by Natasha B. | Jan 28, 2023 | Immigration, News, Press Releases and Statements, Temporary Protected Status (TPS)
UPDATE AS OF: Wednesday, January 25, 2023
Peze la pou tradui nan Kreyol Ayisyen
What is Temporary Protected Status (TPS)?
- Temporary Protected Status is an immigration status available to some people from countries the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has designated as “unsafe to return to” for various reasons, such as civil war, political unrest, natural disaster, etc.
- TPS is a temporary immigration status that may be renewed for as long as the TPS designation is in place. A TPS designation may be made for 6, 12 or 18 months at a time. Nationals of the country designated for TPS must register during that time.
- At least 60 days before the expiration of the TPS designation, DHS must decide whether to extend or terminate the designation, based on conditions in that particular country. If TPS is extended, those who were granted TPS must re-register under that extension. Some countries have been designated for TPS for decades.
- DHS may re-designate a country for TPS based on new events that make that country unsafe to return to.
- If you are granted TPS, you:
- May not be deported from the United States;
- Can obtain an employment authorization card and a Social Security number;
- Can obtain permission to travel abroad and return to the United States.
- To be eligible for TPS, you must meet the following requirements:
- Be a national of the designated country (or a person without nationality who last habitually resided in that country);
- Have been continuously physically present in the United States since a specified date;
- Have continuously maintained a residence in the United States since a specified date;
- File during the initial registration or re-registration period.
Has Haiti been designated for TPS?
- Haiti was originally designated for TPS after the January 10, 2010 earthquake and redesignated on May 19, 2011. Haitian nationals who were continuously physically present in the United States since January 12, 2011 were eligible to apply. This original designation and redesignation have been extended for years. On November 10, 2022, it was announced that Haitians granted TPS under the original designation and the May 19, 2011 redesignation, and who have timely re-registered under every subsequent extension, will have their TPS status automatically extended through June 30, 2024.
- Haiti was redesignated for TPS on August 3, 2021 for 18 months, until February 3, 2023. Haitian nationals who have been continuously residing in the United States since July 29, 2021 are eligible to apply and must do so before February 3, 2023. On December 5, 2022, DHS announced that this designation will be extended for 18 months, until August 3, 2024. Those granted TPS under the 2021 designation must re-register from January 26 to March 27, 2023 in order to maintain TPS and work authorization.
- On December 5, 2022, DHS also announced that Haiti will be redesignated for TPS for 18 months, until August 3, 2024. Haitian nationals who have been continuously residing in the United States since November 6, 2022 are eligible to apply from January 26, 2023 through August 3, 2024.
When can I apply for TPS?
- If you have been granted TPS status under the 2011 designation and have maintained that status, you do not have to re-register for TPS because it has been automatically extended through June 30, 2024. However, as that designation was sought to be terminated by the Trump Administration and that termination is being litigated in court, you may want to register under the 2021 or the 2022 redesignations, which are not subject to litigation. To register under the 2021 redesignation, you must prove that you have been continuously residing in the United States since July 29, 2021 and you must apply before February 3, 2023. To register under the 2022 redesignation, you must prove that you have been continuously residing in the United States since November 6, 2022 and you must apply between January 26, 2023 and August 3, 2024.
- If you have been granted TPS under the 2021 redesignation, you will have to re-register for TPS during a 60 day period, from January 26 through March 27, 2023 in order to extend your TPS and work permit to August 3, 2024.
- Work permits with the expiration date of February 3, 2023 are automatically extended through February 3, 2024.
- If your initial application for TPS under the 2021 redesignation is still pending on February 3, 2023, you do not need to file another application to re-register.
- If you have continuously resided in the United States since November 6, 2022, you can register for TPS from January 26, 2023 until August 3, 2024 under the 2022 redesignation.
How do I apply?
We recommend consulting a lawyer to determine if you are eligible to apply for TPS and to learn more about what documents you need to include in your application.
For more information about TPS and referrals to free legal service providers, you can call the New Americans Hotline at (800) 566-7636, Monday through Friday, between 9:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.
For additional information, you can also contact Action NYC at (800) 354-0365 – Monday through Friday, between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. – to connect with City-funded, free and safe immigration legal help.
