http://www.timesleader.com/mld/timesleader/15070733.htm

Posted on Wed, Jul. 19, 2006

Hazleton tenants must prove their legal status by Oct. 1
Ordinance adopted last week requires landlords to verify that renters have occupancy permit.
By STEVE MOCARSKY smocarsky@leader.net
HAZLETON – City administrator Sam Monticello said that all city tenants will have until Oct. 1 to prove that they legally reside in the United States.

Monticello said that Mayor Lou Barletta’s Illegal Immigration Relief Act ordinance, which council adopted on July 14, will go into effect on Oct. 1.

The relief act requires landlords to verify that current tenants and potential tenants have obtained an occupancy permit from the city. It also establishes $1,000-a-day fines for landlords who rent to tenants who don’t have permits.

It’s important to note that the relief act is dependent upon Barletta’s proposed landlord/tenant registration ordinance, which requires tenants to pay the city a $10 fee to obtain an occupancy permit. However, city council is expected to adopt the landlord/tenant registration ordinance during its August meeting.

To get an occupancy permit, residents must provide “proper identification showing proof of legal U.S. citizenship and/or residency.”

Shawn Saucier of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services said there are several documents that can prove citizenship or legal residency status.

They are the same documents that would show employment eligibility in the United States and are listed on an I-9 form, which must be filled out by an employee and employer when someone is hired in the United States. By signing the form, an employer attests that the employee showed one or two of the listed documents.

Common documents include a U.S. passport or green card, or a combination of two documents, such as a drivers license and Social Security card or a hospital record and birth certificate.

Saucier said non-U.S. citizens who are legally present in the United States fall into two categories – immigrants and non-immigrants.

Non-immigrants are typically students, tourists or temporary workers who have passports, are issued non-immigrant visas, and are allowed to remain in the United States for a limited time for a specific reason. An immigrant might be a close relative of someone who has obtained U.S. citizenship, and is therefore eligible for legal residency.

“There are also people in a gray area,” Saucier said.

For example, someone whose visa might have expired but who has had an application for a green card pending with the department for more than 90 days might be issued an employment authorization document.

“The fact that they have a pending green card application allows them to remain in the United States,” Saucier said.

As far as issuing occupancy permits, Monticello said the city would follow the advice of officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“As to which (documents) they inform us would be responsible to require, we will follow their direction. … We’ve been in contact with them and we’re waiting to hear back,” Monticello said.

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The Pennsylvania Cable Network will air a live edition of its call-in program from 7-8 p.m. today with Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta. The program will be closed-captioned in Spanish. Viewers can ask questions or make comments by calling (877) 726-5001. For more information, visit www.pcntv.com.


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A U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services official said that one of the following documents in List A – or a combination of one document from List B and one from List C – show proof of legal citizenship and/or U.S. residency, as well as employment eligibility.

List A – A U.S. passport (expired or unexpired); a Certificate of U.S. Citizenship; a Certificate of Naturalization; an unexpired foreign passport with an I-551 stamp or attached form I-94 indicating unexpired employment authorization; a Permanent Resident Card or Alien Registration Receipt Card with photograph (commonly known as a green card); an unexpired Temporary Resident Card; an unexpired Employment Authorization Card; an unexpired Reentry Permit; an unexpired Refugee Travel Document; or an unexpired Employment Authorization Document issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that contains a photograph.

List B – A drivers license or ID card issued by a state or outlying possession of the United States – or an ID card issued by federal, state or local government agencies or entities – provided the card contains a photograph or information such as name, date of birth, gender, height, eye color and address; a school ID card with a photograph; a voter’s registration card; a U.S. military card or draft record; a military dependent’s ID card; a U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Card; a Native American tribal document; a driver’s license issued by a Canadian government authority; or, if under age 18, a school record or report card; a clinic, doctor or hospital record; or a day-care or nursery school record.

List C – A U.S. Social Security card issued by the Social Security Administration; Certification of Birth Abroad issued by the Department of State; original or certified copy of a birth certificate issued by a state, county, municipal authority or outlying possession of the United States bearing an official seal; a Native American tribal document; a U.S. Citizen ID Card; an ID Card for use of Resident Citizen in the United States; or an unexpired authorization document issued by the Department of Homeland Security (other than those listed under List A).