I am no Terrorist, any advice?

Hi all,
I just hung up with Anwen Hughes. She pretty much confirmed what i wrote in my last post. I was amazed to learn that the cases that are almost done and at the last fazes of exemption, make up half of total cases on hold! The remaining other half is very likely to benefit from a case by case exemption.
She also mentioned what makes this 2012 goal different than other promises, is that,it was made on the anniversary of universal declaration of human rights and not making good of this promise will bring international embarrassment, and that, they (USCIS/DHS) don't want! She added, having said that, doesn't mean Human Rights First is ceasing all its activities based on this promise. They arranged and are arranging a number of meetings to raise awareness surrounding this issue.
I went as far as asking her based on what she is witnessing, is this year "THE" year? YES, she replied.
Something is going to happen guys, I could really feel it this time. Love you all.
 
[JosephEsf, your efforts are outstanding, and I am sure we all appreciate your contributions you have been very beneficial and informative, I am praying that all these new hopes won't fade away].
 
case by case

[Yes brother hecate, I meant June 4, ... my mistake]

Hopefully most or all applications will be completed by November of this year, case by case basis will actually be much quicker because they will consider the background check and if there is no criminal history they will be issued approvals without an interview and if there is any red flag or criminal history they will be interviewed by the local service center and the case will be sent to local service center for completion and not Nebraska service center.
However my attorney cannot confirm any thing now but just a few days prior he will know the status of proceeding.
 
Deep Trigger

[JosephEsf, your efforts are outstanding, and I am sure we all appreciate your contributions you have been very beneficial and informative, I am praying that all these new hopes won't fade away].

My pleasure Deep Trigger. I'm sure there will be a time when we all visit this forum just to keep in touch and only to talk and laugh about our past ordeal. Hang in there bro!
 
[hecate & JosephEsf thanks both of you.
I am just hoping for the Best...at this time.
The case by case basis should go faster than anyone can imagine, they are already pre-adjudicated, the medical, request for initial and evidence, name check, criminal background check all were done, the only thing that was holding them is Exemption waiver, so once exemption is issued they should all logically be adjudicated by a two-week period deal the most, unless a factor of outstanding criminal background that requires an interview unveils. If interview is required, the transfer should be a local USCIS office, not Nebraska, ..........you all right, who knows....]
 
[hecate & JosephEsf thanks both of you.
I am just hoping for the Best...at this time.
The case by case basis should go faster than anyone can imagine, they are already pre-adjudicated, the medical, request for initial and evidence, name check, criminal background check all were done, the only thing that was holding them is Exemption waiver, so once exemption is issued they should all logically be adjudicated by a two-week period deal the most, unless a factor of outstanding criminal background that requires an interview unveils. If interview is required, the transfer should be a local USCIS office, not Nebraska, ..........you all right, who knows....]

I have no criminal background or any other issue with the law, but for any unfortunate one in this hold should keep court disposition ready, God knows when will be the interview, this also includes applicants with minor felony like felony 3 or DUI etc. If they did not obtain such records they should request the court for it now, some times it takes longer than expected, my brother had to present disposition for his case and it was very problematic since he moved to another state.
Hope we will all be free soon, I am very hopeful after getting the above news that I have shared and JosephEsf has informed, November looks not too far compared to 20 years that they have destroyed out of my life, it sounds ungrateful of me but there is nothing to appreciate here I have been paying taxes for 20 years as well as FICA, I am not grateful this is not I and you all deserved, but I am very thankful to Anwen and Hughes and Melanie Nazer and all that stood by us and very grateful to them like all of us.
 
[You are totally right hecate...from now to November is not too long, especially for those who already waited a couple of decades, I myself personally have been waiting since 1999, what a waste!]
Anyway between hecate, JosephEsf, HBA and few others let us keep this post link alive. I visit it at least every day.

Let us all hope that we would soon see some great news before or by November.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
It seems like the wait is over!!!!!!

Attention everyone,attention everyone, it happened, it finally happened. I just spoke to Anwen hughes and she said, yesterday, Monday the 13th of August at around 4:00 PM secretary of state signed the exemption we all have been waiting for. She said it will take a several days for it to register in national registry but it has been signed.
The only thing is that, some individuals who engaged in actual combats may be kicked back in the line for further reviews and also some problematic organization in tier I may be the ones with some further delays.
So congratulations everyone relief came at last ,at long last that is. The several times I have talked with Anwen I have noticed that she is very careful and meticulous not to give false hope so she added she doesn't have the actual memo, so she can not really talk much about this new development. So everyone, please get busy put all your efforts and resources on finding out independently what is happening and share it with everybody. Love you all.
 
