AMERICAN IMMIGRATION LAWYERS ASSOCIATION
1400 Eye St. NW, Suite 1200
Washington, D.C. 20005
For Immediate Release: November 25, 1997
Contact: Jami Deise (202) 216-2404
Urgent Clarification Needed in Wake of Virtual
Elimination of Section 245(i)
Washington, D.C. Last week’s Congressional vote to
virtually end Section 245(i), while allowing people on the brink
of becoming permanent residents to adjust their status in this
country, has resulted in widespread confusion and misinformation
in immigrant communities nationwide, reports the American
Immigration Lawyers Association. The provision, which allows
those with existing U.S. family and business ties to remain here
rather than return to their country of origin, can be used until
January 14, 1998.
"Our members are being inundated with calls and reports
from people who don’t understand what they need to qualify
for permanent residence and for Section245(i)," said Jeanne
A. Butterfield, AILA’s Executive Director. "With less
than two months left for the Immigration and Naturalization
Service to receive petitions and the Department of Labor to
receive labor certification applications, it is imperative that
correct information is reported and widely disseminated."
To be eligible under the deal passed by Congress, immigrants
must have a sponsor file papers with the INS or the Department of
Labor demonstrating their ability to be immigrants. For families,
this means proving the close family relationship under which they
can immigrate; for employees, in most cases the employer must
prove that there are no American workers to fill the job for
which it wants to hire the intending immigrant. Section 245(i)
does not protect anyone here illegally from being deported, but
only enables people to adjust their status and obtain their green
cards in the United States when they are able to do so.
Before being virtually eliminated, for the past three years
ago, Section 245(i) was designed to help people obtain a green
card who had violated their status and already resided in the
U.S. People eligible for this provision had to have significant
family or business ties, were able to overcome grounds of
inadmissibility, and paid a fine of $1,000 each. After January
14, 1998, these immigrants will find themselves between a rock
and a hard place: They must return to their country of origin to
adjust their status, but in doing so, they could be barred from
reentry for three to ten years. But if they stay in the U.S.,
they stay illegally and risk deportation and a permanent bar on
reentry.
"AILA members will be working hard over the next two
months to distribute information about the changes in Section
245(i)," concluded Butterfield. "Our members look
forward to working with lawmakers, community leaders, members of
the media and advocates in immigrant communities nationwide on
this pressing and important provision.
The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) represents
over 5000 attorneys whose clients include tens of thousands of
U.S. families, U.S. businesses and industries, foreign students,
entertainers, athletes and asylum seekers, often on a pro bono
basis. Founded in 1946, AILA is a nonpartisan, non-profit,
Affiliated Organization of the American Bar Association.
© 1999, American
Immigration Lawyers Association
