I am no Terrorist, any advice?

USCIS has launched Beacon blog , dont know how much that would help , but its an opportunity to air our concerns.
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Monday, March 15, 2010
CONTACT:
George Tzamaras
202-507-7649
gtzamaras@aila.org
WASHINGTON, DC - The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) applauds Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, for introducing "The Refugee Protection Act of 2010" to ensure refugees and asylum seekers are protected by the United States. The bill's introduction today comes on the thirtieth anniversary of the Refugee Act of 1980, a landmark piece of legislation that sought to fulfill the United States' obligations under the 1951 Refugee Convention. Currently, that law falls short of meeting those obligations and this bill will help correct those disparities by protecting refugees and asylum seekers from torture while preserving the United States as a land of hope for those who flee persecution.

"This is a significant piece of legislation that comes at the right time given the global unrest that troubles our world," said Bernie Wolfsdorf, President of AILA. "America has stood as a beacon of hope for so many and this bill gives hope to those who are in most need - refugees and asylum seekers. The bill would grant much needed protections to those fleeing persecution and brings about much needed reform in the adjudication system. I am hopeful Congress will act swiftly and in a bipartisan manner to fix the immigration process for refugees and asylees."

In addition to refugees and asylum seekers, the Refugee Protection Act would protect immigrants who are detained and placed in deportation proceedings. "Everyone who represents immigrants has seen painfully unfair cases where a client is held in a jail cell for weeks-often in substandard conditions--then deported even though the immigration judge made a mistake or did not apply the law correctly," said Wolfsdorf. "Especially now with hundreds of thousands of cases being processed by courts each year, mistakes do happen, and our system must have a way to ensure the mistakes get caught."

It would make the following changes, among others, to current law:

Increased Protections for Asylum Seekers:

Eliminate the requirement that asylum applicants file their claim within one year of arrival.
Protect particularly vulnerable asylum seekers by ensuring they can pursue a claim even where their persecution was not socially visible.
Ensure fair process by requiring an immigration judge to give notice and an opportunity to respond when the judge requires corroborating evidence of the asylum claim.
Give an applicant the opportunity to explain and clarify inconsistencies in a claim.
Enable minors who seek asylum to have an initial interview with an asylum officer in a non-adversarial setting.
Allow the Attorney General to appoint counsel where fair resolution or effective adjudication of the proceedings would be served by appointment of counsel.
Reforms to the Expedited Removal Process:

Require the referral of asylum seekers to an asylum officer for a credible fear interview, and, if credible fear is found, for an asylum interview.
Authorize the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom to conduct a new study on the effects of expedited removal authority on asylum seekers.
Parole of Asylum Seekers:

Codify the current DHS policy that asylum seekers be considered for release ("parole") and requires DHS to issue regulations establishing criteria for parole.
Establish a nationwide, secure "alternatives to detention" program.
Require changes in the immigration detention system to ensure asylum seekers and others have access to counsel, medical care, religious practice, and visits from family.
Terrorism Bar to Admissibility

Modify definitions in the statute to ensure that innocent asylum seekers and refugees are not unfairly denied protection as a result of the material support and terrorism bars in the law, while ensuring that those with legitimate ties to terrorist activity will continue to be denied entry to the United States.
Protection for Refugees and Asylees:

Eliminate the one-year waiting period for refugees and asylees to apply for a green card.
Allow certain children and family members of refugees to be considered as derivative applicants for refugee status. All such applicants must pass standard security checks.
Authorize the Secretary of State to designate certain groups as eligible for expedited adjudication as refugees.
Prevent newly resettled refugees from slipping into poverty by adjusting the per capita refugee resettlement grant level annually for inflation and the cost of living.
 
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Here is Senators Leahy web site announcement :
For years, I have fought to modify a law that prevents genuine refugees and asylum seekers from obtaining protection in the United States. The law, which contains an overly broad definition of “material support” to terrorist organizations, has the effect of barring some who were victims of terrorist organizations. More than two years ago, Senator Kyl and I worked together to ensure that the Department of Homeland Security had the authority it needed to provide waivers and exemptions in certain “material support” cases. The Obama administration convened an interagency process to try to resolve the matter, but thousands of refugees with pending adjustment of status applications are still being held in limbo while the Government studies how to exercise its exemption and waiver authority. This bill contains language that would fix this problem once and for all. The bill modifies definitions in the statute to ensure that innocent asylum seekers and refugees are not unfairly denied protection as a result of the material support and terrorism bars in the law, while ensuring that those with material ties to terrorist activity will be denied entry to the United States.
 