[Excellent news, Excellent News, Excellent News, JosephEsf thank you for your follow up. I will be right back to the forum]
 
It seems like the wait is over!!!!!!

I was so exited I forgot to mention what this exemption has been designed to do. According to Anwen Hughes, this new exemption is the case by case method we all have been talking about. She said it's been prepared to clear the way for adjudicators to process cases of "those who have already been granted asylum" . like I said in my previous post, if you, gun or knife in hand or any deadly device for that matter directly engaged in an actual combat, you are likely to remain on hold for further evaluation. So let us wait and see what this new memo exactly reads. So please everyone, get busy and research. this may be the moment of truth we all waited many years for. love you all.
 
JosephEsf,
We cannot thank you enough brother… Thanks for all your efforts. Let us keep in touch, and share any vital information in regards to that possible broader waiver.
I have been surfing the web today, but did not come up with much.
The memo will certainly be publicizing in a couple of weeks.
Being said, I think All the Tier-III remaining cases should be approved with no exception BASED on the last Memo << Release Hold Memo, for Denial>>. The Memo should be plain & simple. I would be disappointed if they make this memo ambiguous or different from the others. Let us say EVEN for people, who used knife or any weapon, why keep on putting them on hold, if their cases would never be approvable in the eyes of waiver exemption. It is just my assessment. This Memo should be the end of it, the END for 99.99% of all cases on hold.
Usually if there is an exemption affecting a specific GROUP related to a specific case, during adjudication, either the case will be approved or denied, there are the only 2 legal options, and this has been very consistent with almost all exemptions waiver that have been issued to this day. So putting again some other cases for further evaluation, is just plain “HOLD & DELAY” . These have been on hold for several years, how much more time would they need to further evaluate them again.
Time will tell… But I am excited and nervous.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Broad-based TRIG exemption

Hello people,

Upon my query, this is the reply i received today from Ms. Hughes.

Dear Mr. XXXX,


Yes—what you heard is true, and in fact it was probably based on a communication I have been circulating. Secretary Napolitano has signed a broad-based TRIG exemption for persons previously granted status whose applications for adjustment or other later benefits are on hold based on perceived terrorism-related inadmissibility. We do not yet have a copy of the announcement, which USCIS does not want to distribute until it is published in the Federal Register, but it appears to incorporate major aspects of the broad-based exemption we and other NGO’s had been urging for people previously granted asylum/refugee status. It is not going to cover all 4,500 of the cases currently on hold, as it is not going to cover people whose inadmissibility stems from association with armed groups that have engaged in violations USCIS sees as particularly egregious (use of child soldiers was cited as one example of such violations) or groups that represent real national security concerns for the U.S. (as evidenced for example by their listing on the Treasury Dept’s OFAC list). But USCIS estimates it will cover about 4,000 of the cases currently on hold. It will apply to material support, solicitation, and military-type training (but not, as I understand it, to combat). This does not mean that people on hold who are NOT covered by this exemption will never have their cases resolved—just that they will not be resolved by means of this exemption.



The Federal Register announcement should follow later this week and I will circulate it when I see it (it may be out already, I have not yet looked for it today but will do so this evening). I will also be happy to talk to you in more detail about the likely effect of this exemption on people in your situation once I have more information from USCIS about how they plan to implement this.



Best regards,



Anwen Hughes


So lets wait for further details..

Best regards,

Noetic
 
Noetic & JosephEsf
[You both did an excellent job, thanks for the look out, I was told that it may take up to 45 days before such Memo could be publicized. Guys please let us keep in touch and good luck to all of us.
I will be right back...]
 
!!!!!!!!!

HBA, my pleasure dear. I got your kind text message, thank you.
Noetic, great job buddy. The memo MAY be out and published already. please everyone, search it, find it, and post it
for everyone to see. We have been suffering for a long time. If there is a positive development, we deserve to know it the moment it is out. Love you all.
 
[I have been seriously on it, at this time the Memo is no where to be found, but I think it will be publicized soon with instructions to start the adjudications before the next Stakeholder TRIG meeting on September 13. All experts that I consulted have said that if such Memo is issued that would most likely clear all cases in hold ]
 
!!!!!!!!!

lees Mislabeled as “Terrorists”

CONTACT: Brenda Bowser-Soder, Human Rights First
202-370-3323 | BowserSoderB@humanrightsfirst.org
Significant Relief at Last for Refugees and Asylees Mislabeled as “Terrorists”

For Immediate Release: August 17, 2012
Share

New York City – Human Rights First welcomes today’s announcement of Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) Janet Napolitano’s decision to exercise her discretionary authority, vested in her by Congress, to bring long-awaited relief to many refugees and asylees whose applications for permanent residence or reunification with their spouses and children have been “on hold” for years.

