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,Memorandum
TO,FROM:
Alej
and
ro
N.
Mayorkas,
DirectorDenise A.
Venison.
Polic
}'
and
Strat
egyRoxa
na
Bacon
,Office
of
the
ChiefCounsel
Debra
A.
Rogers.
Fie
ldOperationsDonald
Neufeld,
Service Center Operations
t
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I1
,·lS:!III',
u.s.
Citizensh
ip
ancllmmi
grationServices
SUBJECT:
Adminis
trat
ivc
Alternatives
to
ComprehensiveImmi
grat
i
onReform
I.
Put'pose
This
memorandumoff
ers
administrative relief
opt
i
ons
to
promote
family
un
i
ty.
fOSler
econo
mi
c
growth,
ach
ieve
sign
i
jcant process
improvements
and
reducethethr
eat
of
remo
va
l for certain
individual
spresent
in
th
e
Un
ited
S
la
tes
without
auth
orization.
It
includesrecommendations
regardingimplementati
on
timeframes
and
requiredresources.
ll.
Summar
y
In
t
he
absence
of
Compr
ehensive
immigration
Reform,
USCIS
can
extend
be
nefitsand/orprotectionsto
many
individuals
and
groups
by
issuing
newgu
idance
and
regulations, exercising
discretion
with
regard
toparole-in-place. deferred action and theissuance of Notices
to
Appear
(NTA),and
adopti
ngsignifICantpr
oce
ss
improvements.
To
promote familyu
nity,
USCIS
could reinterpret
lwO
1990
Gener
al
Cou
n
sel
Opinions
regardingthe
ability
of
Temporary Pro
tected Status(T
PS
)applicants
who
entered
t
he
United
Sl
ates
(U.
S.)without
inspection
to
adjust or
change
statu
s.
Th
is
would
enable
thousands
of
individuals
ill
TPS
statusto
becomelawfu
l
permanen
tresidents.Simi
larly.
wh
e
re
non·
TPS
applicants
have
been deemed
inadmissible
und
er section212(a)(6)(AXi)
of
the
Immigrati
on
and
Nationali
ty
Act
("
the
Act")
for
havingenlered withoutinspection,
USCIS
couldgrant "parole· in·
place"
(PIP)
in
the
exercise
of
discretion
to
crea
te
II
basis
for
adjustment
in
t
he
lj.
S.
W,~w.l,sci~.:':
(I'
·
DRAFr
--
Immigration Administrative Relief Options
Page
2Tofosler economic growth.USC/S couldwork more aggressivelywiththe Department
of
Commerce (DOC)tocomplement important economic initiativessuch
as
Invesf
ill
America.
By
establishing a working group
withth
e
DOC,
USCIS
shouldconsidercreative ways
to
makt"
rhe-
EB-5
program more accessible
to
foreign investors
and
to
administer
il
.
For
workers
in
the U.
S.
whose
occupations requirefrequent travel,orwho
are
seekingpennanenlresidence,USCIS could
also
build
on
a regulation issued
by
the
romler
INS
t
hat,
alllongother
things,relieved
Hand
L
non-immigrants with pending adjustmentapplications
from
having
to
secureadvance parole befort depaningt
he
U.S.
Expanding this "dual
intent"
concept
to
coverotherlong-termnon-immigrnnts,including
F.
O.
TN,
P, and
E
visa holders would enable
the~e
workers
10
maintainvalid nonimmigrant statusandtravel overseas without advance parole
wlllf,.
thcir
Adjustment
applications are pending. They
would
also
be
allowed
to
maintain theirnonimmigrant status if
USCJS
deniestheiradjustment applications.TIle agency could also
consider extending employment authorization
to
thedependem spouses
of
ceria
in
skilled
'!yo
r
kers.For
example,
USCIS
could allow employmelllauthorizationfor
H-4
dependentspouses
of
H-
I
B
principals where
the
principals
Arc
alsoapplicantsforlawfulpermanentresidence
ll!.1d
ha
~ .
~lcn\
l
cd
thei,.
ll11nimmigr.lIll
slatu~
under
the
p r o v
i
si(ln~
of
A
C;Z
I.
Finally,
the
agen
cy
should afford workers admilled
to
the
U.S
.
in
nonimmigrant status A easonablc period
of
lime
10
conclude their affairs and depart afterexpiralion
of
theirauthorized period
of
Iperforma
nce,
training. or vocationalactivity.ThecurrentIO-day"graceperiod"
USCIS
could amend
its
regulations
to
permitlonger periodsranging from
45
to90
depending
on
employment category andoveralltime spent working
in
the
U.S
.
Where
no
re
liefappears available based
on an
alicant's employment andlor
fam
ily
circumstances,
but
remoyal
is
n
ot
in
the
IC
Interest, SCIS could grant deferred
aClion.
This
would
permit
inOividuals
for whOm
reliefmay become available
in
the future
to
live and work
in
the
U.S.
without fear ofremovaJ.
