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USCIS officials, Fil-Am leaders explain Filvets parole program

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SAN FRANCISCO — Just as the euphoria over the recently implemented Filipino World War II Veterans Parole (FWVP) program is beginning to rise, a very timely warning was aired by the panelists at a “Talakayan” hosted by the Philippine American Press Club (PAPC) and the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco: Scammers are lurking in the shadows, waiting for victims.

The complexities that may await veterans of advanced age, who may not have heard of the news about the program could provide scam artists opportunities to strike.

No less than the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) San Francisco District Director John Kramar delivered the alert, especially to the elderly whose first language is not English.

“So we have a double vulnerable population here. It is very important for all of us, the civil servants, those working for the community, it is also the responsibilities of the media, to put the word out to be very careful about who you go to,” cautioned Kramar.

“USCIS.gov is the website for U.S. citizenship immigration service. No other site is the official site showing what the forms are, what the fees are, what the process is. Just make sure that you look at the correct USCIS website and nothing else,” he added.

Kramer also explained that there are licensed attorneys with the U.S. Bar Associations and accredited representatives of the Department of Justice that can be relied on.

“That list is available is available in our website and through the Department of Justice website for everyone to check. There are well-meaning advocates in the community. Go to the right persons and if you are not certain, check it out,” Kramer advised.

Accurate information available

Veterans Equity Center Board President and immigration lawyer Atty. Lou Tancinco stated that accurate information must be disseminated by reputable organizations, encouraging them to rely only on USCIS published information.

“Opportunism arises when unscrupulous individuals demand money from family members who are not even qualified for the FWVP,” Tancinco warned.

“When someone promises to deliver a service that seems to be too good to be true, that is a red flag and the veterans’ family should be wary of the existence of these scammers,” Tancinco further cautioned. “Hence, as attorneys we need to be working together with the USCIS and the Philippine Consulate to outreach to the stakeholders.”

Talakayan venue host Consul General Henry Bensurto Jr. admitted that not too many people are well informed yet on the FWVP even if the information had been available for more than a month.

“Please read the regulations, talk and consult with the right people who know the regulations well. We want you to get the right information by consulting the right people,” exhorted Bensurto who also plans to use the consulate website.

The FWVP program was borne out of an initial policy announced in July 2015 by the Obama administration. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) worked on the policy which is now in effect.

Kramar hailed it as a measure that honors the thousands of Filipinos who bravely enlisted to fight for the United States during World War II. “It is extremely important for the USCIS service and to me as director of the San Francisco district to be here to recognize the extraordinary contributions and the sacrifices of Filipino veterans who fought for the United States during World War II. So it is my pleasure and an honor to be here and talk about this program.”

He added: “This policy will allow certain Filipino American family members that have been waiting so long for American visas to come to the U.S. to be with their loved ones. For many it will also allow them to lend support, care and companionship to their elders in honor of all their services, including the survivors’ spouses.”

‘75 years in the making’

In an exclusive interview during the Kalayaan 2016 in Union Square in San Francisco, Maj. Gen. Taguba (Ret.), an veterans’ advocate seeking the Congressional Gold Medal for the veterans, strongly believes that the parole program had been 75 years in the making.

“People had to wait for 75 years for that parole program, the first 50 years for U.S. citizenship of the veterans themselves and another 25 years for the children to be able to apply. The children have become adults and the 75 years have become more than a lifetime. And those veterans are in poor health, some of them need medical care and given care of by their children,” Taguba rued, citing veteran Art Caleda in Hawaii who is 96 years old and will finally get his wish that two of his sons can come to Hawaii to live with him.

Veterans Equity Center (VEC) Executive Director Luisa Antonio, reported that about 30,000 World War II Filipino veterans came to the U.S. after the 1990 Immigration and Nationality Act. “In the Bay Area there are now fewer than a thousand veterans who have lived on supplemental security income. A lot of them do not have family members to take care of them. And this makes the parole program more important.”

The federal register presently estimates that between of 2,000 to 6,000 Fil-Am veterans are U.S. citizens in the U.S.

Concerns over reentry

Kramar and Tancinco also expressed concern for family members from the U.S. who may have problems on reentry should they be required to apply for the benefit outside of the U.S. because they had overstayed in the U.S.

“Parole is not a visa but a window of relief for those who cannot in any way come here immediately in a legal way. It is a travel document, a temporary permission to come here and not a substitute for an immigrant visa or a non-immigrant visa. The short five-year parole program is not an immigrant visa and is good only for three years,” Tancinco stressed.

Tancinco also strongly bats for extension of the program beyond five years because some visa petitions may not yet be current in five years and the family members may need to be in the US on parole to wait longer.

Also, Tancinco stated that the biggest challenge is a change in administration in the U.S. since the program is only a policy and not a piece of legislation. It would be good to have a new president who is an ally of the previous administration since there would be a bigger chance the policy would continue.

