Immigration Newsletter

Friday, January 19, 2018

Haitians to re-register for TPS between Jan. 18, 2018, and March 19, 2018.


Release Date: Jan. 18, 2018
Employment Authorization for Haitians with TPS Automatically Extended Until July 21, 2018
WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that current beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) under Haiti’s designation who want to maintain that status through the program’s termination date of July 22, 2019, must re-register between Jan. 18, 2018, and March 19, 2018. Re-registration procedures, including how to renew employment authorization documentation, have been published in the Federal Register and on uscis.gov/tps.
All applicants must submit Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status. Applicants may also request an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) by submitting a completed Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, at the time of filing Form I-821, or separately at a later date. Both forms are free for download on USCIS’ website at uscis.gov/tps.
USCIS will issue new EADs with a July 22, 2019, expiration date to eligible Haitian TPS beneficiaries who timely re-register and apply for EADs. Given the timeframes involved with processing TPS re-registration applications, however, USCIS is automatically extending the validity of EADs that show an expiration date of Jan. 22, 2018, for 180 days through July 21, 2018. Additionally, individuals who have EADs with an expiration date of July 22, 2017, and who applied for a new EAD during the last re-registration period but have not yet received their new EADs are also covered by this automatic extension. These individuals may show their EAD indicating a July 22, 2017, expiration date and their EAD application receipt (Notice of Action, Form I-797C) that notes the application was received on or after May 24, 2017, along with this statement, to employers as proof of continued employment authorization through July 21, 2018.
On Nov. 20, 2017, former Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke determined  that disaster-related conditions in Haiti, upon which the country’s original designation was based, no longer supported its designation for TPS and announced the termination of the status. The Acting Secretary made her decision to terminate TPS for Haiti after reviewing country conditions and consulting with appropriate U.S. government agencies. She also delayed the effective date of the termination for 18 months from the current expiration date of Jan. 22, 2018, to allow time for an orderly transition. As a result of the delayed effective date, Haiti’s TPS designation will end on July 22, 2019.  


Drew Law Office, PLLC -- Immigration Lawyers Metro Manchester NH (603) 644-3739 or www.immigrationNH.com

Monday, January 15, 2018

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals: Response to January 2018 Preliminary Injunction | USCIS

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals: Response to January 2018 Preliminary Injunction | USCIS



Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals: Response to January 2018 Preliminary Injunction

Jan. 13, 2018, Update:  Due to a federal court order, USCIS has resumed accepting requests to renew a grant of deferred action under DACA.  Until further notice, and unless otherwise provided in this guidance, the DACA policy will be operated on the terms in place before it was rescinded on Sept. 5, 2017. 
Individuals who were previously granted deferred action under DACA may request renewal by filing Form I-821D (PDF)Form I-765 (PDF), and Form I-765 Worksheet (PDF), with the appropriate fee or approved fee exemption request, at the USCIS designated filing location, and in accordance with the instructions to the Form I-821D (PDF) and Form I-765 (PDF).  USCIS is not accepting requests from individuals who have never before been granted deferred action under DACA.  USCIS will not accept or approve advance parole requests from DACA recipients. 
If you previously received DACA and your DACA expired on or after Sept. 5, 2016, you may still file your DACA request as a renewal request.  Please list the date your prior DACA ended in the appropriate box on Part 1 of the Form I-821D.
If you previously received DACA and your DACA expired before Sept. 5, 2016, or your DACA was previously terminated at any time, you cannot request DACA as a renewal (because renewal requests typically must be submitted within one year of the expiration date of your last period of deferred action approved under DACA), but may nonetheless file a new initial DACA request in accordance with the Form I-821D and Form I-765 instructions. To assist USCIS with reviewing your DACA request for acceptance, if you are filing a new initial DACA request because your DACA expired before Sept. 5, 2016, or because it was terminated at any time, please list the date your prior DACA expired or was terminated on Part 1 of the Form I-821D, if available.
Deferred action is a discretionary determination to defer a removal action of an individual as an act of prosecutorial discretion.  Further, deferred action under DACA does not confer legal status upon an individual and may be terminated at any time, with or without a Notice of Intent to Terminate, at DHS’s discretion.  DACA requests will be adjudicated under the guidelines set forth in the June 15, 2012 DACA memo (PDF)
Additional information will be forthcoming.
Last Reviewed/Updated: 
 Drew Law Office, PLLC -- Immigration Lawyers Metro Manchester NH
(603) 644-3739 or www.immigrationNH.com

