FAQs: Family Reunification Parole
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS REGARDING Family Reunification Parole (FRP)
FAMILY REUNIFICATION PAROLE EMAIL INVITATIONS BEGIN GOING OUT TODAY
The family reunification parole (FRP) processes are available by invitation only to certain petitioners who filed an approved Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, on behalf of a principal beneficiary who is a national of Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, or Honduras, and their immediate family members. These processes allow an eligible beneficiary to be considered for parole into the United States only on a case-by-case basis while they wait for their family-based immigrant visa to become available. Emails start going out JULY 31, 2023. They won’t all go out at once and not everyone will get one. For more info you can visit www.uscis.gov/FRP NOTE: You must receive an invitation to submit Form I-134A on behalf of a family member under the FRP processes for Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. If you submit Form I-134A without receiving an invitation, we will not confirm your Form I-134A. Invitations to participate in these processes are sent by email or mail to certain petitioners whose Form I-130 is already approved. Petitioners who receive invitations can file Form I-134A, Online Request to be a Supporter and Declaration of Financial Support, for principal and derivative beneficiaries of the Form I-130. A separate Form I-134A must be submitted for each beneficiary. If USCIS confirms the sufficiency of a petitioner’s Form I-134A, DHS will complete security vetting on each beneficiary and will consider each beneficiary for advance travel authorization on a case-by-case basis. If advance travel authorization is issued to the beneficiary, they will be able to come to an internal U.S. port of entry to seek a discretionary grant of parole. If granted parole, they may wait in the United States for their immigrant visa to become available and then apply to adjust status to that of a lawful permanent resident, if they are eligible. Individuals who are paroled into the United States under these processes may request employment authorization upon arrival in the United States. Family Reunification Parole FAQ’s
DYING IN IMMIGRATION DETENTION
On April 6, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the death of 61 year-old Salvador Vargas at the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, GA which occurred on April 4. Deaths in ICE custody are far too common, and particularly devastating in detention centers with a history of medical neglect [and falsifying documents to cover up murder] Though this is the first reported death in ICE custody in 2023, this reporting can be misleading. ICE has repeatedly released critically-ill individuals from detention (most often to a hospital) to distance themselves from responsibility for an immigrant’s eventual death. There is an L.A. Times article detailing the practice of releasing people from custody so they can die somewhere that isn’t their property. Deaths in ICE detention hit a 15-year high in fiscal year 2020, coinciding with the outbreak of COVID-19 and its devastating impact on people held in jails, prisons, and detention centers. While the pandemic contributed to some of the increase in deaths, overall conditions in detention when the Trump administration was detaining a record 50,000+ people, contributed to the high death toll. It is not just adults dying in immigration custody. In recent months, at least seven children have either died in custody or after being detained by federal immigration agencies at the border. American Civil Liberties Union https://www.aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/immigrant-kids-keep-dying-cbp-detention The U.S. government has acknowledged these atrocities and they appear in a report released Thursday by the House Oversight and Reform Committee [which appears to have been removed from the government’s website]. It is mentioned briefly in this report by the oversight committee. There is even a video of guards allowing a mentally ill man in immigration custody die from self-inflicted wounds, which I linked to below. This video was taken at the Stewart Detention Center. The Stewart Detention Center, owned and operated by private prison company CoreCivic, is one of the largest immigration jails in the country — and the deadliest. Since 2017, eight people detained at Stewart have died: four from complications with Covid-19 and two by suicide, including Romero. Two others died of pneumonia and a heart attack. In December, medical examiners concluded that 7-year-old Jakelin Caal Maquin, who also died in CBP custody, succumbed to “a rapidly progressive infection” that shut down her vital organs. CBP sent Jakelin on a 90-mile bus ride to another location after she was taken into custody, even though her father had told officials she was vomiting and feeling ill before they left. CBP officials said last year that Jakelin