HOW THE LAW WILL AFFECT
ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

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Q. I have a petition approved by the Immigration Service. I am on a waiting list for a green card. How will the new law affect me?

A. If your presence in the U.S. is unlawful, the bill will definitely affect you. Even if you are currently in lawful status, but may fall out of status in the future, you should keep reading!

The answer to your question can be found within section 301 of the new law which establishes what are called "entitlement bars".

The first thing to keep in mind is that this section of the new law does not become effective until April 1, 1997. Beginning on that date, if you accumulate either 180 days or one year of "unlawful presence" in the U.S. and you voluntarily depart the U.S. and seek reentry into the country, you become ineligible for a permanent or temporary visa unless you remain outside the U.S. for three years or ten years, respectively. In other words, if you are present in the U.S. illegally from April 1, 1997 until September 27, 1997, you may be subject to the three-year bar upon your next attempt to be admitted to the U.S. If you still illegal on April 1, 1998, you may be subject to the ten-year bar. Either way, you will have leave the U.S. for many years before you will become eligible for permanent residence.

These so-called entitlement bars will take a huge toll on the 3.7 million persons who have been sponsored by relatives or employers, whose petitions have already been approved by INS and who are on various waiting lists for green cards. It is not known how many of these persons are illegally residing in the U.S., but my experience tells me that the number is in the millions. Most are spouses and sons and daughters of permanent residents. Others are spouses, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, and parents of U.S. citizens.

EXCEPTIONS

1. Minors - No period of time in the U.S. accrued by a minor under 18 years of age may be taken into account in determining unlawful presence for purposes of the entitlement bars.

2. Asylees - No period of time in which a person has a "bona fide" request for asylum pending is considered unlawful presence unless the person has been working without authorization.

3. Family Unity - The Immigration Act of 1990 established a Family Unity program for a certain spouses and children of aliens granted amnesty in the U.S. Registration under the Family Unity program permits these spouses and children to live and work in the U.S. until they obtain permanent residence status. Such individuals are not deemed to be unlawfully present in the U.S.

4. Battered Women and Children - Certain battered women and children are exempt from the entitlement bars.

TOLLING

1. You have been lawfully admitted or paroled into the U.S.;

2. You have filed a nonfrivolous application for a change or extension of status before the expiration of your lawful stay in the U.S.; and

3. You have not been employed without authorization before or during the pending of the application.

   The maximum period of tolling may not exceed 120 days.

WAIVERS

The law provides that the decision of the Attorney General may not be overturned by the courts.

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