Thursday, December 21, 2017

Re-Registration Period Now Open for Hondurans with Temporary Protected Status



Re-Registration Period Now Open for Hondurans with Temporary Protected Status

Release Date: 
WASHINGTON— Current beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) under Honduras’ designation who want to maintain that status through the current expiration date of July 5, 2018, must re-register between Dec. 15, 2017 and Feb. 13, 2018. Re-registration procedures, including how to renew employment authorization documentation, have been published in the Federal Register and on the USCIS website.
All applicants must submit Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status. Applicants may also request an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) by submitting a completed Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, at the time of filing Form I-821, or separately at a later date. Both forms are free on USCIS’ website.
USCIS will issue Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) with a July 5, 2018 expiration date to eligible Honduran TPS beneficiaries who timely re-register and apply for EADs under this extension in accordance with the TPS Honduras Federal Register Notice.  Given the timeframes involved with processing TPS re-registration applications, however, DHS recognizes that not all re-registrants will receive new EADs before their current EADs expire on Jan. 5, 2018.  Accordingly, DHS has automatically extended the validity of EADs issued under the TPS designation of Honduras for 180 days, through July 4, 2018.   
In November, former Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke announced that she was not making a determination on Honduras’ TPS designation at that time. By operation of the TPS statute, this postponement automatically extended the current TPS designation for Honduras for six months – through July 5, 2018.  Duke concluded that additional time and information was necessary to make a determination on extension, redesignation, or termination of Honduras’ TPS designation.
During this six-month extension, individuals with TPS are encouraged to prepare for their return to Honduras in the event Honduras’ designation is not extended again, including requesting updated travel documents from the government of Honduras. 
At least 60 days before July 5, 2018, the Secretary will assess the country conditions in Honduras to determine whether to extend, redesignate, or terminate TPS for Honduras. Hondurans with TPS may wish to consult with qualified immigration attorneys or practitioners about their eligibility for another immigration status or benefit, or whether there is any other action they may want to take regarding their individual immigration circumstances.







Drew Law Office, PLLC -- Immigration Lawyers Metro Manchester NH (603) 644-3739 or www.immigrationNH.com

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

USCIS Automatic Employment Authorization Document (EAD) Extension | USCIS

Automatic Employment Authorization Document (EAD) Extension | USCIS: Starting Jan. 17, 2017, USCIS is automatically extending certain expiring EADs for up to 180 days for applicants who:Properly filed for a renewal EAD before their current  EAD expired, and Are otherwise eligible for a renewal, which means that:

    • Your EAD renewal is under a category that is eligible for an automatic 180-day extension (see the list of categories below); and
    • The Category on your current EAD matches the “Class Requested” listed on this Notice of Action.  (Note:  If you are a TPS beneficiary or pending applicant, your EAD and this Notice must contain either the A12 or C19 category, but the categories do not need to match each other).
We are doing so to help prevent gaps in employment authorization and documentation. This extension applies to Form I-765 renewal applications that are still pending on January 17, 2017, and to Form I-765 renewal applications filed on or after Jan. 17, 2017.

