DHS Designates Afghanistan for Temporary Protected Status for 18 Months

On March 15, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) designated Afghanistan for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). This designation lasts for 18 months from the date the designation is published in the Federal Register. 

Are you eligible? 

Nationals of Afghanistan residing in the U.S. are eligible for TPS if they meet the following requirements: 

1. You must have continuously resided in the U.S. as of March 15, 2022; 

2. You must file you application for TPS within the registration period; 

3. You must establish that you are otherwise eligible for TPS. There are certain bars to eligibility which an attorney can discuss with you if you are interested in applying for TPS. 

If you have questions about your eligibility for TPS, please contact us at www.fourcornerslaw.com or 503.446.3396.

Biden Administration Designates Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status for 18 Months

On March 8, 2021, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) designated Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). This designation lasts for 18 months, until September of 2022. By doing this DHS is recognizing the extraordinary but hopefully temporary situation for Venezuelan nationals currently residing in the U.S. DHS found that many factors prevent Venezuelan nationals from returning to Venezuela safely, such as a widespread humanitarian crisis, which has caused starvation, a growing number of non-state armed groups, repression, and a crumbling infrastructure. 

The Secretary of DHS stated that, “The living conditions in Venezuela reveal a country in turmoil, unable to protect its own citizens.” In response to this crisis, DHS has designated Venezuela for TPS. If you are granted TPS, you are protected from removal for the period of your TPS and are eligible for employment authorization.  

Are you eligible? 

Venezuelan citizens residing in the U.S. are eligible for TPS if they meet the following requirements: 

1. You must have continuously resided in the U.S. as of March 8, 2021; 

2. You must file you application for TPS within the 180-day registration period; 

3. You must establish that you are otherwise eligible for TPS. There are certain bars to eligibility which an attorney can discuss with you if you are interested in applying for TPS. 

   If you have questions about your eligibility for TPS, please contact us at www.fourcornerslaw.com or 503.446.3396.

Proposed Affidavit of Support Rule Places Heavy Burden on Sponsors

On October 3, 2020, USCIS announced its intention to amend the rules relating to the I-864, Affidavit of Support. This new rule would make it more difficult for petitioning sponsors to establish they meet the requirements to serve as what is commonly referred to as a “financial sponsor.” It will also make it more difficult for petitioning sponsors to locate eligible joint sponsors. Under the current rules, a financial sponsor must meet meet the following requirements and submit the following documents: 

1. The sponsor’s income must be at or above 125% of the federal poverty guidelines; 

2. The sponsor must submit their Federal Form 1040 (Tax Return), along with W-2s and 1099s, for the most recent tax year and disclose their adjusted gross income from the prior two tax years; 

3. Pay stubs from the most recent six months or bank accounts showing income from the most six months if self-employed; and

4. Proof of status in the U.S.

The new proposed rules will impose heavy documentary requirements on sponsors. Under the new rule, sponsors would have to submit extensive documentation, including credit reports, credit scores, tax returns for three years, and extensive banking records. New requirements include, but are not limited to, the following: 

1. Requiring a joint sponsor if the petitioning sponsor received any kind of means tested benefit with the 36 months preceding the application. This would apply even if the petitioning sponsor now makes well over the federal poverty guidelines. For example, if someone received means tested benefits three years before petitioning for a relative but then had two steady years of income well above the federal poverty guidelines, the petitioner would still need a joint sponsor. In this scenario, a joint sponsor would be required even if a petitioning sponsor made over one million dollars a year for the two years preceding the application; 

2. All sponsors would be required to submit a full three years of tax returns or tax transcripts and W-2s and 1099s; 

3. The new rule would limit who can serve as a “household member” for purposes of establishing total household income. DHS is proposing limiting who can be a household member for purposes of total income to spouses of sponsors and, in certain circumstances, the intending immigration. For example, if a mother petitioned for a child and the the petitioning mother and sponsored child also live with an adult sibling, the sibling would no longer be able to serve as a household member for purposes of total income; 

4. Requiring sponsors and household members to submit credit scores and reports; 

5. Require banking information for sponsors and household members; and 

6. DHS would like to lift the requirement that USCIS would need to receive a subpoena from an outside agency before providing an outside agency with a certified copy of the Affidavit of Support. Under the new rule, DHS could provide an outside agency with a full copy of the affidavit and all supporting documents upon a “formal request.” 