waited an hour and a half to receive emergency medical care after showing symptoms. Deaths of several other migrant children were reported in just eight months following her death. CBP holding facilities are “basically concrete floors with mats and barbed wire fencing and bright lights 24/7,” Linton said. “That can be a very disorienting environment to children.” This is deeply disturbing as is the lack of news coverage and the lack of outrage. The number of deaths in ICE custody increased dramatically during the 2020 fiscal year, which ends September 30. Eight of the 21 deaths in ICE custody were linked to Covid-19. Note: Annual totals are for fiscal years, which run from October 1-September 30. Source: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Congress mandates that DHS post a list of the names and dates of death of individuals that died while being detained by ICE for immigration infractions, though this list does not include many people who died in custody for various reasons. You can see the official list here. So far in 2023 DHS acknowledges just a few of the several confirmed deaths that took place in their custody. 2023 Date of Death Name October 13, 2022 Mendoza, Melvin Ariel Calero March 5, 2023 Dumitrascu, Cristian April 4, 2023 Rosales-Vargas, Salvador June 23, 2023 Rocha-Cuadra, Ernesto 2022 Date of Death Name October 1, 2021 Sanchez-Gotopo, Pablo July 8, 2022 Gonzalez-Soto, Benjamin August 24, 2022 Vial, Kesley 2021 Date of Death Name December 17, 2020 Jones, Anthony January 30, 2021 Montes, Felipe February 5, 2021 Dean, Jesse March 15, 2021 Gallego-Agudelo, Diego Fernando August 3, 2021 Centeno-Briones, Elba Maria 2020 Date of Death Name October 1, 2019 Abienwi, Nebane October 15, 2019 Hernandez-Diaz, Roylan December 21, 2019 Akinyemi, Anthony Oluseye December 29, 2019 Mavinga, Samuelino January 25, 2020 Owen, Ben James January 27, 2020 Hernandez-Fundora, Alberto February 20, 2020 Hernandez-Colula, David March 8, 2020 Ochoa-Yoc De Ramirez, Maria Celeste March 18, 2020 Carcamo-Navarro, Orlan Ariel March 21, 2020 Hernandez-Ibarra, Ramiro May 6, 2020 Escobar-Mejia, Carlos Ernesto May 17, 2020 Ahn, Choung Woong May 24, 2020 Baten-Oxlaj, Santiago July 12, 2020 Perez-Montufa, Onoval July 15, 2020 Sanchez-Perez, Luis (aka Hernandez-Cabrera, Mauricio) August 5, 2020 Hill, James Tomas August 5, 2020 Lee, Kuan Hui August 10, 2020 Guillen Vega, Jose Freddy August 28, 2020 Sabonger-Garcia, Fernando September 21, 2020 Chavez Alvarez, Cipriano September 26, 2020 Jally, Romien
Religious Worker (R) Visa
Legal Authorities For A Religious Worker Eligibility Requirements For a Religious Worker Religious Worker Adjustment of Status Eligibility Requirements The applicant has been inspected and admitted or inspected and paroled into the United States. The applicant is physically present in the United States at the time of filing and adjudication of an adjustment application. The applicant is eligible to receive an immigrant visa because the applicant is the beneficiary of an approved Form I-360 classifying him or her as a special immigrant religious worker.[8] The applicant had an immigrant visa immediately available when he or she filed the adjustment of status application[9] and at the time of final adjudication.[10] The applicant is not subject to any applicable bars to adjustment of status.[11] The applicant is admissible to the United States or eligible for a waiver of inadmissibility or other form of relief.[12] The applicant merits the favorable exercise of discretion. Documentation and Evidence An applicant should submit the following documentation to adjust status as a religious worker: In addition, a spouse or child who is filing as a derivative applicant should submit the following: Additional Information Bars to Adjustment Unless exempt, religious workers and their derivatives are ineligible for adjustment of status if any of the bars to adjustment of status apply. Religious workers and their derivatives may be exempt under INA 245(k) from some of the bars to adjustment. To qualify for an exemption, the applicant must not have accrued more than 180 days of certain immigration violations since his or her last lawful admission. If the applicant does not qualify for the exemption, then the applicant remains subject to the adjustment bars. Sunset Date Except for ministers, all other religious workers and their derivatives must adjust to LPR status on or before the designated sunset date.[from USCIS] USCIS denies any adjustment applications based on special immigrant religious worker petitions (other than for ministers) that are pending or filed after the designated sunset date. Treatment of Family Members The spouse or child (unmarried and under 21 years of age) of a religious worker may accompany or follow-to-join the principal applicant if the spouse or child is otherwise eligible.[USCIS Policy Manual] The spouse and child may, as derivative applicants, apply to adjust status under the same immigrant category and priority date as the principal applicant.
