Thread: Dhs grants amnesty! Need you to chime in april 2.

USCIS Proposes Process Change for Certain Waivers of Inadmissibility

Released: March 30, 2012

Proposal would reduce time that U.S. citizens are separated from immediate relatives
WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today posted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register that would reduce the time U.S. citizens are separated from their spouses, children, and parents (i.e. immediate relatives) who must obtain an immigrant visa abroad to become lawful permanent residents of the United States. This rule would allow certain immediate relatives of U.S. citizens to apply for a provisional waiver of the unlawful presence ground of inadmissibility while still in the United States if they can demonstrate that being separated from their U.S. citizen spouse or parent would cause that U.S. citizen relative extreme hardship. The proposed rule will not alter how USCIS determines eligibility for a waiver of inadmissibility or how an individual establishes extreme hardship.
“The law is designed to avoid extreme hardship to U.S. citizens, which is precisely what this proposed rule will more effectively achieve,” said USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas. “The current process can subject U.S. citizens to months of separation from family members who are waiting for their cases to be processed overseas. The proposed change will have tremendous impact on families by significantly reducing the time of separation.”
USCIS also proposes creating a new form for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens who choose to apply for a provisional unlawful presence waiver. Once in effect, this form would be used for individuals filing an application for a provisional unlawful presence application before he or she departs the United States to complete the immigrant visa process at a U.S. Embassy or consulate abroad. The streamlined process would only apply to immediate relatives who are otherwise eligible for an immigrant visa based on an approved immediate relative petition.
The proposed process outlined above is not in effect and is not available until USCIS publishes a final rule with an effective date in the Federal Register. USCIS will consider all public comments on the proposed rule announced today before publishing the final rule in the coming months. Individuals at this time should not to submit an application for a provisional unlawful presence waiver, or allow anyone to submit one on their behalf because it will be rejected.
USCIS encourages the public to submit formal input on the proposed rule through www.regulations.gov during a comment period that runs from April 2, 2012 until June 1, 2012.
A detailed Web page addressing the proposed rule is currently posted to http://www.uscis.gov/provisionalwaiver. Additional details on the proposed process changes will be available at www.regulations.gov on INSERT DATE. For more information on USCIS and its programs and services, please visit www.uscis.gov or follow us on Twitter.

Additional Information from the link:

Proposed Provisional Unlawful Presence Waivers

Reminder: This proposed process is not in effect. To learn more, read this alert.
What USCIS Proposes
On March 30, 2012, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) posted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register requesting public comment on its plan to create an alternative process for certain immediate relatives of U.S. citizens to apply for and receive a provisional waiver of the unlawful presence ground of inadmissibility while still in the United States, if they can demonstrate that being separated from their U.S. citizen spouse or parent would cause that U.S. citizen relative extreme hardship. The goal of the proposed process change is to reduce the time that U.S. citizens are separated from their immediate relatives while those family members go through the consular process overseas to obtain an immigrant visa.
Why We Propose It
Currently, immediate relatives of U.S. citizens who have accrued a certain period of unlawful presence in the United States are barred from returning to the United States for as long as 3 or 10 years if they leave the country. Immediate relatives can obtain a waiver of the unlawful presence bar if they show that a U.S. citizen spouse or parent will experience extreme hardship if they are required to remain outside the United States. The immediate relative also would have to show that they warrant a favorable exercise of discretion. But in order to obtain the waiver, these individuals must depart the United States and wait abroad while the waiver is processed.
Under the current process, therefore, U.S. citizens suffer unnecessarily long periods of separation while family members go through consular processing overseas to obtain an immigrant visa. The proposed process change lessens the length of separation by reducing inefficiencies in the current immigrant visa process. USCIS believes that this proposed change will streamline the immigrant visa process for immediate relatives whose only ground of inadmissibility is unlawful presence. USCIS plans to adjudicate the provisional waiver application in the United States before the immediate relative departs for his or her immigrant visa interview, which will reduce the length of time immediate relatives must spend abroad for consular processing.
What the Proposed Process Would Do
Under the proposed process, immediate relatives of U.S. citizens who would need a waiver of unlawful presence in order to obtain an immigrant visa could file a new Form I-601A, Application for Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver, before leaving the United States to obtain an immigrant visa at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate abroad. All individuals eligible for this streamlined process are still required to depart the United States and must meet all legal requirements for issuance of an immigrant visa and admission to the United States.
An individual may seek a provisional unlawful presence waiver if he or she:

• Is physically present in the United States;
• Is at least 17 years of age;
• Is the beneficiary of an approved immigrant visa petition (I-130) classifying him or her as an immediate relative of a U.S. citizen;
• Is actively pursuing the immigrant visa process and has already paid the Department of State immigrant visa processing fee;
• Is not subject to any other grounds of inadmissibility other than unlawful presence; and
• Can demonstrate that the refusal of admission would result in extreme hardship to a U.S. citizen spouse or parent.