“We welcome this important step forward and look forward to an effective implementation of this announcement,” said Anwen Hughes of Human Rights First. “These roughly 4000 refugees and their families have suffered a range of harms while waiting for their cases to be addressed – from loss of jobs and job opportunities to the prolonged separation of their families.”

Today’s exemption announcement, published in the Federal Register – and discussed in greater detail in Human Rights First’s background fact sheet – allows persons previously granted asylum or refugee status in the United States, and their spouses and children, to have their cases adjudicated on a case-by-case basis if their cases are “on hold” due to non-violent associations with groups described as “terrorist organizations” under the Immigration & Nationality Act (INA) solely by virtue of the fact that they engaged in the use of armed force as non-state actors.

The list of groups characterized in this way by DHS includes: the National Democratic Alliance, the umbrella organization of political parties and movements opposed to the regime of President Omar Al-Bashir in the Sudan; Iraqis who rose up against Saddam Hussein in 1991; and both of the largest political parties in Bangladesh. Today’s announcement does not cover persons who had connections to certain types of groups, including groups that have at any time engaged in particularly serious human rights violations.

Over four years ago Congress—in a bi-partisan effort led by Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Jon Kyl (R-AZ)—amended the law to expand the Administration’s authority to exempt persons with no connection to terrorism from being barred from protection or status in this country based on the INA’s overbroad definitions. This legislation enlarged discretionary authority vested by Congress in the Secretary of Homeland Security since 2005.

DHS’s implementation of that authority had however been moving at a glacial pace. In June 2012, a diverse coalition of groups sent a letter calling on President Obama to “allow people to prove—and in the case of refugees and asylees already living in the United States, prove again—that they pose no threat to the security of the United States, so that refugees can find safety, families are no longer needlessly divided, and long-term, law-abiding residents of the United States can finally have their cases resolved.” These groups included Human Rights First, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, the Hudson Institute, the Jubilee Campaign USA, the National Association of Evangelicals, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission and World Relief. Today’s announcement represents a major step towards that goal.

“While this announcement marks a significant step forward, it is critically important that the Departments of Homeland Security, State, and Justice, which share statutory responsibility for crafting exemptions and have all been involved in this lengthy process, continue efforts to allow the resolution of those cases not affected by this exemption announcement,” noted Hughes. “The Department of Homeland Security should also pursue with energy and speed an ongoing review of its legal interpretation of the relevant statutory definitions, notably the meaning of ‘material support.’” DHS is even applying the bar to persons who had what DHS terms “routine commercial transactions” with members of armed groups – for example a restaurant owner who serves food at the same price to all her customers without political distinction.

For more information, read Human Rights First’s background Fact Sheet on the exemption announcement.

-30-

Homepage | Media Room | About Us | Give | Jobs | Contact Us | Publications | Home

New York Office, Human Rights First, 333 Seventh Avenue, 13th Floor, New York, NY 10001-5108
Washington Office, Human Rights First, 100 Maryland Avenue, NE, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20002-5625
For media inquiries call 202-370-3323 .
Human Rights First is a nonpartisan, 501(c)(3), international human rights organization based in New York and Washington D.C.
We do not favor or oppose any candidate for public office.
 
Here it is everybody

[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 160 (Friday, August 17, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49821-49822]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-20278]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Office of the Secretary


Exercise of Authority Under the Immigration and Nationality Act

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of determination.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Authority: 8 U.S.C. 1182(d)(3)(B)(i).