Here is a presentation prepared Atty Lou Tancinco on the Filipino World War II Veterans Parole Program (FWVP).

Filipino World War II Veterans Parole Program (FWVP) from tancincolaw
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USCIS, magsasakatuparan ng Programang Parole para sa mga Beteranong Pilipino ng Ikalawang Digmaang Pandaigdig

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WASHINGTON — Simula Hunyo 8, 2016, ang U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) ay papayagan ang ilang benepisyaryo ng aprobadong family-based immigrant visa petitions na magkaroon ng pagkakataong mapagkalooban ng parole base sa kani-kanilang kaso upang sa gayon ay makarating sa Amerika habang hinihintay ang kanilang immigrant visa na magagamit sa tamang panahon.

Ang mga detalyeng patakaran sa nasabing parole ay matatagpuan sa ulat ng White House, na nailathala nuong Hulyo 2015. Mayroong tinatayang bilang na 2,000 hanggang 6,000 na beteranong Filipino-American na nakipaglaban sa Ikalawang Digmaang Pandaigdig ang kasalukuyang naninirahan sa Amerika ngayon. Bukod pa sa mga ilang bagay, ang patakarang ito ay maaari din magbigay sa karapat-dapat na indibidwal na sumuporta at kumalinga sa mga nakatatandang beteranong U.S. citizens o permanenteng residente na miyembro ng kanilang pamilya.

“Ang Programang Parole para sa mga Beteranong Pilipino ng Ikalawang Digmaang Pandaigdig ay nagbigay dangal sa mga libo-libong Pilipino na buong loob at tapang na nakipaglaban para sa bansang Amerika sa panahon ng ikalawang digmaang pandaigdig,” ayon kay USCIS Direktor Leon Rodriguez. “Bilang pagkilala sa mga kontribusyon at sakripisyong ginawa ng mga kinikilalang beterano, ang patakarang ito ay nagbibigay daan sa mga miyembro ng pamilya ng naturang Filipino-American na naghihintay sa kanilang immigrant visa upang makapunta sa Amerika at muling makapiling ang bawat isa. Sa mga nakararami, ito ay magbibigay daan rin upang makapagbigay ng suporta at pangangalaga sa mga nakatatandang beterano o nang kanilang nabubuhay na asawa.

Maliban sa mga immediate relatives ng mga U.S. citizens, ang numero ng ibang family-based immigrant visa na magagamit ayon sa bansang pinagmulan sa anumang naibigay na taon ay limitado ayon sa batas. Ang mga resulta ng limitasyong ito ay magbibigay ng mahabang panahong paghihintay sa mga miyembro ng pamilya na makapiling ang mga nagpitisyong U.S. citizens o permanenteng residenteng kapamilya na nasa Amerika at upang maging ganap na permanenteng residente rin sila. Sa mga Filipino-American, ang paghahantay ay maaaring umabot hanggang sa 20 taon.

Sa ilalim ng patakaran, ang ilang miyembro ng pamilya ng beteranong Pilipino ng Ikalawang Digmaang Pandaigdig ay maaaring mapagkalooban ng parole upang makapunta sa Amerika bago maging available o magamit ang kanilang visa.Sa mga limitadong kaso, ang mga kuwalipikadong kamag-anak ay maaring makahanap ng parole para sa kanilang mga sarili kapag ang kanilang kamag-anak na beteranong Pilipino ng Ikalawang Digmaang Pandaigdig at ang kanyang asawa ay pareho nang namatay.

Sa ilalim ng Programang Parole sa mga Beteranong Pilipino ng Ikalawang Digmaang Pandaigdig, ang USCIS ay susuriin ang bawat kaso upang malaman kung ang pagpapahintulot ng parole ay sadyang angkop.Ang bawat indibidwal na dumating sa U.S. Port of Entry ay susuriin ng U.S. Custom and Border Protection para malaman kung pwedeng mabigyan ng parole ang nasabing indibidwal.

Ang legal na kapangyarihan sa patakaran ng parole ay nanggaling sa Immigration and Nationality Act, na nagpapahintulot sa Sekretarya ng Homeland Security na bigyan ng parole sa Amerika ang mga kwalipikadong indibidwal base sa kani-kanilang kaso, para sa madaliang makataong dahilan, o kaya naman ay sa makabuluhang pampublikong benepisyo.

Ang karagdagang inpormasyon tungkol sa Programang Parole sa mga Beteranong Pilipino ng Ikalawang Digmaang Pandaigdig at ang mga pamamatnubay para sa mga naayong gawin, proseso ng aplikasyon at kung saan maaring isumite ang aplikasyon ay matatagpuan sa binagong Form I-131 instructions at ng Federal Register notice na nailathala kahapon. Hindi po kami tatanggap ng aplikasyon sa ilalim ng patakaran bago mag Hunyo 8, 2016. Ang USCIS ay matinding hinihikayat ang mga kwalipikado at interesadong indibidwal sa paghiling ng parole sa ilalim ng FWVP Program na isakatuparan sa loob ng 5 taon mula Hunyo 8, 2016.

