FY 2002 Refugee Admissions

alanpero

Registered Users (C)
Below you will find a Memorandum from President Bush regarding admissions for FY 2002. Paragraph 2 is related to the 10,000 quota for asylees.

Question for Gilbert: in previous years it was the President who through Presidential Determinations authorized the 10,000 admissions for asylees. It seems to me that the procedure now has changed. President Bush is authorizing the Secretary of State to consult with Congress. Is that correct? What do you know about the status of this memorandum? Could you check it out? Thanks

Memorandum for the Secretary of State
September 18, 2001
SUBJECT: FY 2002 Refugee Admissions Consultations
In accordance with section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), you are authorized to consult with the appropriate committees of the Congress concerning refugee admissions as follows:
1. The authorization of 70,000 refugee admissions during FY 2002, to be allocated by specific region as follows:

Africa 22,000
East Asia 4,000 (including Amerasians)
Latin America/Caribbean 3,000
Near East/South Asia 15,000
Former Soviet Union 17,000
Former Yugoslavia 9,000

2. The authorization of an additional 10,000 refugee admissions numbers to be made available for the adjustment to permanent resident status of persons who have been granted asylum in the United States;
3. The designation, pursuant to section 101(a)(42)(B) of the INA, of persons in Cuba, Vietnam, and the former Soviet Union, who, if they otherwise qualify for admission as refugees, may be considered refugees under the INA even though they are still within their country of nationality or habitual residence.
                               GEORGE W. BUSH
                                 # # #
 
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Thanks Alanpero for posting this information. So the asylee adjustment quota remains the same. I\'m just glad that the President has authorized this year\'s Refugee admission + asylee adjustment quota for FY2002.
  I hope the INS will continue to process asylee I-485 cases now that the quota for FY2002 has been issued.
 
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Jack, as I understand from the text, President Bush has authorized the secretary of State to consult with the Congress those admissions. It seems to me that it is not the final approval yet, though since this is a routine procedure there shouldn\'t be any problem at all to get this approved.
I don\'t know yet what is the result of that consultation with the Congress. I hope Gilbert can provide more clues on this.
Last year President Clinton signed Presidential Determination No 2000-32 authorizing admission of refugees, and the 10,000 quota for asylees as well, on September 29, 2000. Part of the text of that PD says: "...In accordance with section 207 of the INA ...., and after appropriate consultation with the Congress, I hereby make the following determinations..."
So, it is my understanding that the President authorizes the quota through PD\'s but only after consultation with Congress. The memo I posted, is for the Secretary of State to initiate that consultation, but not the final authorization yet, at least that is what I understand. Let\'s see what Gilbert can comment.
I\'d like to know what the Congress responded to that consultation that the Secretary of State has been authorized to make.
 
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I see, thanks for the clarification. The Sec. of State is currently in India/Pakistan.
  Most members of the Senate Judiciary Committee were in favor of increasing the asylee adjustment quota before the WTC attacks. But now most members of the Congress are concerned that terrorists may abuse student visa, asylum program etc to enter the US. So I really don\'t know what to expect.
 
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Jack, I have just sent an e-mail to the Secretary of State inquiring for the status of that consultation. Don\'t know if I\'ll get a reponse at all, but I believe we should ask our correponding Congressperson what they know about that consultation, and if the Presidential recommendation was finally approved, don\'t you think so?
Again, there is no guarantee we will get response, but also there is nothing to lose. I hope that at least one of the Congressperson will respond to someone of us.
 
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Thanks Alanpero for all your efforts. I will also send an email to the Sec of State and my Congressman, Senators.

Email address for the Sec. of State is Secretary@state.gov

Web site address is http://www.state.gov/documents/ContactUs.cfm

It would be very nice if we can all get organized and hire a professional lobbyist firm. If Alanpero or Gilbert are interested in this idea please contribute suggestions on how to get it started.
I don\'t think the AILF class action lawsuit is getting anywhere. They are not even replying to my emails.

Thanks
 
Did INS release cut of days.

Most of web sites shows 6/1/98 as the last proceses date. Did INS confirm that?
 
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According to the information found at this site the most current cut-off-date was January 16 1998.
http://www.immigrationlinks.com/news/news970.htm

It is very difficult for the asylees or any ordinary person to get that information direct from the INS. We have to obtain the cut-off-date through law firms. When I called NSC and ask this question to an IIO she told me she does not know what "Asylee Adjustment Cut off Date" or "Presidential determination" is.
  Before the WTC attacks, in a teleconference between AILF and INS the INS said they have future plans to announce asylee adjustment cut off date in their web site. Read here:
JackArcherNew "More info on Asylee I-485" 8/1/01 8:37pm
 
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Last date reported is 1/16/98. Please check other discussions in this same forum. I already explained a while ago why INS is reporting that same date (6/1/98) for years. Do not give any credit to the date of June 98, it is totally useless.
 
Can you direct me to the website

Alanpero,

Thank you very much for posting this. Can you tell me where did you find the memo?

It could be just a draft being circulated. To my knowledge, nothing has been officially published yet.

Nobody has seriously suggested that the asylee number will be affected by the terrorism. Let us hope that is the case.

I am monitoring the Federal Register and the AILA\'s restricted discussion board. I will let you know of any news.
 