A
corollary tothisexercise
of
agency discretion
is
for
USCIS
to
issue Notices to Appear
(NT
As) strategically, rather than across
th
eboard.If
re
lief
is
potentially available
in
removal, USCIS should consider issuing
an
NTA.
On
the otherhand,
where
no
reliefexists
in
remo
val
for
an
applicant without
an)'
significant negativeimmigrationor criminal
hislOry,
uscrs
cou
ld
avoid usingitslimited resources
to
issue
an
l'rrA.
Finally,
for
applicants
whohave
requested relief
from
USC/S,whetherin-countryorabroad. and
whose applications require
a
waiver
of
inadmissibility, USCIS could issue guidance or aregulation lessening
the
"extreme hardship" standard. This would encourage
many
morespouses. sons anddaughters
of
U.S.
citizens and
lawful
pennanent residents
to
seek reliefwithoutfear ofremovnL
It
would
alsoincreasethelikelihood thaisuchrelief
would
be
granted.
II.
Options
TIle
followingoptions-
used
alone or
in
combination -
have
the potential
to
resull
in
meaningfulimmigrationreform absent legislative action.
Each
requires the development
of
specific writtenguidance and/or regulatory language. implementation protocols. outreach andtrain
ing
withinUSCIS and coordination among Department
of
HomelandSecurity(DHS)immigration
components.
DRAFT
.-
ImmigrationAdministrative Relief Options
Page
3
A.
To
PromoteFllmil
)'
Unit)'
1.
Allow TPS AppliclilltsWhoEntered withoutInspectiontoAdjust
01'
Chan
ge
SUluSIndividuals
in
TPS continuetobe deemed ineligibletoadjust or change status
in
t
he
U.S.based
on
legal opinions rendered
in
the early 1990s bya GeneralCounsel
oflhe
formerIrnmigraliolland Naturalization Service (INS).Giventhecurrent definition of"adrnission"
in
section
10
I
(0)(
13)(A)
of
theImmigrationand Nationality Act("the Act"),
8
U.S.C.
§
110l(aX
13){A),
the USCIS
Ch
iefCounsc1
has
ex.pressed herview that theselegal opinions
110
longerreneel
0
correct interpretat
ion
of
th
e statute.
See
Jmulflr)'
14,
1010
Menmnwdllnl
ram
RtJ.X.(11Ii1
BU
COII,
Cllie
[Co
lllu
ef,
fl}DlIl'id
Mllrf'",
PrinelprllDeputyCIIUlI,fel (affached).
Thu~.
USCIS should
no
longer adhere
10
the1990GeneralCo
unsel
opinions,and insteadperm
it
individuals
in
TPStoadjustor changestatus.Openingthis pathway will help thousandsof
app~Obtain
lawful permanent residence without having
to
leave the U.S.The
~/s
poised
to
revie
....
this issue
in
May. Dependingonitsfinaldecision,implementation
ofthisoption could begin immediatcly
fol
lowingthedevelopment
of
writtenfieldguidance and
an
external communication plan. Ratherthanimposing anyadditionalfinancial cost,allowing
TPS applicants
to
adjustor change status,will increase USCIS revenue
in
the
fomlOffet
receipts. W
hil
e initial outreachrelated to the implementationoffieldguidance mayrequire
dcdicating staff/resources,
this
would likely
be
a
shon
·te
rrn
need.Actualadjudication
of
newapplications and petitions could
be
handled by field officesalready experiencinglower
than
normalreceipts.
2.
Expand the
Use
ofParolc
-
in
-PlaeeUSCIShasthediscretionaryauthorityunder section212(dXS)(A)
of
the Actto paroleintothe
U.S
.on
a
case-by-case basis for"urgent humanitarian reasolls"or"significantp
ub
l
ic
benefit"any applicant
for
admission.Section 235(aXI)
of
theAct provid
es
thatan alienpresent
in
the
U.S
.
whohas
nOI
beenadmitted shall
be
deemedan applicantforadmission.Grantinsparole
to
aliens
in
the
U.S.
who have notbeenadmittedorparoled
is
commonlyreferred to
as
"parole-inplace"
(PIP).
I
By
granting
~IP,
USCIS can eliminatethe need forqualified recipients
10
retun!
10
their homecountry
for
consular processing.panicularlywhendoingso might trigger abartoreturning.For
years,USCIShas used
PIP
on
II
very
lim
itedbasis. Last month,however.theSPC npproved the
broader use
of
PIP
for
qualified militarydependentsto:
I
IndlYldu~ls
who
wae:
lAwfully
adllliUe:tl
tu
the
United
Siales
but
whose:
author
i
zed
ret:iod
of
ndrnissiol1
is
'00111
til
expire
or has
exPlred.re
1101
eligible:
for
IIHfo1e-
i
n-plftcc
.
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