of the groups benefiting from the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act put tremendous pressure on Congress to pass some type of benefit for Haitian refugees living in the US.  They were successful, and in December 1998, Congress passed the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act.  At the time, there were an estimated 50,000 Haitian refugees in the US, most of whom fled during the political and economic upheaval that followed efforts to recover from four decades of dictatorship.

The basic criterion for eligibility under HRIFA is that the applicant be a citizen or national of Haiti and have been in the US continuously since December 31, 1995.  In addition, the applicant must fall within one of the following five categories:

• orphaned, abandoned, or an unaccompanied minor at the time of entering the US;
• minor orphaned or abandoned after entering the US
• determined to have had a credible fear of persecution and thus, legally permitted to be in the US;
• applied for asylum before December 31, 1995, or
• previously been paroled into the US by US authorities for emergent reasons or for reasons deemed to be in the national interest.

Applicants cannot be inadmissible to the US, but there are exceptions, specifically, public charge, lack of labor certification, present without admission or parole, lack of valid immigrant visa, and unlawful presence.  A person who fits within one of the eligibility categories, and is not subject to an applicable ground of inadmissibility, will be granted permanent residence. 

The application period for primary HRIFA applicants ended on March 31, 2000.  After that date, only dependents of primary applicants can apply.  However, amendments to HRIFA passed as part of the Legal Immigration Family Equity Act made some people previously ineligible eligible.  Specifically, it eliminated prior removal and unlawful attempts to reenter following removal as grounds of inadmissibility.  People made eligible for HRIFA relief by the LIFE Act are allowed to file motions to reopen and proceed with their adjustment application.  This relief is available only to those who filed a HRIFA adjustment application which was denied and to those who, while they did not file a HRIFA application, received a final order of removal.  People who did not apply for HRIFA relief and were not in proceedings cannot take advantage of the LIFE Act changes.  Motions filed under this provision must have been submitted by June 19, 2001.