House
Passes Limited Extension of Section 245(i) with
Additional Restrictions
The
House on May 21 passed a limited extension of Section
245(i) by a vote of 336-43. H.R. 1885 would extend
the Section 245(i) deadline for only four months, while
also requiring beneficiaries to demonstrate that the
required familial or employment relationship existed on
or before April 30, 2001. (To become law, the Senate also
must pass legislation that the President needs to sign.)
Republican Congressional leaders refused to amend the
measure to increase the extension period and eliminate
the new requirement. The final measure that Congress
passes needs to move closer to the bill introduced in the
Senate, S. 778, by Senators Chuck Hagel (R-NE) and Edward
Kennedy (D-MA) which extends the Section 245(i) deadline
for one-year without the restriction in the House
proposal. Please call your Senators and urge them
to support S. 778. You can reach your Senators
through the Congressional Switchboard at 202-224-3121.
It also is important to call the White House to urge
President Bush to support a longer extension with no
additional requirement. Please contact the White
House through the White House Comment Line (202-456-1111
or 202-456-1414).
While
H.R. 1885 ultimately may expedite the passage of an
extension, the short, four-month extension, along with
the additional requirement:
- Does
not provide eligible people with sufficient time
to get the help they need to file before the
deadline. Another four-month window
still does not offer sufficient time to provide
the help eligible people need. To have
access to legitimate and professional assistance,
Section 245(i) would need to be extended for one
year.
- Creates
a greater risk that mistakes will be made and
applications improperly filed. Without access
to legitimate and professional assistance, many
will be forced to attempt to figure out this law
themselves. The process often is very
difficult, and thousands of eligible applicants
will lose their right to apply simply because
they make an innocent mistake.
- Leads
to problems at INS and other government agencies:
This short four-month window will
dramatically increase the burden on government
agencies. Citizenship applications and other INS
petitions and applications will suffer while INS
diverts resources to deal with the long lines of
people outside their offices. Other
government offices nationwide that provide the
documents necessary for Section 245(i) filings
will have to shift resources to meet demand.
Providing a one-year extension would spread this
work out across a longer time period, allowing
people to turn to non-governmental agencies for
help and take advantage of other methods of
assistance, like services by mail.
- Benefits
“consultants” or notarios:” Another
short four-month extension guarantees that there
will be more victims of fraudulent forms
preparers charging thousands of dollars to
prepare applications that are never filed or
incorrectly filed. These “notarios”
fill the void left when legitimate and
professional aid is unavailable.
- Requires
new regulations that are problematic and
unworkable and would take months to be issued:
Under the new requirement, applicants must show
that “the familial or employment
relationship” that is the basis for the
application existed before April 30, 2001. How
will INS define these relationships? Does a
“familial relationship” include a man
and woman who have lived together for many years
and who have children together, but fear getting
married because they do not have a Social
Security number or other identification? Does
the “employment relationship” mean
full-time or part-time employment, and how would
it work for employers in the next four months?
INS is not expected to issue a new regulation for
at least three months, thereby making a
four-month extension highly problematic.
It is important to note that the physical presence
requirement in the LIFE Act already ensures that people
will not be coming to the U.S. to apply. Under the
LIFE Act, only those people who were in the United States
on December 21, 2000 are eligible to apply for the new
extension of Section 245(i). This limitation
addresses the fear that the extension of 245(i) will be a
magnet for people to come into the United States
illegally. A one-year extension will provide people
who are already in the United States a fair and
reasonable opportunity to submit an application. Additional
restrictions on who may apply serve no purpose, and
create the very real risk that eligible people will miss
the deadline because of mistakes, technicalities, or the
inability to get help.
CONTACT YOUR SENATOR OR
REPRESENATIVE TODAY AND URGE THEIR SUPPORT FOR THIS
IMPORTANT LEGISLATION.
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