USCIS Extends TPS Re-Registration Period For Haitian Nationals
USCIS extended the re-registration period for Haitian nationals who have already been granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) until January 29, 2013. Individuals who timely re-register will extend their TPS status for an additional 18 months, until July 22, 2014.
Stateside Waiver Regulation Expected Soon
“Provisional Unlawful Presence Waivers of Inadmissibility for Certain Immediate Relatives” has been cleared by the Office of Management and Budget. It is expected to be published in the Federal Register in the next few business days.
New Russian Law Ends Inter-Country Adoptions Between Russia & U.S.
The State Department expressed regret over Russia’s passage of the Yakovlev Act, a law that ends inter-country adoptions between the U.S. and Russia, noting that American families have adopted over 60,000 Russian children over the past 20 years.
Iowa DOT Will Not Issue Driver’s Licenses or Nonoperator IDs to Persons Granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Status
The Iowa Department of Transportation has determined it will not issue driver’s licenses or nonoperator identification (ID) cards to persons granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, based on guidelines described by the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security’s memorandum issued June 15, 2012.
The Iowa DOT understands the exercising of this prosecutorial discretion by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security does not grant lawful status or a lawful immigration path to persons granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status. Rather, it is prosecutorial discretion extended in a blanket fashion to persons who are not lawfully authorized to be present in the United States.
Under Iowa Code §§ 321.182, 321.190 and 321.196, a driver’s license or nonoperator ID card shall only be issued to a foreign national authorized to be present in the United States. Therefore, the Iowa DOT does not have the legal authority under current Iowa law to issue a driver’s license or nonoperator ID card to a person granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status (indicated on Form I-766, Employment Authorization Document, category C33).