Download this update as a PDF: Immigration Update Pertaining to Haiti and Temporary Protected Status (TPS)
About Catholic Migration Services: For over 50 years, Catholic Migration Services, a not-for-profit legal services provider affiliated with Catholic Charities of Brooklyn and Queens and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, has been providing quality legal services to low-income individuals in New York City in the areas of immigration, housing, and employment laws. For more information, please visit www.catholicmigration.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @CMSBQ.
by Natasha B. | Jan 5, 2023 | Immigration, News, Press Releases and Statements, Temporary Protected Status (TPS)
UPDATE AS OF: Monday, January 1, 2023
What is Temporary Protected Status (TPS)?
- Temporary Protected Status is an immigration status available to some people from countries the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has designated as “unsafe to return to” for various reasons, such as civil war, political unrest, natural disaster, etc.
- TPS is a temporary immigration status that may be renewed for as long as the TPS designation is in place. A TPS designation may be made for 6, 12 or 18 months at a time. Nationals of the country designated for TPS must register during that time.
- At least 60 days before the expiration of the TPS designation, DHS must decide whether to extend or terminate the designation, based on conditions in that particular country. If TPS is extended, those who were granted TPS must re-register under that extension. Some countries have been designated for TPS for decades.
- DHS may re-designate a country for TPS based on new events that make that country unsafe to return to.
- If you are granted TPS, you:
- May not be deported from the United States;
- Can obtain an employment authorization card and a Social Security number;
- Can obtain permission to travel abroad and return to the United States.
- To be eligible for TPS, you must meet the following requirements:
- Be a national of the designated country (or a person without nationality who last habitually resided in that country);
- Have been continuously physically present in the United States since a specified date;
- Have continuously maintained a residence in the United States since a specified date;
- File during the initial registration or re-registration period.
Has Haiti been designated for TPS?
- Haiti was originally designated for TPS after the January 10, 2010 earthquake and redesignated on May 19, 2011. Haitian nationals who were continuously physically present in the United States since January 12, 2011 were eligible to apply. This original designation and redesignation have been extended for years. On November 10, 2022, it was announced that Haitians granted TPS under the original designation and the May 19, 2011 redesignation, and who have timely re-registered under every subsequent extension, will have their TPS status automatically extended through June 30, 2024.
- Haiti was redesignated for TPS on August 3, 2021 for 18 months, until February 3, 2023. Haitian nationals who have been continuously residing in the United States since July 29, 2021 are eligible to apply and must do so before February 3, 2023. On December 5, 2022, DHS announced that this designation will be extended for 18 months, until August 3, 2024. The re-registration period has not been announced yet.
- On December 5, 2022, DHS also announced that Haiti will be redesignated for TPS for 18 months, until August 3, 2024. Haitian nationals who have been continuously residing in the United States since November 6, 2022 are eligible to apply and must do so before August 3, 2024.
When can I apply for TPS?
- If you have been granted TPS status under the 2011 designation and have maintained that status, you do not have to re-register for TPS because it has been automatically extended through June 30, 2024. However, as that designation was sought to be terminated by the Trump Administration and that termination is being litigated in court, you may want to register under the 2021 or the 2022 redesignations, which are not subject to litigation. To register under the 2021 redesignation, you must prove that you have been continuously residing in the United States since July 29, 2021 and you must apply before February 3, 2023. To register under the 2022 redesignation, you must prove that you have been continuously residing in the United States since November 6, 2022 and you must apply before August 3, 2024 – this registration process has not started yet.
- If you have been granted TPS under the 2021 redesignation, you will have to re-register under the extension announced on December 5, 2022. That re-registration period has not started yet.
- If you have NOT been granted TPS under previous designations and you have continuously resided in the United states since November 6, 2022, you can register when the registration period is announced and until August 3, 2024. That registration period has not started yet.
- To confirm the start of these registration and re-registration processes, please call the New York State New Americans Hotline – a hotline that provides free information and referrals on immigration matters – at 800-566-7636, Monday through Friday, between 9:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.
How do I apply?