justnjust said:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Monday, March 15, 2010
CONTACT:
George Tzamaras
202-507-7649
gtzamaras@aila.org
WASHINGTON, DC - The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) applauds Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, for introducing "The Refugee Protection Act of 2010" to ensure refugees and asylum seekers are protected by the United States. The bill's introduction today comes on the thirtieth anniversary of the Refugee Act of 1980, a landmark piece of legislation that sought to fulfill the United States' obligations under the 1951 Refugee Convention. Currently, that law falls short of meeting those obligations and this bill will help correct those disparities by protecting refugees and asylum seekers from torture while preserving the United States as a land of hope for those who flee persecution.

"This is a significant piece of legislation that comes at the right time given the global unrest that troubles our world," said Bernie Wolfsdorf, President of AILA. "America has stood as a beacon of hope for so many and this bill gives hope to those who are in most need - refugees and asylum seekers. The bill would grant much needed protections to those fleeing persecution and brings about much needed reform in the adjudication system. I am hopeful Congress will act swiftly and in a bipartisan manner to fix the immigration process for refugees and asylees."

In addition to refugees and asylum seekers, the Refugee Protection Act would protect immigrants who are detained and placed in deportation proceedings. "Everyone who represents immigrants has seen painfully unfair cases where a client is held in a jail cell for weeks-often in substandard conditions--then deported even though the immigration judge made a mistake or did not apply the law correctly," said Wolfsdorf. "Especially now with hundreds of thousands of cases being processed by courts each year, mistakes do happen, and our system must have a way to ensure the mistakes get caught."

It would make the following changes, among others, to current law:

Increased Protections for Asylum Seekers:

Eliminate the requirement that asylum applicants file their claim within one year of arrival.
Protect particularly vulnerable asylum seekers by ensuring they can pursue a claim even where their persecution was not socially visible.
Ensure fair process by requiring an immigration judge to give notice and an opportunity to respond when the judge requires corroborating evidence of the asylum claim.
Give an applicant the opportunity to explain and clarify inconsistencies in a claim.
Enable minors who seek asylum to have an initial interview with an asylum officer in a non-adversarial setting.
Allow the Attorney General to appoint counsel where fair resolution or effective adjudication of the proceedings would be served by appointment of counsel.
Reforms to the Expedited Removal Process:

Require the referral of asylum seekers to an asylum officer for a credible fear interview, and, if credible fear is found, for an asylum interview.
Authorize the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom to conduct a new study on the effects of expedited removal authority on asylum seekers.
Parole of Asylum Seekers:

Codify the current DHS policy that asylum seekers be considered for release ("parole") and requires DHS to issue regulations establishing criteria for parole.
Establish a nationwide, secure "alternatives to detention" program.
Require changes in the immigration detention system to ensure asylum seekers and others have access to counsel, medical care, religious practice, and visits from family.
Terrorism Bar to Admissibility

Modify definitions in the statute to ensure that innocent asylum seekers and refugees are not unfairly denied protection as a result of the material support and terrorism bars in the law, while ensuring that those with legitimate ties to terrorist activity will continue to be denied entry to the United States.
Protection for Refugees and Asylees:

Eliminate the one-year waiting period for refugees and asylees to apply for a green card.
Allow certain children and family members of refugees to be considered as derivative applicants for refugee status. All such applicants must pass standard security checks.
Authorize the Secretary of State to designate certain groups as eligible for expedited adjudication as refugees.
Prevent newly resettled refugees from slipping into poverty by adjusting the per capita refugee resettlement grant level annually for inflation and the cost of living.
Click to expand...

On Terrorism Bar to Admissibility - how about those who had/have no tie to terrorist in one form or another, none whatsoever, but are put in that bar? Example: ME. Had applied for GC in 1999.
 
Not too overly excited to be quite honest. We're looking into months ( or years ) before it'd get passed anyways. Every passing day brings nothing but torture and pain to me.
 
miaj said:
On Terrorism Bar to Admissibility - how about those who had/have no tie to terrorist in one form or another, none whatsoever, but are put in that bar? Example: ME. Had applied for GC in 1999.
Click to expand...

It depends which Tier you in , it will repeal Tier III classification , would clerify Terrorist activities to those who intimidate or coerce a civilian population , or influence the policy of a government through intimidation or coercion. it will also repeal a provision in current law that makes spouses and children inadmissible for the acts of a spouse or parent.
 
