As of January 6, 2023, Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans and their immediate family members may be eligible for safe passage into the United States for up to two years as parolees if they have a financial supporter. This program is like the Uniting for Ukraine program. Organizations, including companies, can provide the financial support and, upon admission, the parolees may apply for Employment Authorization Documents (EADs).

Proposed beneficiaries cannot apply directly. Supporters must start the process.

The first step is for the supporter to submit a Form I-134A, Online Request to be Supporter and Declaration of Financial Support, including documentation proving they are able to financially support the beneficiaries they are agreeing to support. Only after that application is reviewed and adjudicated will USCIS notify the proposed beneficiary and provide instructions about how to proceed. The beneficiary will be told how to submit biographic information online and, if approved, will eventually receive travel instructions. They will be told to arrange to fly directly to their destination in the United States. Upon arrival at a U.S. port of entry, the beneficiary will be vetted again before being paroled into the country. Beneficiaries should not attempt to enter through a land port of entry as that will likely lead to a denial.

Financial supporters must be U.S. citizens or nationals, legal permanent residents (“green card holders”), conditional permanent residents, non-immigrants in lawful status, asylees, refugees, parolees, and beneficiaries of TPS, DACA or Deferred Enforced Departure (DED). While an individual must submit the Form I-134A, they can do so in association with or on behalf of an organization, business, or other entity that will provide some or all the support. Individuals who file the form on behalf of an organization must submit a letter of commitment or other documentation from an officer or other credible representative of the organization or business describing the monetary or other types of support they will provide. Beyond monetary support, other forms of support can include housing, basic necessities, and transportation. When an individual is submitting the form on behalf of an organization that will be providing the necessary level of support, the individual need not submit their own financial information.

Applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis. The grant of parole is discretionary, based on urgent humanitarian reasons or if the applicants would provide a significant public benefit to the United States.

To be eligible, proposed beneficiaries must:

• Have a financial supporter in the United States;
• Undergo robust security screening;
• Have a passport valid for international travel;
• Meet vaccination requirements;
• Provide their own transportation to the United States, if approved for travel;
• Meet other general requirements; and
• Warrant an exercise of discretion.

The post Humanitarian Parole Program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans with Sponsorship appeared first on The National Law Forum.

The post Venezuela Program Expanded to Cuba, Haiti, and Nicaragua – 30,000 Per Month for All Countries appeared first on The National Law Forum.

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is a humanitarian benefit available to foreign nationals who are unable to return to their home countries because of certain temporary conditions including ongoing armed conflict such as civil war, an environmental disaster like an earthquake, hurricane, epidemic, or other extraordinary conditions. During TPS designation, qualifying foreign nationals are not removable from the US and can obtain work authorization and travel permission.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has recently terminated TPS for nationals of El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Sudan but has granted a period of orderly departure to allow time for this population to wind up their affairs in the US. This has left employers in a quandary about which TPS holders remain able to work and how to comply with Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verifications.

To help ease the confusion, the chart below illustrates TPS-designated countries, the dates by which beneficiaries were required to re-register and, for those who do re-register, how long their current Employment Authorization Cards (EAD) are automatically extended pending decisions of EAD renewal applications. The TPS termination dates for El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Sudan are also included.

As reflected in the chart above, sometimes DHS issues a blanket automatic extension of the expiring EADs for TPS beneficiaries of a specific country in order to allow time for EADs with new validity dates to be issued. The automatic extension periods are available to those TPS beneficiaries who timely re-register and apply to renew their EADs.

Although an employer cannot specify which documents an employee can present in connection with the I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification process, TPS beneficiaries with automatic EAD extensions may present an expired EAD bearing the C19 eligibility code along with a Form I-797C Notice of Action indicating the eligibility category code A12 or C19. The codes need not be the same.

The M-274 Handbook for Employers is an excellent resource in determining how to complete the Form I-9 for those employees with automatic EAD extensions. It specifies that:

“For a current employee, update Section 2 of Form I-9 with the new expiration date as follows:

• Draw a line through the old expiration date and write the new expiration date in the margin of Section 2;

• Write EAD EXT in Section 2;

• Initial and date the correction.”

For TPS beneficiaries, the new expiration date should correspond with the respective date as noted in the chart above. An employee whose employment authorization is automatically extended along with his/her EAD may cross out the “employment authorized until” date in Section 1, write the new expiration date as reflected in the chart, initial and date the change.

A new employee may present the expired EAD and Form I-797C Notice of Action indicating USCIS’s receipt of the employee’s timely filed renewal application. When completing Section 1, the employee should enter the corresponding date from the chart in the “employment authorized until mm/dd/yyyy” field.

When completing Section 2, the employer should enter into the Expiration Date field the date the automatic extension period expires, not the expiration date on the face of the expired EAD. The employer should enter the receipt number from the I-797C Notice of Action as the document number on Form I-9. Note that reverification is required when the employee’s automatic extension ends.

While an employer is not required to be an expert in I-9 documents and review, having access to reliable resources comes in handy and will take you to the head of the class.

The post Raise Your Hand If You’re Confused about I-9 Reverifications for Employees with TPS appeared first on The National Law Forum.