We recommend consulting a lawyer to determine if you are eligible to apply for TPS and to learn more about what documents you need to include in your application.
For more information about TPS and referrals to free legal service providers, you can call the New Americans Hotline at (800) 566-7636, Monday through Friday, between 9:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.
For additional information, you can also contact Action NYC at (800) 354-0365 – Monday through Friday, between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. – to connect with City-funded, free and safe immigration legal help.
Download this update as a PDF: Immigration Update Pertaining to Haiti and Temporary Protected Status (TPS)
About Catholic Migration Services: For over 50 years, Catholic Migration Services, a not-for-profit legal services provider affiliated with Catholic Charities of Brooklyn and Queens and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, has been providing quality legal services to low-income individuals in New York City in the areas of immigration, housing, and employment laws. For more information, please visit www.catholicmigration.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @CMSBQ.
by Natasha B. | Nov 23, 2022 | News, Workers' Rights
On Tuesday, November 22, 2022, Catholic Migration Services joined Councilmember Shekar Krishan, advocates at NICE: New Immigrant Community Empowerment, Make the Road New York, TakeRoot Justice and allies during a press conference in front of the City Hall steps to celebrate continuing funding for a crucial initiative for defending the rights of low-wage workers. Advocates, workers, and Council Members urged that the program, the Low-Wage Worker Support (LWWS), be baselined in the upcoming budget.
In Fiscal Year 2022, through this vital program, legal service providers and community organizations advised and represented workers in over 2,300 cases to recoup unpaid wages and obtained more than $3 million in settlements and judgments for workers.
LWWS is the only dedicated city funding stream to provide free employment-related legal services to low-wage workers across NYC. Through LWWS, workers are connected to advocacy and able to access individualized legal advice and full legal representation in a range of proceedings, including pre-litigation settlement negotiations, unemployment insurance hearings, and individual and group cases before state and federal courts and administrative agencies.
Every year, more than $1 billion in wages are stolen from low-wage workers in New York City.
At the press conference, directly impacted workers shared their personal stories facing stolen wages, unsafe working conditions, and workplace rights’ violations.
Anthony Damelio, Skadden Fellow and Staff Attorney and David Colodny, Senior Counsel with the Employment Unit at Catholic Migration Services pose on the steps of City Hall after a press conference to defend the rights of low-wage workers on Tuesday, November 22, 2022.
Councilmember Shekar Krishan, advocates at Catholic Migration Services, NICE: New Immigrant Community Empowerment, Make the Road New York, TakeRoot Justice and allies in front of the City Hall steps during a press conference on Tuesday, November 22, 2022.
by Natasha B. | Aug 31, 2022 | CMS in the News, News
Photo: Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens
August 29, 2022
By Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens
Yesterday, Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens, Catholic Migration Services, and the St. Charles Borromeo Parishioner volunteers welcomed over 140 migrants and asylum seekers at an information session and lunch at St. Charles Borromeo Church in Downtown Brooklyn. Since July, over 220 asylum seekers have come to Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens Community Outreach Center in Brooklyn seeking assistance. To welcome them, provide support, and help them settle in further, we teamed up with Catholic Migration Services for a Spanish-language informational session that addressed deportation, ICE, change of address and applying for Asylee status.
Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens also provided small produce boxes with fresh fruit, loaves of bread, toiletry/food bags, COVID test kits, socks, masks and other necessities. The St. Charles Borromeo volunteers donated and served lunch for the attendees. Additional Catholic Charities social service staff were in attendance with information and resources.
Media Coverage:
For over 124 years, Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens, through its social services arm, Catholic Charities Neighborhood Services, Inc., has been providing quality social services to the neighborhoods of Brooklyn and Queens and currently offers 160-plus programs and services for children, youth, adults, older adults, and those struggling with mental illness. Since 1975, Catholic Charities Progress of Peoples Development Corporation, the affordable housing developer of Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens, has been transforming vacant land and buildings into affordable housing units and transforming the lives of individuals and families, and completed more than 4,450 units with supportive services for seniors, families, veterans and the formerly homeless. Since the pandemic began, Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens has provided much-needed food packages and services at 56 Catholic Charities parish-based food pantries and has distributed over $8.5 million in food assistance. Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens continues to deliver crucial mental health counseling, housing services, family services and early childhood education and COVID vaccines at a variety of locations. For more information, please visit www.ccbq.org.
by Natasha B. | Aug 8, 2022 | CMS in the News, News
AUGUST 5, 2022 / 11:25 PM / CBS NEW YORK
BY MARCIA KRAMER, ALI BAUMAN
NEW YORK — A red state, blue state border war has erupted after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sent dozens of migrants to the Port Authority Bus Terminal, taking advantage of New York City’s right to shelter law as he fights with President Joe Biden over immigration policy.
