U.S. President Bill Clinton on Thursday, December 21st., 2000
signed into law new legislation which in effect grants an extension of the
January 14th., 1998 deadline for filing of adjustment of
status applications under section 245(i). The new deadline is April 30th.,
2001.
The
many "backtrackers" presently in the United States are expected to be
the biggest beneficiaries of this new legislation which
lameduck President Clinton signed into law just four days shy of
Christmas day. The term "backtrack" is used colloquially to describe
those who came into the US illegally and were not inspected by the US
immigration authorities. The new legislation is referred to as the LIFE act of
2000 (The Legal Immigration and Family Equity Act of 2000) and applies to
backtrackers as well as to those who overstayed after their visas had
expired.
The
implementation of the law will be based on new regulations to be determined by
the Immigration & Naturalization Service. However, what is clear is that the
old eligibility cut off date has been brought forward until April 30th., 2001.
Those who are
here illegally must have been physically present in the United States as of
December 21st., 2000 in order to benefit under the new law. In addition, your
papers must be filed by the new cut off date of April 30th., 2001. What papers
must be filed by that date? It can be any of the following peitions:
(I-130, I-140 or I-360), if you are the beneficiary of such a bona fide
petition, OR it can be an application for labor certification. Of course, if
your papers are not filed by the April 30th., 2001 deadline and you have
overstayed in the United States for more than 180 days, as an illegal
immigrant you would be required to remain outside of the United States for
at least 3 years. In some instances, the bar for reentering the United States
can be as much as ten years in cases where the person overstayed for a
longer period or was deported.
The
penalty fee for adjusting in section 245(i) cases is still $1000. The drafters
of the new law have informed us that the physical presence requirement is
necessary in order to prevent an inflow of illegals hoping to take advantage of
LIFE 2000. If the person filing the I-130, I-140 or I-360 petition or filing
instead, the Labor Certification Application, arrived after December 21st.,2000,
he or she cannot take advantage of the new law, unless that person arrives in
the US with a visa and has not overstayed by more that 180 days. It is still not
clear what evidence would be required to prove the physical presence in the
United States as of December 21st., 2000. Certain lobbying groups are hoping
that the requirements would be flexible and that the proof can be in the form of
an affidavit from the applicant.
It is not
clear whether "skeletal" applications would be accepted as was done when the old
January 14th. 1998 deadline was introduced.
In
other important immigration news there is now a new visa, called the V visa
for those spouses and minor children of legal permanent residents in the
backlog for three years or more. Recipients of this visa would be able to work
legally and would be protected from deportation.
There is also
a K visa for those spouses of US citizens
who have been waiting for more than three years to come to the United
States. This is a temporary visa for those who have been languishing in the
cue abroad while their spouses were here in the United States. The holders of
these visas would be granted work authorization.
[Please contact a qualified immigration attorney
for more information as the information in this article is general in
nature and may not apply to your specific needs.]
Visit the Internet's First Indo-Caribbean Radio Station, RadioDemerara.Com's Main Page -Home Page-
