There were thousands of cases received in April 2001 by Labor Dept. coutesy of the new law - section 245(i) which offered Green Card to illegal aliens. The Labor Dept. has been still busy dealing with those cases.
Read story below from americanvisalawyers.com
http://www.americanvisalawyers.com/news/2001/section245.html
The new Section 245(i) gives eligible aliens who are "illegal" or "out of status" the opportunity to apply for U.S. permanent residence ( for a "green card" ) without having to leave the U.S.
This is beneficial to persons who entered the U.S. illegally or who entered legally and then overstayed or violated their lawful status.
Persons who wish to apply under Section 245(i) have until April 30, 2001 to file an immigrant visa petition ( I-130, I-140 or I-360 ) with the Immigration & Naturalization Service or a labor certification application with the Department of Labor.
A person may be eligible to file for U.S. permanent residence based on a qualifying family relationship or through an offer of employment.
U.S. permanent residents can petition for their spouses and unmarried sons and daughters of any age.
U.S. citizens can petition for their spouses, parents, married and unmarried sons and daughters of any age, and for brothers and sisters.
Employers can petition for employees or future employees once a labor certification application has been approved by the Department of Labor.
Two categories may self-petition: applicants for "national interest waivers" and battered spouses.
The process usually consists of two-steps: the filing of an immigration petition (based on a qualifying family relationship or based on an approved labor certification application) followed by the filing of the application for permanent residence. In most cases the petition must be approved before the application for permanent residence can be filed.
The $1000 fee is paid to the INS at the time of filing of the application for permanent residence, along with regular INS filing fees.
Without the new Section 245(i), persons who are "illegal" or "out of status" or who violated the terms of their status would not be able to stay in the U.S. to complete the process to become a U.S. permanent resident; they would have to leave the United States and return to their home countries in order to complete the process and risk being denied re-entry.
To establish eligibility to file under Section 245(i) the applicant for permanent residence must prove that he or she was present in the U.S. on December 21, 2000. The applicant must also show that he or she, despite having been out of status or in the U.S. illegally, is eligible for U.S. permanent residence.