An immediate relative would not be eligible for the proposed process if he or she:

• Has an application already pending with USCIS for adjustment of status to lawful permanent resident;
• Is subject to a final order of removal or reinstatement of a prior removal order;
• May be found inadmissible at the time of the consular interview for reasons other than unlawful presence; or
• Has already been scheduled for an immigrant visa interview at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate abroad.

Allowing immediate relatives of U.S. citizens to receive provisional waivers in the United States before departure for their immigrant visa interview at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate means that:

• Immigrant visa processing times will improve because of greater capacity in the United States and fewer case transfers between USCIS and the Department of State;
• Immigrant visas will be issued without unnecessary delay (if the individual is otherwise eligible); and
• The period of separation and hardship many U.S. citizens would face due to prolonged separation from their family members will be minimized.

Next Steps
This new process will be implemented only after USCIS publishes a final rule in the Federal Register with an effective date. USCIS will consider all comments received as part of the proposed rulemaking process before publishing the final rule. The current waiver process remains in place and will continue to remain for those who may not be eligible for a provisional waiver.
DO NOT file an application or request a provisional waiver at this time. Any applications filed with USCIS based on this NPRM will be rejected and the application package returned to the applicant, including any fees, until the final rule is issued and the change becomes effective.
For additional information, please see our I-601A Questions and Answers document, linked at the upper-right side of this page.

It seems that the Congress is no longer needed. The Obama administration is running the country through regulation dished out by Federal Agencies headed by presidential appointees.

Sounds a lot like Germany in the 1930's. JMO

Obama proposes new rule for (Illegal)immigrant families

By Brian Bennett Los Angeles Timescontracostatimes.com
Posted: 03/30/2012 06:15:29 PM PDT 31, 2012 1:15 AM GMT


WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration is proposing to make it easier for illegal immigrants who are immediate family members of American citizens to apply for permanent residency, a move that could affect as many as 1 million of the estimated 11 million immigrants living illegally here.

The new rule, which the Department of Homeland Security will post for public comment Monday, will reduce the time illegal immigrants are separated from their American families while seeking legal status, immigration officials said. Currently, such immigrants must leave the country to apply for a legal visa, often leading to long stints away as they await resolution of their applications.

The proposal is the latest move by the administration to use its executive powers to revise immigration procedures without changing the law. It reflects an effort by President Barack Obama to improve his standing among Latino voters who feel he has not met his 2008 campaign promise to pursue comprehensive immigration reform.

The president's push to pass the DREAM Act, a law that would have created a path to citizenship for young illegal immigrants enrolled in college or enlisted in the military, was defeated in the Senate in December. No reform legislation has been under serious consideration since, yet the U.S. has deported record numbers of illegal immigrants under Obama.

Many immigrants who might seek legal status do not pursue it out of fear they will not receive a "hardship waiver" of strict U.S. immigration laws: An illegal immigrant who has overstayed a visa for more than six months is barred from reentering the U.S. for three years; those who overstay more than a year are barred for 10 years.

Lisa Battan, an immigration attorney based in Boulder, Colo., said the current process is "encouraging people to remain illegal."

The revised rule would allow illegal immigrants to claim that time apart from a spouse, child or parent who is a U.S. citizen would create "extreme hardship," and would permit them to remain in the country as they apply for legal status. Once approved, applicants would be required to leave the U.S. briefly, simply to return to their native country and pick up their visa.

The change could reduce a family's time apart to one week in some cases, officials said. The White House hopes to have the new procedures in place by the end of the year.

David Leopold, a Cleveland attorney and past president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, called the change a "minor processing tweak, but it has great value to families."

Hundreds of thousands of the estimated 2.5 million illegal immigrants in California could benefit from the proposed change, according to immigration activists.

Republicans accused Obama of making an end run around Congress.