The following categories of EADs will be eligible for an automatic extension of up to 180 days:
The eligibility category you listed on your Form I-765 renewal application 
Description
(a)(3) 
Refugee
(a)(5) 
Asylee
(a)(7) 
N-8 or N-9
(a)(8) 
Citizen of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, or Palau
(a)(10) 
Withholding of Deportation or Removal Granted
(a)(12) 
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) Granted
(c)(8) 
Asylum Application Pending
(c)(9) 
Pending Adjustment of Status under Section 245 of the Act
(c)(10) 
Suspension of Deportation Applicants (filed before April 1, 1997)
Cancellation of Removal Applicants
Special Rule Cancellation of Removal Applicants Under NACARA
(c)(16) 
Creation of Record (Adjustment Based on Continuous Residence Since January 1, 1972)
(c)(19) 
Pending  initial application for TPS where USCIS determines applicant  is  prima facie eligible for TPS and can receive an EAD as a “temporary treatment benefit”. 
(c)(20) 
Section 210 Legalization (pending I-700)
(c)(22) 
Section 245A Legalization (pending I-687)
(c)(24) 
LIFE Legalization
(c)(31)
VAWA Self-Petitioners

NOTE:  TPS individuals may receive an automatic extension of their employment authorization:
  1. Through publication of a Federal Register notice extending the TPS designation of the individual’s country, provided that the Federal Register notice also authorizes an automatic extension of covered individuals’ existing EADs; and/or
  2. Through this 180-day automatic extension. 
Drew Law Office, PLLC -- Immigration Lawyers Metro Manchester NH (603) 644-3739 or www.immigrationNH.com

Saturday, February 25, 2017

These Are Children, Not Bad Hombres - The New York Times

These Are Children, Not Bad Hombres - The New York Times



...But President Trump has decided to get tough on many of the 60,000 Central American children who arrive at our border each year begging for safety after fleeing some of the most dangerous places on earth. His executive orders, and memos from the Department of Homeland Security on how to interpret them, could strip this special treatment from the roughly 60 percent of unaccompanied children who have a parent already living in the United States. If Kendra and Roberto were just entering the United States now, they would fall into this group; instead they kept their protections and were eventually united with their mother, a house painter in Los Angeles.

Parents like her, the argument goes, are exploiting benefits established to help children who really are alone here. The administration has threatened to deport parents who send for their children or prosecute them for hiring smugglers.
Last week Mr. Trump’s press secretary said the president’s intention was to prioritize the deportation of immigrants who “represent a threat to public safety.” Supporters say he’s upholding the law. But these children are not threats, and there are many ways to preserve the integrity of our immigration laws while treating them humanely.
D.H.S. hasn’t fully explained how it will deal with children reclassified as “accompanied” if a parent steps forward to claim them. “There is a range of how bad this might be,” says Michelle Brané, director of the Migrant Rights and Justice Program at the Women’s Refugee Commission.
But it could be pretty bad. In recent years, up to 90 percent of unaccompanied Central American kids have willingly turned themselves over to Border Patrol agents, knowing they would be cared for. Now they will go to great lengths to avoid detection, walking through deserts for days, risking dehydration, or traveling stuffed into hidden compartments in cars or trucks, where they can suffocate.
Smuggling fees will escalate. When that happens, smugglers often collect half in the home country and require children to work off the other half as indentured servants. Experts expect to see more cases like the one in 2014, when federal agents rescued eight Guatemalan teenagers from a trailer park in Ohio, where they’d been held captive by smugglers and forced to work at an egg farm.
Children will be afraid to admit they have parents here, as they were in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when the government often told parents to retrieve apprehended children, only to deport the whole family when they showed up. 


To read the full story click on the link to NYT





 Drew Law Office, PLLC -- Immigration Lawyers Metro Manchester NH (603) 644-3739 or www.immigrationNH.com

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Mexico or America? A Couple, One of Them Undocumented, Weigh the Risks of Where to Live - The New York Times

Mexico or America? A Couple, One of Them Undocumented, Weigh the Risks of Where to Live - The New York Times












ontinue reading the main storyShare This Page

It just goes to show why comprehensive immigration reform should have been done a long time ago. Our government seems incapable of solving this dilemma.





Drew Law Office, PLLC -- Immigration Lawyers Metro Manchester NH (603) 644-3739 or www.immigrationNH.com