FACT SHEET ON H.R. 1841 AND S. 2668

Section 245(i)

H.R. 1841 and S. 2668 would fully restore a provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act — Section 245(i) — thereby allowing immigrants on the brink of becoming permanent residents to remain in the U.S. while the Immigration and Naturalization Service processes their applications.  Remember, the issue is not if people are eligible, they are.  Nor is it a question of when they will get their green card, they will.  The only issue is from where eligible immigrants will file for permanent residence--here in the US or in the immigrant's home country.

Only those individuals who are eligible for permanent residence (green cards) could apply under Section 245(i).  Section 245(i) gives no special rights or status to people.  Applicants must demonstrate that they are eligible for a green card based on a family relationship or a sponsoring employer.  They will be screened, and can be barred for criminal offenses, health problems, the potential of becoming a public charge, fraud, misrepresentation, or any other ground of inadmissibility. 

Section 245(i) would allow families to stay together and businesses to retain skilled personnel.  Restoration of Section 245(i) simply would allow immigrants eligible to obtain green cards to stay in the United States to adjust their status.  Without restoring Section 245(i), immigrants would be forced to travel to their home countries, where they will be separated from their families and employers for three to ten years.

Section 245(i) would provide non-taxpayer revenue to the INS. Section 245(i) generated almost $200 million annually for the INS by requiring each immigrant to pay a $1000 fee.  Since the expiration of Section 245(i), INS has suffered major deficits in its adjudications funding, resulting in backlogs in all types of applications, including naturalization and immigrant visa petitions.  The State Department (whose consular posts have to process these cases in the absence of Section 245(i)) already are understaffed and under-funded for this task.