"President Obama and his administration are bending long-established rules to grant backdoor amnesty to potentially millions of illegal immigrants," said Lamar Smith, R-Texas, in a statement Friday responding to the proposal.

U.S. immigration officials countered that the revision affects only how the applications are processed, not whether the legal status ultimately is granted.

"I don't think that criticism is warranted at all," said Alejandro Mayorkas, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. "What we are doing is reducing the time of separation, not changing the standard of obtaining a waiver."

That the proposal is being announced in an election year has a whiff of political calculation, said Javier Ortiz, a Republican strategist.

"It looks like the president is pandering to Hispanic voters," said Ortiz, asserting that Obama could have proposed the change three years ago when he took office. "I would argue that Hispanics are smarter than that, and they know he has failed to bring forward comprehensive immigration reform."

The White House has previously made other administrative changes, such as a policy announced in June that gave prosecutors new authority to put on hold cases against immigration violators who have strong ties to the U.S. and no criminal record. The "discretion policy" encouraged immigration agents to focus on the removal of illegal immigrants who pose a threat to public safety or are repeat immigration law violators.

Obama proposes new rule for immigrant families - ContraCostaTimes.com

Added the LA Times article to the Homepage with slightly amended title:
http://www.alipac.us/content/obama-p...-families-320/

Originally Posted by Newmexican

It seems that the Congress is no longer needed. The Obama administration is running the country through regulation dished out by Federal Agencies headed by presidential appointees.

Sounds a lot like Germany in the 1930's. JMO

Mr. Obama has had a really really bad week, "Hot Mic" moment, his Health Care Spokesman choking up and coughing and today Sheriff Joe is holding another press conference, I have to be honest this has been one of the best weeks I had since Obama took office! LOL!!!

Hold off on the propaganda and hate for immigrants; this NOT amnesty this is an application to process an application all ready in process for the son daughter etc of an AMERICAN citizen unless you guys think American's should now get out too along with people doing it the "right way"??

If Anti-immigrants can get their head out of the sand for one second and stop slamming anything and everything to do with immigration they might realize this is not amnesty.

At the moment there are thousands of applicants that are direct relatives of Americans that are stuck in a loop ; I should know my application has been in a loop for 20 plus years and I am the son and grandson of Americans without the

I-601A I just like others like me that have PAID 'THOUSANDS" into the system and have LEGITIMATE applications can never be finalized due to ERRORS in the system.

RE: Jean post

Wake up; what you have at the moment is an immigration system that extracts thousands in fees of REAL LEGAL applicants and NEVER finalizes their application.. If you are going to run an inhumane impossible to follow immigration system that is designed to take money from people and give NOTHING in return but a wait that is longer than a humans life span you are always going to have people that do not respect it.

Originally Posted by LostNTime

RE: Jean post

Wake up; what you have at the moment is an immigration system that extracts thousands in fees of REAL LEGAL applicants and NEVER finalizes their application.. If you are going to run an inhumane impossible to follow immigration system that is designed to take money from people and give NOTHING in return but a wait that is longer than a humans life span you are always going to have people that do not respect it.

Just trying to re-coop some of the money legal and illegal immigrants rip us off for every damn day!

Originally Posted by LostNTime

Hold off on the propaganda and hate for immigrants; this NOT amnesty this is an application to process an application all ready in process for the son daughter etc of an AMERICAN citizen unless you guys think American's should now get out too along with people doing it the "right way"??

If Anti-immigrants can get their head out of the sand for one second and stop slamming anything and everything to do with immigration they might realize this is not amnesty.

At the moment there are thousands of applicants that are direct relatives of Americans that are stuck in a loop ; I should know my application has been in a loop for 20 plus years and I am the son and grandson of Americans without the

I-601A I just like others like me that have PAID 'THOUSANDS" into the system and have LEGITIMATE applications can never be finalized due to ERRORS in the system.

Since you are NEW here I am going to give you a BREAK! This is NOT about ANYONE HATEING IMMIGRANTS! C L E A R ?

It is about DHS circumventing the laws of our land ON THE BOOKS and making end rounds to please the OPEN BORDERS GROUPS!

CLEAR?

It is about AMNESTY, Read what they are doing, the forms will allow people who are here ILLEGALLY to be processed and then they can also bring in thier family MEMBERS!


Do your homework, WE don't allow HATE SPEACHES against ANYONE and we are NOT against Immigration! JUST ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION! CLEAR AGAIN?


Now, there is your ONE BREAK.

Respectfully