Mayor Eric Adams is furious, CBS2’s Marcia Kramer reported Friday.
The Port Authority Bus Terminal became the scene of the crime – what city officials think is a political crime by Abbott.
The Texas governor bused over 40 migrants – men, women and children – to New York City, his new drop-off location, to remove them from border towns in a challenge to the Biden administration’s open border policies.
“Governor Greg Abbott is continuing to play with the lives of human beings. We think this is cruel, it’s disgusting and it’s pure cowardice,” said Manuel Castro, commissioner of the mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs.
A spokesperson for Adams called the move “an embarrassing stain on the state of Texas,” but stressed that as a right to shelter city, he would welcome the asylum seekers with open arms.
In a statement, Adams’ press secretary Fabien Levy said, “… but we are asking for resources to help do so. We need Washington, D.C.’s assistance in dealing with the cruel political games being played by inept politicians like the governor of Texas.”
Abbott has been busing migrants to Washington, D.C. but said New York City will be a new location.
“New York City is the ideal destination for these migrants, who can receive the abundance of city services and housing that Mayor Eric Adams has boasted about within in the sanctuary city. I hope he follows through on his promise of welcoming all migrants with open arms so that our overrun and overwhelmed border towns can find relief,” Abbott said in a statement.
Castro said some of the migrants were confused to arrive in the Big Apple and relief workers who met the buses said many had no idea they were coming to New York City.
“I spoke to another family who thought were coming to Maryland, and in fact, their paperwork from immigration says that they were going to these destinations, but they were lied to in Texas and now they’re being sent to New York City,” Castro said.
“Some of them weren’t even supposed to be in New York. I mean there’s people going to Portland, Oregon. We had to get them tickets to North Carolina, Washington, D.C. and all sorts of other places. So they were kind of inappropriately brought to New York,” said relief worker Andrea Garbarini.
Kathryn Kliff, a legal aid attorney, said she’s also worried that Abbott sent people here against their will.
“By their own choice, have endured horrific things before they got here and this is just an additional trauma to be sent somewhere that’s not where you want to be,” Kliff said.
CBS2’s Ali Bauman spoke with a 44-year-old single father of three from Venezuela who wants to stay anonymous because he fears for his safety.
He has been staying in Queens with his three sons since they arrived a few days ago.
In Spanish, he spoke about their journey.
“I spent five days in the jungle from Colombia to Panama,” he said. “I got robbed, all my food and money was taken, so my kids and I spent two days in the jungle with no food.”
Eventually, they made it to Texas.
“This charity in Texas sent us a voucher so we could fly from Texas to Chicago to New York,” he said.
He added he feels blessed to have shelter, food and fresh clothing here, and he and his children say they’re excited about the future.
This father is one of the 4,000 migrants seeking asylum who have come to New York City this summer.
Adams, meanwhile, is now turning to the federal government for more resources.
“We already have a housing crisis. Help us here because not only it’s housing, it’s translation services, it’s education, it is food,” he said.
The city is helped by nonprofits like Catholic Migration Services in Brooklyn, which provides legal services.
“We have the knowledge to help them. We just need more resources to be able to,” said Raluca Oncioiu, an attorney with Catholic Migration Services’ immigration program.
She says they’re now receiving hearing notices for immigration court for people who are not their clients and they cannot contact.
“A number of them have told us that it was the officers at the border who put the address on the papers,” she said. “Processes that have been put in place to ensure that people have their day in court, that they can actually seek asylum, those processes are being bypassed.”
