Georgetown Law & UBN Life on Hold

Failure to Account for Logistical Hurdles, COVID-19, and New Requirements Additional problems arose in 2020 as LRIF applicants contended with draconian changes to filing requirements by the Trump Administration, including accepting only unexpired passports as one form of proof of Liberian nationality. 83 Liberian consulates, like many consulates across the world, shut their doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic for months on end, preventing people from renewing their passports. USCIS’s documentary requirements to demonstrate Liberian nationality forcedmany to travel to a consulate office in New York, Washington, or Minnesota to renew their expired passports. Further, even though USCIS could have set deadlines for filings according to when a postmark is accepted, for LRIF they set the deadline that applications must be received, not just postmarked, by December 20, 2020. This policy choice shortened the time frame by which eligible applicants could apply and was further complicated by election-related interruptions in service from the U.S. Postal Service. 84 Additionally, applicants are required to submit certain biometric data along with their applications, such as fingerprints. This data can only be collected through in-person appointments, and this risky logistical hurdle was not addressed by USCIS during the height of the pandemic. Failure to Adhere to Statutory Intent USCIS policy guidance does not emphasize that LRIF is a mandatory program, not a discretionary one. Section 3(a)(1) of LRIF reads that, “[e]xcept as provided in paragraph (3), the Secretary shall adjust the status of an alien described in subsection (b) to that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence.” 85 The USCIS Policy Manual only explains that LRIF is a non-discretionary program at the very end, leaving room for misinterpretation or uneven discretionary determinations by USCIS officers. 86 Inconsistent Fee Waiver Grants Eligible applicants for LRIF are not subject to the Public Charge Rule, meaning that an applicant does not need to prove that, should they be allowed to adjust status, they will not rely on welfare programs or become a “public charge.” 87 As a result, LRIF applicants are eligible for USCIS application fee waivers, but granting of the waiver is a discretionary determination by USCIS officials. LRIF applicants must pay much more than $1,000 in application fees. 88 These requirements coincided with a time when people all over the United States, including many potential LRIF applicants, had lost their jobs to the pandemic. Because of this, many applicants struggled to afford the application fees associated. Lawyers encouraged applicants to scrimp and save, but oftentimes this was not enough. Some unhoused applicants were even forced to fundraise to meet the demands of the application fee. Stakeholders and organizers note that many applicants facing significant financial issues have been denied fee waivers thus far, raising questions about the true availability of such relief. 83 Id. (discussing new policy requiring immigrants to fill in every blank on an application, even if the questions do not apply to them). 84 Sam Levine and Alvin Chang, Revealed: evidence shows huge mail slowdowns after Trump ally took over, THE GUARDIAN (Sept. 21, 2020), https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/21/usps-post-office-mail-slowdowns-louis-dejoy. 85 S.456, 116th Cong. (2019). 86 USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 7, Adjustment of Status, Part P, Other Adjustment Programs, Chapter 5, Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness, https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-7-part-p-chapter-5. 87 Id. 88 Lind, supra note 82.

Life On Hold: Black Immigrants & the Promise of Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness

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