Immigration Violations

Pathway to Permanent Resident Status for those Waiting for S. 245(i) INA

"Our nation's immigration policy has been of top utmost concern in recent years, and for good reason. With between eight and twelve million illegal aliens in the United States, it is obviously a problem out of control." Chris Cannon.

In hindsight, it is accurate to conclude that the current Republican Government for the sake of getting some votes from the conservatives will go to any length to play politics with the homeland security of this nation. The number of undocumented aliens in the United States at the moment depends on which side of the aisle your audience is sitting. Some estimate put the figure at over 20,000 while some put it at over 12,000.

The former President Clinton did the last significant changes made to the U.S. immigration law in December 2000. The LIFE Act passed into law at that time made specific provisions and encouraged undocumented aliens in the United States to come forward in order to receive benefits in exchange for their fingerprint and biometrics. The goal of that law was to reduce the number of undocumented aliens in the U.S. through accountability. President Clinton reinstated the popular Section 245(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act before his exit. Unfortunately, it was only allowed to run for four months. This law that would have cleared the problem of undocumented aliens in the U.S. while the border was being sealed was allowed to expire prematurely on April 30, 2001.

At the moment, a large percentage of the estimated 12million undocumented aliens in the United States are those who entered into the U.S. through illegal routes. They carry fake identities and pose tremendous danger to the wellbeing of this nation. Experience in recent times have shown that it is not realistic to fish out and deport all these people by force, however, it is more sensible to seal the border, create benefits that will bring these people out of their hiding places.

While the pendulum of the guest workers' program keeps swinging from right to left with the internal strife and squabbling amongst lawmakers, I will want to suggest an alternative route to legalization for those qualified undocumented aliens who are currently waiting for the return of Section 245(i). As was widely publicized, Section 245(i) which was last passed in December 2000 and expired on April 30, 2001 was the law which allowed any alien in the United States who was a beneficiary of a qualifying immigrant petition or application for labor certification filed on or before April 30, 2001 to adjust his/her status in the United States without the need to travel abroad upon payment of $1000 as penalty for violating immigration law.

Since the expiration of S. 245(i), this portion of the Immigration and Nationality Act has been subjected to various interpretation and explanation through the issuance of memoranda by the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services. According to the USCIS in the latest memo issued on March 9, 2005, "if an alien demonstrates that a spouse or child relationship existed at the time a qualifying petition or application was properly filed on or before April 30, 2001, a principal alien's spouse or child is a grandfathered alien regardless of any subsequent changes in the relationship with principal alien. This means that a spouse or child remains grandfathered even after losing the status of spouse or child, such as by divorce or the child becoming 21years of age. Such spouse or child who is grandfathered may seek to adjust status under Section 245(i) on any proper basis, if so qualified."

All these expansions of the interpretation of the provision of the old S. 245(i) have not resolved the problem. The only solution would be to reinstate the law.

Since the Congress will not reinstate S. 245(i) at the moment, all undocumented aliens who entered the U.S. without inspection must read this as a possible alternative to obtaining their legal status in the United States.

Let me sound a note of warning, this article as with any write up in this newspaper, is for your information only. It is important that readers consult with qualified immigration attorneys before taking any step.

If you entered the United States without inspection (EWI) or you entered the country with another person's information or your entry was not properly documented you can still work your way under the current law to permanent resident status by reading this article carefully.