The city says it is increasing its capacities across the board for additional beds in the shelter system, as well as interpreters and legal services.
Legal Aid is asking Adams and Castro to provide a plan for addressing the needs of the migrants who have arrived here.
Read the original story on CBS News New York: Mayor Adams furious after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sent dozens of migrants to New York City against their will
by Natasha B. | Jul 5, 2022 | CMS in the News, News
Photo: Kevin Dietsch, Getty Images
June 4, 2022
By: Jesús García
Los inmigrantes portadores de una ‘green card’ deben animarse a aplicar por la ciudadanía una vez cumplidos los tres o cinco años obligatorios, pues ello les traerá mayores beneficios que mantenerse en forma indefinida como residentes permanentes, indicaron expertos.
“Yo le diría a quien esté pensando en solicitar la ciudadanía, que es un proceso muy gratificante”, indicó Samantha Pascal, coordinadora de Naturalization en Catholic Migration Services (CMS), una organización que trabaja en conjunto con New York Lawyers for Public Interest (NYLPI) para ayudar a los inmigrantes.
La experta reconoció que el proceso puede resultar “de miedo” para los inmigrantes, pero los beneficios son un buen motivo para concretar el proceso.
“Hay múltiples razones por las que es importante que alguien solicite la ciudadanía… Un motivo es que una tarjeta verde… vence después de 10 años y después de que vence, una persona tendría que renovarla”, advirtió Pascal. “En ese caso, algunas personas que no califican para una exención de tarifas tendrán que pagar por la tarjeta verde. Y ese costo se acumularía a lo largo de los años”.
Agregó que uno de los beneficios es que los inmigrantes ya no tendrían que estar preocupados por cuánto tiempo pasen fuera del país, ya que con la ‘green card’ si alguien pasa más de seis meses fuera de EE.UU. eso puede significar una “bandera roja” para autoridades migratorias y afectar su proceso de naturalización.
“Uno de los requisitos para naturalizarse es tener lo que se llama presencia física, que es una cantidad determinada de días o tiempo al año que el inmigrante está en los EE.UU.”, indicó la experta, quien destacó el derecho a votar que un inmigrante podría tener al hacerse ciudadano.
Agregó que ese paso es el “último” en un largo proceso de trámites migratorios que vive un no ciudadano, por lo que también le ayudará a reducir sus preocupaciones.
El Dr. Nelson Castillo, abogado en inmigración que ejerce en California, coincidió con Pascal, abonando otros beneficios.
“Los residentes permanentes deben convertirse en ciudadanos estadounidenses para tener más derechos, conseguir mejores empleos y tramitar peticiones de familiares inmediatos de forma más rápida”, indicó el experto. “Además, al ser ciudadanos, ya no los pueden remover del país, al menos que hayan cometido fraude para conseguir la ciudadanía estadounidense”.
El Dr. Castillo recordó que hay más de nueve millones de Residentes Legales Permanentes (LPR, como se le conoce inglés) que podrían ser elegibles para solicitar la ciudadanía estadounidense por medio de naturalización.
Cuatro grandes consejos
Pascal recordó a los inmigrantes proporcionar la suficiente información a su abogado para que pueda hacer una evaluación realista para aplicar por la naturalización ante la oficina de Servicios de Ciudadanía e Inmigración (USCIS).
Dado a que es un servicio gratuito de orientación legal, el CMS no acepta casos complejos, como aquellos en que una persona enfrenta el proceso de deportación.
Pascal indicó, sin embargo, que era indispensable que un inmigrante que haya cometido un delito o enfrente problemas con la justicia así sea en forma administrativa, debe proporcionar esa información a su abogado, para evaluar correctamente su caso.
“Tenemos conversaciones con el cliente para desarrollar los posibles problemas que tengan, nos aseguramos de ayudarlos a obtener los documentos que necesitan. Y usamos esos documentos esencialmente para hacer análisis con los abogados”, expuso. “Si no nos sentimos seguros con nuestro análisis, nos comunicamos con otros proveedores legales para asegurarnos de que nuestro análisis sea correcto y que no estemos poniendo en peligro a nuestro cliente… esencialmente estamos aquí para ayudar a nuestros clientes”.