Following consultations with the Secretary of State and the
Attorney General, I hereby conclude, as a matter of discretion in
accordance with the authority granted to me by section 212(d)(3)(B)(i)
of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), 8 U.S.C.
1182(d)(3)(B)(i), as amended, as well as the foreign policy and
national security interests deemed relevant in these consultations,
that paragraphs (iv)(IV), (iv)(V), (iv)(VI), and (i)(VIII) of section
212(a)(3)(B) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B), shall not apply with
respect to an alien not otherwise covered by the automatic relief
provisions of section 691(b) of the Consolidated Appropriations Act,
2008 or by a more specific Exercise of Authority under section
212(d)(3)(B)(i) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1182(d)(3)(B)(i), who meets the
specifications of paragraphs (a) through (d) of this determination.
(a) Alien Qualification: To qualify under this determination, an
alien must have:
(1) Solicited funds or other things of value for;
(2) Solicited any individual for membership in;
(3) Provided material support to; or
(4) Received military-type training from, or on behalf of, an
organization described in paragraph (b).
(b) Organization Qualification. An organization meets the
specifications of paragraph (a) of this determination if, at any time
during the alien's activities discussed in paragraph (a), it was a
terrorist organization as described in subsection
212(a)(3)(B)(vi)(III), 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B)(vi)(III), insofar as that
organization:
(1) Is not identified in either Executive Order 13224, as amended,
or otherwise designated by the Secretary of State or the Secretary of
the Treasury pursuant to the Specially Designated Nationals List
(SDNL), or in lists established by United Nations Security Council
Committee pursuant to Resolutions 1267 (1999) or 1988 (2011) concerning
Al-Qaida and the Taliban and associated individuals and entities; and
(2) Has at no time targeted U.S. interests or persons, including
planned or attempted attacks on U.S. interests or persons; engaged in a
pattern or practice of torture, as defined in 18 U.S.C. 2441(d)(1)(A),
genocide, as described in 18 U.S.C. 1091(a), or the use of child
soldiers, as described in 18 U.S.C. 2242; or been designated a
terrorist organization as described in subsections 212(a)(3)(B)(vi)(I)
or (II) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B)(vi)(I) or (II).
(c) Additional Qualifications. To meet the requirements of this
determination, the alien must also meet the following specifications:
(1) On or before the date of this Exercise of Authority, was
admitted as a refugee or granted asylum, temporary protected status, or
adjustment of status under the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central
American Relief Act (NACARA) or the Haitian Refugee Immigration
Fairness Act (HRIFA), or granted a similar immigration benefit other
than a non-immigrant visa; or
(2) Is the beneficiary of an I-730 Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition
filed at any time by such an asylee or refugee.
(d) Evidentiary Requirements. An alien must satisfy the relevant
agency authority that the alien:
(1) Is seeking a benefit or protection under the INA and has been
determined to be otherwise eligible for the benefit or protection;
(2) Has undergone and passed all relevant background and security
checks;
(3) Has fully disclosed, to the best of his or her knowledge, in
all relevant applications and interviews with U.S. government
representatives and agents, the nature and circumstances of each
instance of solicitation, material support, and military-type training,
and any other activity or association falling within the scope of
section 212(a)(3)(B) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B);
(4) Has not knowingly provided material support to terrorist
activities that targeted noncombatant persons, U.S. citizens, or U.S.
interests;
(5) Has not received training that itself poses a risk to the
United States or United States interests (e.g., training on production
or use of a weapon of mass destruction, as defined by 18 U.S.C.

[[Page 49822]]

Section 2332a(c)(2), torture, or espionage);
(6) Poses no danger to the safety and security of the United
States;
(7) Is not in removal proceedings or subject to a final order of
removal, unless the alien is the beneficiary of an I-730 Refugee/Asylee
Relative Petition; and
(8) Warrants an exemption from the relevant inadmissibility
provision(s) in the totality of the circumstances.
Implementation of this determination will be made by U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which shall ascertain, to
its satisfaction and in its discretion, that the particular applicant
meets each of the criteria set forth above.
When considering the totality of the circumstances, factors to be
considered may include, among others: The nature of the activities
committed by the terrorist organization, including the extent to which
the activities have targeted noncombatant persons; the alien's
awareness of those activities; the amount, type, and frequency of
material support or solicitation provided; the length and nature of
military-type training provided; the length of time since material
support or solicitation was provided, or military-type training was
received, and the alien's conduct since that time; and any other
relevant factor.
This exercise of authority may be revoked as a matter of discretion
and without notice at any time, with respect to any and all persons
subject to it. Any determination made under this exercise of authority
as set out above can inform but shall not control a decision regarding
any subsequent benefit or protection application, unless such exercise
of authority has been revoked.
This exercise of authority shall not be construed to prejudice, in
any way, the ability of the U.S. government to commence subsequent
criminal or civil proceedings in accordance with U.S. law involving any
beneficiary of this exercise of authority (or any other person).
This exercise of authority creates no substantive or procedural
right or benefit that is legally enforceable by any party against the
United States or its agencies or officers or any other person.
In accordance with section 212(d)(3)(B)(ii) of the INA, 8 U.S.C.
1182(d)(3)(B)(ii), a report on the aliens to whom this exercise of
authority is applied, on the basis of case-by-case decisions by the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security, shall be provided to the
specified congressional committees not later than 90 days after the end
of the fiscal year.
This determination is based on an assessment related to the
national security and foreign policy interests of the United States as
they apply to the particular persons described herein and shall not
have any application with respect to other persons or to other
provisions of U.S. law.

Dated: August 10, 2012.
Janet Napolitano,
Secretary of Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. 2012-20278 Filed 8-16-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-9M-P
 
Top