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010918-4.html

Hi Gilbert, this is the site http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010918-4.html
I do not think is a draft being circulated. As you might know, I sent an e-mail to the Secretary of State asking for the status of that consultation with the Congress, and guess what? I\'ve just got a very short answer: "Please call the Refugee Office at (202)663-1047" Jack said he was also to e-mail to the Secretary of State. If so, he might have gotten the same answer.
The answer I got was from \'askpublicaffairs@state.gov\' which is an e-mail address I got from the Secretary of State web site.
Could you or Jack call that number and let us know what answer you get. I don\'t think I will be able to call until next week.
 
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Alanpero,

 I called the PRM office today. Someone named Chris answered the phone but he does not have the information we want. He transfered my call to another officer named Karen, but she\'s away from the office. I\'ll try calling again tomorrow.

http://www.state.gov/www/global/prm/assistance.html

is the web site address where they announce annual Refugee admissions. The numbers for FY2002 are not available yet.
 
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Jack, I am restrained to dedicate the time I would like to this matter. However, I called to that number. I did not take the name of the person I talked to, though she was affable and cooperative. The response I got from her was:
The Presidential Determination is not approved yet.
Each year they get a waiver from the Congress to that Consultation.
What I understood is that they already got the waiver from the House of Representatives
They haven\'t got yet the waiver from the Senate.
Senate has asked for an update of the Identification Verification System, to make sure it is safe, prior to approve any Refugee Admission
She did not know that the 10,000 quota for asylees is also in the same package. In this case, she said this was unfortunate for us.
She said that this updating process is going to take maybe a couple of weeks.
Finally, she told me that they do not deal directly with asylum and that it is The Bureau of Consular Affairs the office that deals with asylees. However, I have checked their website and there is no indication they deal with asylees.
Please take this summary only as the version received from an public functionary, who wanted to help but not necessarily correct.
I would like to hear from Gilbert, if he called that Office or had success in his search
 
I think I know what is going on

Guys,

I called both the senate immigration subcommittee and INS central office, using numbers found in the AILA\'s Infonet page. I think the people I talked are able to provide reliable information .

The memo Alanpero posted is President Bush\'s tentative determination with respect to refugee admission and asylee adjustment. The Secretary of State will now communicate that determination on behalf of the President to the legislative branch. General Powell can do so in one of two ways. He can send an assistant secretary to meet formally with and ask input from the appropriate lawmakers. Or he can send them a letter regarding this. The second step is more likely this year, given what is going on nationally. This is the essence of the "consultation", a process required by law.

It is almost certain that Congress will not object (it never has). Unless it does, the White House will publish the President\'s determination in the Federal Register. At the point, the INS can process I-485s again.

For our purpose, the good news is that the maximum 10,000 has been allotted to us.
 
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Thanks for bringing the news Gilbert.
 All I can say is that 10,000 visas is better than nothing or any lesser number.
 Do you guys know how soon the INS will begin stamping asylee I-485s again?
 
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Gilbert, take a look at my message 3.1.1.1 responding to Jack, and the answer I got. Yeah, I already knew that the memo I posted was not the final approval we are waiting for. As I explained to Jack, my understanding is that it is only a memo (not a draft) to the Secretary of State authorizing him to consult with Congress the Refugee Admission numbers for FY 2002.
This consultation is a routine procedure, and normally the Congress just agrees with what it is proposed. But this year, as I was explained, the Senate is waiting for a confirmation that the Identity Verification System is currently updated prior to proceed with admission of refugees (and unfortunately we are in the same package). Congress is not objecting, instead is asking for that confirmation. The fact is that the Consultation Memo I posted, is somewhere in the Senate and has not been approved yet.
Anyway, there is little or nothing we can do now rather than wait and cross fingers. And I agree, at least the quota is still the same.
 
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Once President Bush signs the Presidential determination how soon do you guys think the INS will begin issuing asylee I-485 visas for FY2002?

 As I learned from the teleconference between INS and AILA, the INS then said they have future plans to make the Asylee cut-off-date available to the general public at their web site.
  I don\'t know how often AILA holds teleinterviews with the INS, but if Gilbert has influence in the AILA can you ask the AILA representative to remind the INS on their plan to post asylee cut-off-dates on INS web site?
 
Liason Meeting

Jack, last meeting was last Thursday October 17, 2001.
Cite as “Posted on AILA InfoNet, Doc. No. 01101833 (October 18, 2001 ).”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AMERICAN IMMIGRATION LAWYERS ASSOCIATION
INS NEBRASKA SERVICE CENTER
Annual Liaison Meeting
October 17, 2001
 
Refugees at America\'s Door Find It Closed After Attacks

The State Department\'s proposed numbers are customarily submitted to Congress, where they are occasionally tinkered with but usually approved with little or no controversy. Sometime around Oct. 1, the annual refugee quota — a presidential directive, as it is called — is issued by the White House.

The House of Representatives has approved the State Department\'s proposed numbers this year, but the Senate has yet to do so. While a one- or two-week delay is not unusual, refugee resettlement officials say they cannot recall the last time the directive was nearly a month overdue.

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/29/nyregion/29REFU.html
 
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Thanks Tim for posting this reference. The article confirms what I was told over the phone and posted in my messages 3.1.1.1 and 4.1
Unfortunately, we as asylees are included in the same package for refugees and the 10,000 quota visas for FY 2002 will not take into effect until the requested verification is completed, and who knows when it will happen.
 
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