La razón de esa revisión exhaustiva es que el inmigrante pueda llegar con mayor tranquilidad a la entrevista y al examen para obtener su ciudadanía.
El Dr. Castillo señaló que no todos los inmigrantes con una ‘green card’ serían elegibles para obtener la ciudadanía, debido a que cada caso es único, por lo que dio tres grandes consejos.
1.- Revelar posibles problemas.- Cada inmigrante conoce su historia personal y es consciente de qué puede significar un problema legal, por lo que el Dr. Castillo recuerda que no todos los LPR son elegibles. “Estas personas deben consultar con un abogado de inmigración con licencia y experiencia para determinar si pueden solicitar la ciudadanía lo más pronto posible”, acotó.
2.- Nunca mentir.- El Dr. Castillo advirtió que las mentiras durante el proceso migratorio pueden significar serios problemas. “Esto puede causar una negación de su solicitud de naturalización y, bajo ciertas circunstancias, sujetarle a un proceso de remoción (anteriormente llamado proceso de deportación)”, advirtió.
3. Evaluar opciones de pago.- Existen exenciones de pago para personas de bajos recursos que podrían ayudarle a no tener que pagar la cuota de $725 dólares para el trámite de naturalización, recordó el Dr. Castillo. Indicó que también hay organizaciones sin fines de lucro, como CMS, que proveen servicios legales autorizados gratuitos o a bajo costo.
4. Alejarse de “tramposos”.- El Dr. Castillo sugirió a los inmigrantes “nunca usar los servicios de notarios, consultores de inmigración, [gente] llena-papeles o multi-servicios para recibir ayuda legal en un trámite de naturalización”, dijo. El motivo es que, por ley, estas personas o negocios no están autorizados para ofrecer consejos legales.
El paso a paso
Hay distintos procesos para obtener la naturalización. Los expertos de CMS y NYLPI tienen clínicas que hacen una preevaluación de los casos y luego tienen reuniones físicas con los inmigrantes.
Los abogados evalúan:
– El historial general inmigrante, incluyendo el tiempo que tiene con la ‘green card’, si alguien lo patrocinará.
– Hay preguntas específicas sobre si la persona cometió o no un delito o tuvo algún problema legal, incluso si esa persona utilizó un número de Seguro Social falso.
– Se piden los documentos: originales y copias de ‘green card’, del Número de Seguro Social, pasaporte, certificado de matrimonio (si aplica), certificado de divorcio (si aplica), reportes de impuestos, si tiene seguro médico.
– El abogado revisa toda la documentación y junto con el historial verbal evalúa el caso, para determinar si es viable o enfrentaría un reto especial ante USCIS.
– Es posible que el abogado solicite documentos adicionales como prueba, pero dependen de cada caso.
– El costo a pagar ante USCIS es de $725 dólares, de los cuales $640 dólares son el costo del trámite y $85 por la toma de datos biométricos.
– USCIS podría decidir que una persona no necesita acudir a la toma de datos biométricos, porque se utiliza la información de la ‘green card’.
– Se puede solicitar una exención de pago bajo ciertas circunstancias.
– USCIS podría solicitar información adicional (no siempre ocurre).
– La agencia enviaría notificaciones de los siguientes pasos, incluida la cita de entrevista y examen.
– El inmigrante concreta su entrevista, examen de inglés y cívico.
– Si aprueba sus exámenes se informa de una fecha de juramentación y se entrega el certificado de naturalización.
Ayuda extra
El dinero puede ser un impedimento para aplicar por la naturalización, pero organizaciones civiles y empresas tienen programas de ayuda.
– Puede solicitar un crédito con un interés muy bajo a onepercentforamerica.org, donde se piden requisitos mínimos.
– Catholic Migration Services y NYLPI ofrecen asesoría legal gratuita con varias clínicas al año. Buscar en catholicmigration.org.
– El Departamento de Justicia tiene un listado de abogados pro-bono en todo el país: https://www.justice.gov/eoir/list-pro-bono-legal-service-providers
Lea el artículo original en El Diario: Aplicar por la ciudadanía tiene más beneficios para inmigrantes que motivos de temor
