A significant agreement has been reached to permit the adjustment of certain Foreign Nationals with potential who would otherwise be barred from receiving Legal Permanent Residence due to a prior removal order or a lack of legal entry. This results from a US District Court case for the District of Columbia, CARCEN vs JADDOH (Originally vs CUCCINELLI), and will be implemented over the next few weeks. The pertinent text of the settlement is the following:
For a period from this date (March 21, 2022) through at least January 19, 2025 (the “Relevant Period”), unless an individual is an enforcement priority under DHS’s operative civil immigration enforcement guidelines, the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (“OPLA”) of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) will generally exercise its prosecutorial discretion by agreeing to join a motion to reopen, and moving to dismiss the removal proceedings of an individual who meets the following criteria:
a. Currently possesses Temporary Protected Status;
US DISTRICT COURT FOR DC Case 1:20-cv-02363-RBW (March 21, 2022)
b. Has a removal, deportation, or exclusion order issued by the Executive Office for Immigration Review or its predecessor agency, the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service;
c. Has traveled on advance parole since that order was issued; and
d. Is otherwise prima facie eligible to file an application for adjustment of status with USCIS, including but not limited to those with a pending or approved I-130 “immediate relative” visa petition who meet the “inspected and admitted or paroled” requirement of Section 245(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended (the “INA”) pursuant to USCIS policy if seeking to adjust under that provision.
Any questions can be addressed to IBLF attorney Steffanie Lewis at [email protected] or by scheduling an consultation on our website: https://iblf.com/contact/. Further details will be posted as they become available.