Georgetown Law & UBN Life on Hold

Some of the fundamental requirements are described below. Eligibility. An applicant will not qualify – despite meeting the above criteria – if they are ineligible. An applicant is ineligible for LRIF if they have been: convicted of aggravated felony, convicted of two or more crimes involving moral turpitude (other than a political offense), or have ordered, incited, assisted, or otherwise participated in persecution of another person on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a social group, or political opinion. These bars to eligibility reinforce the exclusion of persons with criminal records from much-needed immigration relief, which is made more unfair due to Black immigrants being disproportionately more likely to be criminalized while in the U.S. These ineligibility provisions lock out many Liberians from relief, despite the availability of some criminal waivers. Liberian Nationality. LRIF requires an applicant to demonstrate Liberian nationality to be entitled to relief. USCIS provides only two examples to show this: an unexpired Liberian passport and a Liberian certificate of naturalization. This is a purposely burdensome requirement. Given the brief filing window for LRIF, applicants may feel discouraged from applying because they may not be able to locate the required documentation. Many Liberians have not returned to Liberia since seeking safety during the civil unrest. Additionally, Liberians have expressed concerns with the Liberian government’s administrative capacity to assist them in a timely fashion with this request. These concerns are supported by the Liberian Ministry of Foreign Affairs suspending the issuance of any Liberian passports in March 2020. Many applicants were already required to establish Liberian nationality in order to obtain employment authorization under DED and for TPS approval, further showing the unnecessary burden this requirement places on applicants. Continuously Present. The physical presence requirement presents an unnecessary barrier, especially in combination with the filing deadline. First, this requires an applicant to have arrived in the United States at least by November 20, 2014. Second, an applicant must not have left the country for more than 180 days total, from November 2014 until filing. USCIS’s interpretation of the continuous presence requirement is excessively narrow, given the humanitarian purpose of LRIF. The statute’s wording is framed on prohibiting the USCIS from disqualifying applicants: an applicant shall not be considered to have failed to maintain continuous presence based on absences in the aggregate amounting to less than 180 days. Additionally, the USCIS should recognize exceptions for applicants with absences that exceed 180 days based on emergent or extenuating circumstances. Similar immigration programs with a presence requirement have not been interpreted as rigidly as LRIF. Moreover, in the context of COVID-19, it becomes clear that exceptions for individuals who aggregate more than 180 days traveling outside the U.S. are warranted. Some travelers may have exceeded the 180 days for reasons outside their control, such as a sick family member or travel restrictions. Admissibility. To be eligible for adjustment under LRIF, the applicant must be “admissible” to the United States, which is a term of art in immigration law. An applicant may be found inadmissible for any of the reasons set forth in INA § 212(a). Grounds for inadmissibility range from health-based to criminal and economic. If an applicant is inadmissible, they can apply for a waiver/other relief to overcome this hurdle. A successful application for a waiver permits USCIS to approve an otherwise eligible applicant. However, LRIF applicants are not subject to the following grounds: public charge, labor certification, present without admission or parole, and documentation requirements for immigrants. Family Members Applying. Family members eligible for LRIF include the spouse and unmarried child of a Liberian principal applicant who is LRIF-eligible. The qualifying relationship may have been created before or after the principal applicant’s submission; however, it must exist on the date of the filing and adjudication of the family member’s application. The family member may not apply before the principal

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

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