Previous Immigration Reform Legislation & Amnesty

[Tim Collins]

Amnesty in the past:
www.numbersusa.com/content/learn/illegal-immigration/amnesties/section-245i-amnesties.html
(see details below)

Previous Immigration Reform laws.
pubweb.fdbl.com/news1.nsf/7f4d7596b0572ba886256e3100809439/51683591638061f4852569bd0073e6e8?OpenDocument

December 22, 2000 -- On Thursday, December 21, 2000, the President signed into law H.R. 4577, the Fiscal Year 2001 omnibus spending bill and H.R. 4942, the Commerce, Justice, State Appropriations bill, legislation that extends Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) Section 245(i) and creates new visa categories for family members who are waiting for their permanent residence cases to be adjudicated. Congress will now be in recess until January 2001 when new members are sworn-in.

As we previously reported, immigration provisions in the final legislation include:

Premium Processing Program. The omnibus bill includes a provision providing for the creation of a premium processing adjudication program. While the details remain to be developed by INS, business petitioners would have the option to pay $1000 in exchange for expedited processing.

Creation of New Temporary Visa for Spouses and Children Awaiting Immigrant Visas. In the omnibus legislation, Congress creates a new V-visa category providing visitor visas and work authorization for those on whose behalf Family 2A petitions (the spouses and children of lawful permanent residents) have been filed and who have been waiting more than three years for their cases to be processed. Such individuals would have the option of visa processing or filing adjustment of status applications in the United States.

Creation of New Temporary Status for Spouses of U.S. Citizens Awaiting Immigrant Visas. The legislation expands the K-visa to include spouses of U.S. Citizens who are already married and are waiting abroad for immigrant visas. Under current law, the K-visa allows only fiancées/fiancés of U.S. citizens who are outside of the United States to enter the U.S. to get married. K-visa holders are provided with work authorization.

Expansion of the 245(i) Grandfathering. The compromise bill includes a limited extension of the 245(i) program until April 2001. Section 245(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act allows out-of-status individuals to pay $1000 and apply for permanent residence from within the United States, rather than having to return to their home countries to complete processing and possibly having to face draconian immigration consequences that would prevent their return. The 245(i) extension is effective immediately.

Relief for the "Late Amnesty" Class. Individuals who sought to apply for the 1986 Amnesty program but were erroneously rejected by INS and who have since registered as part of three specific class action lawsuits challenging these procedures will be granted relief to apply for permanent residence.

Minor Amendments to Central American Legislation. Congress passed narrow new waivers and protections against deportation for those applying for relief under the Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) and the Haitian Refugee Immigrant Fairness Act (HRIFA). But in so doing, Congress rejected the push by the Clinton Administration and immigration advocates for an expansion of these Central American relief laws.

For additional information on any of the provisions and/or proposals above, please do not hesitate to contact the legal professional with whom you usually work at Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy.


Amnesty
www.numbersusa.com/content/learn/illegal-immigration/amnesties/section-245i-amnesties.html
Section 245(i) Amnesties


Permanent Resident card
Amnesty No. 2 - Section 245(i) Amnesty of 1994
Amnesty No. 3 - Section 245(i) Extension Amnesty of 1997
Amnesty No. 7 - LIFE Act Amnesty of 2000

Amnesty No. 2 - Section 245(i) Amnesty of 1994
Section 245(i) was added to immigration law when Congress passed this de facto amnesty as part of the FY 1995 Commerce, Justice, State Appropriations bill. Section 245(i) went into effect at the beginning of FY 1995 and was scheduled to sunset at the end of FY 1997 (Sep. 30, 1997).

In nearly all cases, a person must be an illegal alien to benefit from Section 245(i). There are two major kinds of illegal aliens who benefit: (1) Those who entered the country illegally. (2) Those who entered legally on visas but then violated the terms of their visa. Read what Section 245(i) actually does.

The INS estimates that at the end of FY 1997, Section 245(i) applications had resulted in an increase of 578,000 in the adjustment of status application backlog. This does not include Section 245(i) applicants whose status had already been adjusted as the INS does not track that separately.

Amnesty No. 3 - Section 245(i) Extension Amnesty of 1997
President Clinton twice signed continuing resolutions to extend the September 30, 1997 expiration date of Section 245(i). The first continuing resolution extended the deadline until October 23, 1997 and the second continuing resolution extended Section 245(i) until November 7, 1997. Section 245(i) was then further extended until January 14, 1998 by Congress as part of the conference report to H.R. 2267.

Amnesty No. 7- LIFE Act Amnesty of 2000
The LIFE Act of 2000 that was passed in December, 2000 reinstated Section 245(i) for the first four months of 2001 (Jan-April).

The House Immigration Subcommittee estimates that 900,000 aliens applied for adjustment of status in the first full year of the reinstatement.