Application period: January 27, 2003 – January 25, 2006
Summary:
Under newly implemented legislation 15,000 to 20,000 Southeast Asians living in the U.S. may be eligible to adjust their status from parolee to permanent resident (receive a green card). Of those eligible to apply, 5,000 applications will be approved.
Why:
Parolees are required to undergo an extensive and cumbersome process to annually renew their permission to work in the U.S. , and are virtually barred from leaving the U.S. because of inability to receive a passport and possible denial of reentry. Status as a permanent resident will eliminate these problems.
The Application:
Applicants must demonstrate that he/she:
- Is a citizen or native of Cambodia , Laos , or Vietnam living in the U.S. ;
- Was inspected and paroled into the U.S. before October 1, 1997 ;
- Was physically present in the U.S. prior to and on October 1, 1997 ;
- Was paroled into the U.S. from: Vietnam (under the auspices of the Orderly Departure Program); a refugee camp in East Asia; or a displaced persons camp administered by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Thailand; and
- Is otherwise eligible to receive a VISA and otherwise admissible to the United States for permanent residence.
Applicants must pay an application fee totaling $275.
*Excerpted from NAPALC. Complete Fact Sheet on the above law available at:
http://napalc.org/programs/immigration/issues/pdf/PIP%20fact%20sheet.pdf |