In the proposed rule, the government claims that, currently very little is currently required for a sponsor or joint sponsor to show their income is sufficient to sponsor an immigrant. However, as you can see by the requirements listed above in the first enumerated list, this is not correct. Under the current rules, a sponsor must submit a complete copy of their most recent Federal Form 1040 and all supporting schedules, all W-2s and W-9s for the most recent tax year, and six months worth of pay stubs. In situations where applicants need a joint sponsor, the primary complaint we hear is that the potential joint sponsor does not want to disclose so much financial information to the government. By imposing requirements that sponsors submit banking records, credit reports, etc., the administration will make it even more difficult to find a qualified joint sponsor. 

This rule appears to be another attempt to quell lawful immigration without going through Congress for comprehensive immigration reform. If you have questions about how these new rules could impact your case, please contact us. 

Court of Appeals Clears Path for Trump Administration to End TPS

Temporary Protected Status, or “TPS,” has long been targeted by the Trump Administration as a program it would like to terminate. TPS is available to nationals of certain countries that the Department of Homeland Security has designated as a country to which it is not safe to return or which cannot handle the return of their citizens. In 2018, the government attempted to end TPS for nationals of Sudan, Nicaragua, Haiti, and El Salvador. The government also attempted to end TPS for Nepal and Honduras. A court prevented the government from ending TPS for Sudan, Nicaragua, Haiti, and El Salvador. After that ruling came down, the government also paused its plans to end TPS for Nepal and Honduras while they appealed the court’s decision. 

The government appealed the order causing them to postpone ending TPS for the above-mentioned countries to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Unfortunately, the Ninth Circuit held that even though there was evidence that Trump displayed racial animus toward non-white, non-European immigrants, there was no evidence that he sought to influence phasing out TPS. Therefore, barring Supreme Court intervention, the administration is now free to proceed with its plans to phase out TPS. 

The government has not yet issued guidance regarding how it plans to implement phasing out TPS. However, you can check this page on the USCIS website for updates. If you have TPS and are curious how this will impact you, please call or email us. 

Work Permits and Travel Permits No Longer Bundled with Adjustment of Status Applications

As you know from our prior article, USCIS is raising their fees on October 3, 2020. For more information on the fee increase, please click here. What many applicants do not know is that this will have a severe impact on many adjustment of status applications, also known as I-485s. Prior to the fee increase, adjustment applicants were allowed to file applications for work and travel authorization at no extra cost. This amounted to a savings of almost $1000 in filing fees. Also, you could renew your work and travel permits with no filing fees as long as your green card application was pending. 

This is changing on October 3, 2020. As of October 3, 2020, USCIS will require filings fees for work permit and travel applications, even if they are filed with an I-485. Applicants who wish to apply for work and travel permits will now have to pay an additional $550 for a work permit and an additional $590 for a travel permit. 

Helpful Tips: If you are currently eligible to file an adjustment of status application, we highly recommend doing so before October 3, 2020. As long as your application is postmarked by October 2, 2020, you will not be subject to the fee increase. If you have a work or travel permit that is expiring within 120 days, you should consider filing your renewal applications before October 3, 2020. Again, as long as your application is postmarked by or before October 2, 2020, you will not be subject to the fee increase.  

Have Questions? Feel free to call or email us!

The Current State of DACA - What Applications Will USCIS Accept and What Applications will USCIS Reject?

In a recent order by the U.S. Supreme Court, the Supreme Court rejected the Trump Administration’s termination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. It is important to remember that the Court did not rule that DACA is lawful. The Court ruled that the administration’s termination of the program did not comply with the required legal provisions. In a later decision, a federal court ordered USCIS to accept new DACA applications and applications for Advance Parole. However, USCIS is not complying with that order. 

Currently, USCIS will accept DACA renewal applications and will issue one-year renewals on a case-by-case basis. It will not grant advance parole documents absent exceptional circumstances. USCIS will reject any applications filed by applicants who have never before been granted DACA. These rejections will likely be the source of many lawsuits in the very near future. Therefore, there may be a benefit to applicants who file new applications even if the applications will be rejected because it could make you eligible for benefits resulting from litigation.