The.Walker said:
Not too overly excited to be quite honest. We're looking into months ( or years ) before it'd get passed anyways. Every passing day brings nothing but torture and pain to me.
Click to expand...

I am in the same boat and waiting is just frustrating but waiting with slim of hope better than being in no hope , I am not excited either because I am not a firm believer in USCIS adjudicators who will see any opportunity to disapprove your petition , but this provision reflects the changing political mood and will towards making sense to a non-sense law that gave some adjudictors the opportunity to seperate families and freeze the lives of thousands who are in desperate need of protection.Every passing day there are people who will be denied acess to this protection scattered all over the world in thier camps with no medicines, food or shelter , I think we better off here safe but waiting , working and some of us have all family with them. in short to wait with nothing in the horizon is just like a life sentence , at least now we can aticipate something in who knows 1-2 years may be 3 , or may be a matter of months.
 
Let's act, nobody knows how long it will take but we can do something about it. Please go to wwwimmigrantjusticeorg and click "Alert: Tell Senators to Support the Refugee Protection Act" so we can encourage our senators to sign for it.
 
The.Walker said:
Not too overly excited to be quite honest. We're looking into months ( or years ) before it'd get passed anyways. Every passing day brings nothing but torture and pain to me.
Click to expand...

I think the senate will have more time to discuss this issue after they finish the health care reform.
 
Good points guys but the Senate has other priorities to discuss too. Of course, I'm not saying that the prospect of this new development is a bad one but I'm just trying to contain myself from being too optimistic.

It's been almost 25 days since I applied for my GC and I haven't even received a receipt yet! Consider the three big question marks ( 1. whether I'm still protected by CSPA, 2. Fee Waiver application and 3. whether my father's hold will affect my application or not ) and you'll know what I go through these days, on top of the bigger ordeal i.e. my mom and brother's I-730 applications that've been pending for almost 2 years.
 
That's pretty much my situation too. I was granted asylum through my mom in March of 2009. She filed I-730 petitioning her son in April, 09 and in October, after an inquiry, she received an email with the 'inadmissible' act text on it. Is there nothing that can be done to defend a case like this? How long do we have to wait for it to be approved? Or would it even be approved? If this is of any importance, my mom received asylum on political grounds (she was a member of a 'peaceful' political group but was troubled by a rebel group). Could that be the reason why her son is considered inadmissible?

Please advise.
 
your asylum case was granted through your mom in march of 2009. that makes you a derivative asylee since march ,09. so whose I730 was filed in April? you mean your brother's ? sorry , just trying to understand. my i730 is on hold too, we filed it in april of 2009. Just wanted to know if they would approve at least the derivative status while the cases are on hold.
 
Let's work with refugee organizations like Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International , Unicef and ACLU.

1. We can contact State Department since they have the authority to grant weaver, I THINK since October 20, 2007, there is only two weavers issued by then Secretary of State and Secretary of Homeland Security . Our life is in their hands, they have the authority to exempt asylum seekers and refugees from this bar.

2. The media (CNN,MSNBC, NY Times, Washington Post) and others so that they can research not only about our cases but also other cases that are pending forever.

Please make sure that we are contacting our senators to approve Refugee Protection Act of 2010. For us there are different websites that are accepting petition signatures, so let’s make our voices heard, please post any ideas or suggestions.
 
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Hello every one, I'm new to this forum and i would like to express my deepest regards to every one who shed lights on this important matter. However, I have hired an attorney in May 2009 to check out the delay on my I-485 application and was scheduled for a court date on Oct 06, 2009. I found out about my Tier III situation one week before my court date. It was a shock for me since i did not know what to do. However, The immigration defendant attorney asked me to withdraw from this case, since the judges judjment to apporve my I-485 application within 30 days will be impossible. Anyways, I agreed to withdraw from this case on the court date. I had a chance to meet that immigratioan attoreny that date, where he told me that they know there many people list under Tier I, II, and III by mistake and the reason it was taking so long to fix this mistake becasue they were trying to figoure out a proccess that would fix this problem. He told me that they have finally created that process and it is finally being apporved and they are currently using it. I asked him how long do i need to wait before i get my GC. He did not give me a certain date but he told me that it should not take more than one year. I'm waiting like you guys for my GC to be approved but still worried about the time period since it has been more than 5 months now. I will file form G-639 and see what would happen.
 
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