This was in schustermans news letter. can this cause further delays on CIS backlog reduction?
4. Late Amnesty: Judge Signs CSS Settlement Agreement
On January 23, after over 17 years of litigation, Federal Judge
Lawrence Karlton signed the Settlement Agreement in the case of
Catholic Social Services (CSS) vs. Ridge.
The complete text of the Settlement Agreement is available at
http://shusterman.com/pdf/CSSSettlement.pdf
In brief, the 1986 immigration law provided that persons who were
illegally present in the U.S. before January 1, 1982 could apply for
legalization ("amnesty") between May 5, 1987 and May 4, 1988. INS
regulations provided that persons who departed the country after the
enactment of the law on November 6, 1986 and returned to the U.S. were
only eligible for amnesty if their travel was authorized by the INS as
an "advance parole". However, the Federal Courts held that the INS had
illegally imposed a condition on amnesty applicants that was not
authorized under the law.
Persons in this situation were permitted to submit "late amnesty"
applications and be issued Employment Authorization Documents.
Although the LIFE Act, enacted in 2000 attempted to resolve the problem
of approximately 150,000 CSS class members, the CSS lawsuit was not
resolved by the LIFE Act.
The Settlement Agreement requires the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) to distribute copies of the Settlement Agreement to adjudicating
officers within 14 days of January 23. Then, 60 days later, the DHS
must issue a press release regarding the terms of the Settlement
Agreement. After the press release, the DHS must start accepting
applications for class membership, for temporary residence status and
for work permits within 30 to 60 days.
The Settlement Agreement provides that the DHS must adjudicate
applications favorably if it is "more probable than not" that the
applicant meets the class definition. It also provides that
applications "shall not be denied solely because applicants do not
possess documentary evidence establishing class membership."
DHS cannot deny an application without first giving an application a
Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID) and 30 days to submit new evidence. If
an application is denied, an applicant has 30 days to appeal the denial
to a "Special Master".
It is anticipated that the Settlement Agreement in CSS's sister
lawsuit, Newman (LULAC) vs. Ridge, will be signed shortly. We have
posted the complete text of the LULAC Settlement Agreement online at
http://shusterman.com/pdf/NewmanSettlement.pdf
4. Late Amnesty: Judge Signs CSS Settlement Agreement
On January 23, after over 17 years of litigation, Federal Judge
Lawrence Karlton signed the Settlement Agreement in the case of
Catholic Social Services (CSS) vs. Ridge.
The complete text of the Settlement Agreement is available at
http://shusterman.com/pdf/CSSSettlement.pdf
In brief, the 1986 immigration law provided that persons who were
illegally present in the U.S. before January 1, 1982 could apply for
legalization ("amnesty") between May 5, 1987 and May 4, 1988. INS
regulations provided that persons who departed the country after the
enactment of the law on November 6, 1986 and returned to the U.S. were
only eligible for amnesty if their travel was authorized by the INS as
an "advance parole". However, the Federal Courts held that the INS had
illegally imposed a condition on amnesty applicants that was not
authorized under the law.
Persons in this situation were permitted to submit "late amnesty"
applications and be issued Employment Authorization Documents.
Although the LIFE Act, enacted in 2000 attempted to resolve the problem
of approximately 150,000 CSS class members, the CSS lawsuit was not
resolved by the LIFE Act.
The Settlement Agreement requires the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) to distribute copies of the Settlement Agreement to adjudicating
officers within 14 days of January 23. Then, 60 days later, the DHS
must issue a press release regarding the terms of the Settlement
Agreement. After the press release, the DHS must start accepting
applications for class membership, for temporary residence status and
for work permits within 30 to 60 days.
The Settlement Agreement provides that the DHS must adjudicate
applications favorably if it is "more probable than not" that the
applicant meets the class definition. It also provides that
applications "shall not be denied solely because applicants do not
possess documentary evidence establishing class membership."
DHS cannot deny an application without first giving an application a
Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID) and 30 days to submit new evidence. If
an application is denied, an applicant has 30 days to appeal the denial
to a "Special Master".
It is anticipated that the Settlement Agreement in CSS's sister
lawsuit, Newman (LULAC) vs. Ridge, will be signed shortly. We have
posted the complete text of the LULAC Settlement Agreement online at
http://shusterman.com/pdf/NewmanSettlement.pdf