Easing Backlogs in Family Visas

Reuniting families is once again at the forefront of immigration legislation.

By REUBEN S. SEGURITAN

Reuniting families is once again at the forefront of immigration legislation.

The proposed bill, The Reuniting Families Act, was reintroduced in Congress last May 20 by U.S. Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Charles Schumer (D-NY).

This bill seeks to reunite U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents with their families by reducing the wait times in family-based immigration, reclassifying certain family-based categories, increasing per country limits and reallocating and utilizing unused visas in categories where there are huge backlogs.

The waiting time for family-based visas now ranges from five to twenty three years. Spouses wait for over seven years while the adult children of U.S. citizens wait for about seventeen years. Visa applicants from the Philippines wait the most. The priority given to family reunification recognizes family unity

as a contributing factor in maintaining a stable community that supports the economy. As stated by Senator Menendez, legal immigrants work hard, pay taxes and create jobs and businesses.

Senator Schumer added that families should not be made to suffer prolonged separation due to the inefficient and outdated immigration system.

As target actions to reduce the current wait times, several measures are proposed.

The bill seeks to reclassify spouses and children under the age of 21 of lawful permanent residents (green card holders) to the immediate relative (IR) category, thus, omitting the wait time. There is an estimated 322,000 cases pending at this time.

It seeks to increase the per country immigration limits from 7 to 10 percent of total admissions.

The problematic situation of widows, widowers and orphans is addressed by allowing them to continue to wait in line for a visa even after the death of the sponsoring relative.

The proposal seeks to recapture the 400,000 family-sponsored and employment based visas that went unused between 1992 and 2007 to be utilized for pending cases.

Stepchildren and biological children will be treated equally by allowing stepchildren below 21 years old to immigrate upon their parents’ marriage. The current age limit is 18

More importantly, it respects and recognizes the contribution of Filipino World War II veterans by reducing their children’s wait times for an immigrant visa in order to rejoin them. This is of vital importance since the Filipino war veterans are aging and time is of the essence when it comes to their dream of family reunification.

A related bill has recently been introduced in the House last May 14 by Rep. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii. Known as the Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act or H.R. 2412, it has nine co-sponsors and has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee. This bill would exempt the sons and daughters of Filipino World War II veterans who were naturalized under the Immigration Act of 1990 from the worldwide or numerical limitation on immigrant visas

The Reuniting Families Act is a step in the right direction considering that immigrants fuel the U.S. economy through their hard work and entrepreneurship. Senator Menendez, in support of the bill, stated that that there are clear societal and economic reasons for giving priority to family reunification in immigration reforms and legislation.

It is evident that immigrants make a variety of economic, social and cultural contributions to the United States throughout its history. By recognizing the importance of the family and prioritizing those with family-based petitions to be reunified with their respective families, the U.S. provides a stable foothold for these contributing members of society.

Posted by admin on June 17th, 2009 with no comments.
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Derivative Child Turning 21 Under CSPA

By REUBEN S. SEGURITAN

The Child Status Protection Act, which took effect on August 6, 2002, allows certain green card applicants to retain their classification as a child even if they are already 21 years old or over.

But the procedure to apply for immigration benefits is confusing mainly because implementing regulations have not been issued by the Department of Homeland Security or the Department of State.

In the absence of such regulations, applicants have relied on policy memos of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), cable instructions of the Department of State and court decisions. But often, these memos and court cases did not yield favorable results.

even though they are eligible to apply as derivative beneficiaries.

What should a derivative beneficiary do to avail of the immigration benefits provided under the CSPA? How does the derivative child know if he/she is covered under the law?

Under Section 3 of the CSPA, the derivative child of a beneficiary of a family-based visa petition is entitled to have his/her age calculated according to a certain formula.

The CSPA formula states that the waiting time for the visa petition to be adjudicated is subtracted from the age of the child on the date that the visa priority date of the child’s parent becomes current.

According to an INS memo, “the date on which an immigrant visa number becomes available” is the first day of the month that a visa becomes available in a particular preference category as indicated in a monthly visa bulletin published by the Department of State.

But in order to freeze the child’s age below 21, the CSPA requires the child to have “sought to acquire” the status of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence within a year of the visa availability date.

The USCIS considers the child to have “sought to acquire the status” if he/she applied for adjustment of status, or an immigrant visa, or be the beneficiary of an I-824 within one year of the visa availability date. The filing of a labor certification or visa petition does not satisfy the requirement.

A child included in a petition filed for a parent by the parent’s brother or sister must submit a completed DS 230 for himself/herself. The DS 230 filed by the parent does not satisfy the requirement even if the child’s name is listed on the parent’s DS 230.

The eligibility for benefits under the CSPA may be determined at the time a visa application is adjudicated.

According to the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines, a derivative beneficiary who believes he/she is qualified for immigrant visa may submit an application for review to a consular officer. The applicant should submit Form DS 230 (Parts 1 and 2), a valid passport, birth certificate and notice of approval of the family-based petition of his/her parent and a fee of $400.00.

The U.S. Embassy will review the case and will inform the applicant of its determination.

(Editor’s Note: REUBEN S. SEGURITAN has been practicing law for over 30 years and is included in the Marquis Who’s Who in American Law. He is a former law editor and professor and author of “We Didn’t Pass Through the Golden Door.” He frequently writes and speaks on immigration and other legal topics. He has received numerous awards in the U.S. and abroad, including several outstanding law awards and Philippine Presidential awards. For more information, you may log on to his website at www.seguritan.com or call (212) 695-5281.)

Posted by admin on February 18th, 2009 with no comments.
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