Online Tool to Change Your Address With The Immigration Court
ICE has announced that their “online change of address tool” for people in removal proceedings, subject to a removal order or Order of Supervision of some kind, or are otherwise required to keep their address updated with DHS/ICE. You can find the online tool at this link: https://onlinechangeofaddress.ice.gov/ You can still submit a change of address the old fashioned way using a paper form but it’s strongly encouraged that you do it online so you get instant proof of filing that you can print out to avoid any confusion in the future or being blamed for not informing DHS of the address change. Finally, it’s very important that you remember to also inform the Court of any change of address if you are currently in removal proceedings or required to do so. The Court still uses a Form EOIR-33, Change of Address/Contact Information available at through the Department of Justice EOIR website at https://www.justice.gov/eoir/form-eoir-33-eoir-immigration-court-listing. The Press Release from ICE is available on their website at ICE.gov and has been quoted below: WASHINGTON — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)’s online change-of-address form for noncitizens – first announced in April 2023 – is now fully operational. This new system gives noncitizens the option to update their information online in addition to the existing options of doing so by phone or in-person. It will enable noncitizens to comply with their immigration obligations more easily and improve the accuracy of address information reported to ICE by utilizing address autofill to ensure U.S. Postal Service standardization. After successfully entering a valid mailing address, if the noncitizen is currently in removal proceedings pursuant to Section 240 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), the interactive online shows the noncitizen information on how to also change their address with the immigration court as required, using the Executive Office for Immigration Review’s (EOIR) Form EOIR-33, Change of Address/Contact Information, which may be submitted by mail, in-person at the immigration court, or online through EOIR’s Respondent Access. The EOIR-33 is currently available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, and Punjabi. To determine if a noncitizen still needs a notice to appear, ICE will run system checks to make sure the noncitizen is not already in removal proceedings pursuant to Section 240 of the INA, does not have an affirmative asylum application pending with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and does not already have a final order of removal. Noncitizens eligible for, but who have not yet received a notice to appear – meaning those who were released on conditional parole with an alternative to detention – may be prompted to state whether they want to receive their notice to appear by mail or to in person by scheduling an appointment at an ERO field office. To process an online change-of-address, the system requires a full name, A-number and validated non-commercial address. It takes approximately one minute to complete the form. All noncitizens in the United States, except A and G visa holders and visa waiver visitors, must also report a change of address to USCIS within 10 days of relocating. SOURCE: ICE Press Release https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-online-change-address-tool-noncitizens-fully-operational
How To: Apply For U Visa
Applying for U Nonimmigrant Status (U Visa) What USCIS Forms do you need to file? What evidence should be sent with the U Visa application? What other documents are required for a U visa? The answers to all those questions and more are below in this brief guide to filing for U nonimmigrant status. FORMS TO FILE: You will need to file a separate I-918 Supp A for each derivative that will be a part of the application. TO APPLY (PETITION) FOR A U NONIMMIGRANT STATUS, SUBMIT: You may also apply (petition) for U nonimmigrant status if you are outside the United States. To do this, you must: CHECKLIST OF REQUIRED DOCUMENTS FOR U VISA ** indicates required initial evidence. While all items in the checklist should be provided, packages will be rejected without these items. EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION Principal U Nonimmigrants: You are authorized to work once we have approved your underlying petitions for U nonimmigrant status. We will automatically issue an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) when we approve your petition. You do not need to file a separate Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, to receive an EAD related to the approval of your petition for nonimmigrant status. The above instructions from the USCIS website are confusing. They say not to submit an I-765 because the issuance of EAD is automatic but it’s only automatic when the U visa is approved and that may be 4-5 years from now. You should submit an I-765 with your I-918. If you submit an I-765 with your I-918 then they can approve the I-765 once the bona fide determination is made and while you are waiting for your U visa to become available. MORE INFO ABOUT U VISAS. CAN I TRAVEL AFTER U VISA IS APPROVED? WHAT CRIMES QUALIFY FOR A U VISA?