- 245(i): Life Act
Applying for Permanent Residence when you are Out of Status
The President has signed the "LIFE" Act into law. This new law extends Section 245(i) to those out of status Aliens wishing to apply for Permanent Residency in The United States.
The new Section 245(i) law allows those individuals who are out of status or illegally present in The United States to apply for permanent Residency (Green Card) without the need to return to their home country. The Alien must show that he or she was physically present in the United States the day the Law was signed by the President, December 21, 2000. The Alien must file for immigrant petition by April 30, 2001.
Important key points include:
The Alien qualifies under Section 245(i) as long as he or she "FILES" an immigration petition (family based) or laber certification application (employment based)Â by April 30, 2001. An approval by this date is not required.
The Alien will have to pay an additional $1,000.00 penalty to the INS. This penalty will not be due until the adjustment stage of the application. The adjustment stage may be many years, depending on the type of case.
The alien Does qualify under Section 245(i) if a Family or Relative based petition is filed on his or her behalf before the April 30, 2001 deadline. Therefore, even though a sibling United States Citizen petition may take 10 years for some countries for Adjustment, the filing of this petition before the deadline will grandfather the Alien sibling for adjustment when the priority date comes about 10 years later.
The alien may "transfer" his or her petition to another category if that category becomes available. For example, a sibling United States Citizen petitions her Alien brother before April 30, 2001. The brother may legally wait inside the United States for his priority date to become current (this may take 10+ years). However, four years down the road the brother finds an employer who is willing to sponsor him for a green card under Labor Certification. This sponsor may petition the brother via Labor Certification and the brother will be allowed to adjust, as he would be grandfathered under the 245(i) law.
An alien qualifies for Section 245(i) where a permanent petition is filed with The Immigration and Naturalization Service or The Department of Labor for a Business petition, Family/Relative Petition or Religious Petition.
It is important to note that those individuals, who file a Permanent Resident petition with The INS or Department of Labor prior to January of 1998, also qualify under Section 245(i) for adjustment. Further consultation with an Attorney is always advisable before making any decisions regarding a Section 245(i) application