The Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) this week reminded those eligible Hondurans and Nicaraguans to immediately re-register for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to maintain TPS and employment authorization for the 18-month period beginning on July 5, 2003 and ending on January 5, 2005. BCIS Service Centers must physically receive all completed re-registration applications for TPS by the close of business on July 7, 2003. This re-registration is necessary regardless of the notice in the Federal Register on May 5, 2003 automatically extending the Employment Authorization Document (EAD) validity period from July 5, 2003 to December 5, 2003.
To re-register for the extension until January 5, 2005, a TPS applicant must submit Form I-821 Application for Temporary Protected Status AND Form I-765 (Application for Employment Authorization), as well as two identification photographs (1 1/2" x 1 1/2"). If the applicant is only seeking to re-register for TPS and not seeking an EAD extension, there is no filing fee. However, all applicants seeking an extension of employment authorization until January 5, 2005 must submit a $120 filing fee with Form I-765 (Application for Employment Authorization). The applicant may request a fee waiver in accordance with the regulations. Applicants for an extension of TPS benefits do not need to submit new fingerprints and therefore do not need to submit a $50 fee for fingerprinting. Children beneficiaries of TPS who have reached the age of fourteen but were not previously fingerprinted must pay the $50 fingerprint fee with the application for extension.
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The George Washington University Law School’s Immigration Clinic won another major victory this spring by securing asylum for an Ethiopian citizen. The client, a member of the All Amhara People’s Organization (AAPO) in Ethiopia, had various duties including working with its Agitation and Propaganda Committee. During one AAPO demonstration he was arrested by authorities and detained for three months. According to the client, while in prison he was beaten on his back and feet, burned with a hot iron and repeatedly raped by a guard. After his release from prison, he made his way to the United States where he applied for asylum.
The Immigration Clinic has provided legal representation to aliens in the D.C. metropolitan area since 1979. All of the programs in the Community Legal Clinics share a common goal – to provide members of the community with critically needed legal services while giving motivated law students the opportunity to experience the practical application of law and to develop skills as negotiators, advocates and litigators within an exciting and supportive educational environment.
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An intra-office memo from the Immigration and Naturalization (INS) dated March 22, 2002 surfaced this week. The memo, written by James Ziglar when he was the Commissioner for the INS, led to many changes in the way the department dealt with immigration issues. The document detailed a new plan for enforcement and implementation of the department’s “zero tolerance policy.” The one-page document details strict guidelines for INS employees and explains that all employees must follow all Headquarters-issued policy and field instructions. All members of authority or management were required to read and understand the field instructions, and were required to ensure that each employee read and understood the guidance. The document states that those individuals who fail to abide by the guidelines will be “disciplined appropriately.”
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A census report released this week announced that Hispanics are now the nation’s largest minority group. The new census figures also show that Latinos accounted for half the country’s population growth two years after the 2000 Census was taken.
The nation’s Hispanic population numbered 38.8 million in July 2002, according to population estimates released. The nation’s African American population, which has been the nation’s largest minority since the country was founded, numbered 38.3.
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William Yates, Acting Associate Director for Operations at the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS), announced interim guidance for amendments affecting adjudication of petitions for alien entrepreneurs. The memorandum provides guidance on certain changes affecting the adjudication of Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur, and Form I-829, Petition by Alien Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions, that were pending or filed on or after November 2, 2002.
The Twenty-First Century Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act (Public Law 107-273), signed into law by the President on the above stated date, affects the adjudication of Form I-526 petitions pending or filed on or after November 2, 2002. The changes include: amending sections 203(b)(5) and 216A of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) so that an alien entrepreneur is no longer required to establish a commercial enterprise; regulations under 8 CFR 204.6 (h)(3) has been superceded in part by Public Law 107-273 due to the removal of the requirement that the alien entrepreneur establish the commercial enterprise, however, the section is still relevant in that it describes under what circumstances a commercial enterprise in existence prior to November 29, 1990 will be considered “new” for the purposes of this law; a business established prior to November 29, 1990 may be considered a new commercial enterprise under 8 CFR 204.6 (e) and (h) if since that date it has been expanded so that a substantial change in the net worth or number of employees has occurred. Substantial change means a 40 percent increase in either the net worth or the number of employees; a commercial enterprise established prior to November 29, 1990 will be considered to be new under 8 CFR 204.6 (e) and (h) if since that date it has been restructured or reorganized so that a new commercial enterprise results; the new law does not permit an alien entrepreneur who filed a Form I-526 petition after August 31, 1998, to meet the requirements for removal of conditions by combining investments in multiple commercial enterprises; section 203 (b)(5) of the INA is amended to include a definition of “full-time” employment as a position that requires at least 35 hours of service per week at any time; (7) Section 216A of the INA is amended to include “limited partnership” within the term “commercial enterprise.”
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The Department of State has distributed a memo to consular section chiefs providing guidance on a change in clearance procedures for certain applicants subject to Visas Mantis. The length of validity of clearances has been extended to one year depending on circumstances. The DOS said it is reinstating post-check visas and longer validity clearance for certain applicants, and posts will no longer need to seek a Visas Mantis clearance in advance of visa issuance, provided certain conditions are met. First, the applicant must be returning to a US government-sponsored program to perform the same activities involving sensitive technologies on the Technology Alert List. The post must have evidence of the original issuing post that a Mantis authorization was received, and the post must send a post-check Visas Mantis cable containing all the information normally included.
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A Department of Homeland Security final rule was printed in a recent issue of the Federal Register that adds and revises definitions, redefines powers and authorities of certain agents and officials and amends an internal review process for alleged violations of enforcement activity standards. The rule can be viewed online at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/
edocket.access.gpo.gov/2003/03-14931.htm