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USCIS to Implement Filipino World War II Veterans Parole Program

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WASHINGTON—Beginning June 8, 2016, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will allow certain Filipino World War II veteran family members who are beneficiaries of approved family-based immigrant visa petitions an opportunity to receive a discretionary grant of parole on a case-by-case basis, so that they may come to the United States as they wait for their immigrant visa to become available.

This parole policy was announced in the White House report, Modernizing and Streamlining Our Legal Immigration System for the 21st Century, issued in July 2015. An estimated 2,000 to 6,000 Filipino-American World War II veterans are living in the United States today. Among other things, this policy will enable many eligible individuals to provide support and care to their aging veteran family members who are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents.

“The Filipino World War II Veterans Parole Program honors the thousands of Filipinos who bravely enlisted to fight for the United States during World War II,” USCIS Director León Rodríguez said. “This policy will allow certain Filipino-American family members awaiting immigrant-visa issuance to come to the United States and be with their loved ones. For many, it will also allow them to provide support and care for elderly veterans or their surviving spouses.”

With the exception of immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, the number of family-sponsored immigrant visas available by country of origin in any given year is limited by statute. These limits result in long waiting periods before family members may join petitioning U.S. citizens or permanent residents in the United States and become permanent residents themselves. For some Filipino-American families, this wait can exceed 20 years.

Under the policy, certain family members of Filipino World War II veterans may be eligible to receive a discretionary grant of parole to come to the United States before their visa becomes available. In limited cases, certain eligible relatives will be able to seek parole on their own behalf when their Filipino World War II veteran and his or her spouse are both deceased.

Under the Filipino World War II Veterans Parole Program, USCIS will review each case individually to determine whether authorizing parole is appropriate. When each individual arrives at a U.S. port of entry, U.S. Customs and Border Protection will also review each case to determine whether to parole the individual.

Legal authority for this parole policy comes from the Immigration and Nationality Act, which authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security to parole into the United States certain individuals, on a case-by-case basis, for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.

Additional information about the Filipino World War II Veterans Parole Program—including guidance on eligibility, the application process and where to file—is available in the revised Form I-131 instructions and the Federal Register notice published today. We will not accept applications under this policy until June 8, 2016. USCIS strongly encourages eligible individuals interested in requesting parole under the FWVP Program do so within 5 years from June 8, 2016.

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Global Pinoy

Avoiding immigration scams

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Immigration scams are everywhere. They come around any time, especially, when there are recent announcements of new immigration benefits by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Alice is a health care professional. She entered the United States using a visitor visa. Although the purpose of her trip was for pleasure, she was convinced by a close relative to consider applying for a working visa. Alice was introduced by her relative to John, supposedly an immigration consultant. John offered to find her a sponsoring U.S. employer and to assist her in getting a green card. John charged a substantial amount of money, and Alice gave John all the money she had left with the hope that she would get a green card. A few weeks passed and Alice never heard from John. Meanwhile, Alice met the administrator of a health care facility who offered her a job for no fee. The lawyer of the health care facility filed the immigration petition and the application for adjustment of status.

During the interview for Alice’s application, she was asked about a prior petition that she filed. Since she never heard from the John, she answered no to the question. The USCIS officer then showed Alice copies of the petitions filed on her behalf. It was not an employment petition as promised by John, but it was a marriage petition filed by a certain “Noel,” a U.S. citizen, who Alice never met. The marriage petition had Alice’s complete and accurate information. Alice denied having knowledge of the marriage petition. Obviously, the marriage petition was fraudulent, Alice’s application for adjustment of status based on her valid employer petition was denied as a result.

The case of Alice involves fraud and misrepresentation. She dealt with a person not authorized to practice law and who obviously was just after her money. It is true that she lost contact with John, but the harm has been done. A fraudulent petition was already filed and these have serious consequences on her future application even if the latter were valid.

The complexity of immigration petitions may vary depending on the nature of the immigration benefit sought. In most cases, the advice and legal assistance of attorney or an accredited legal representative is necessary. Undeniably, there are unscrupulous individuals who may try to exploit the vulnerability of certain applicants for the visa. Scammers may falsely represent “legal” sponsorship through a purported U.S. company, and the innocent victim will pay significant money just to find out that they have no jobs when they arrive in the United States. Some may claim to have “connections” to the USCIS and “guarantees” of positive outcome. Solicitations by those engaged in unauthorized practice of law appear in different media, including social media.

The USCIS consistently warns the public against immigration scams and on its website www.uscis.gov/avoid-scams provides important information for the public to be aware of these scams. It is important that the prospective immigrant exercise due diligence in choosing the right person who will provide the legal assistance. Remember, as the saying goes, the wrong help can hurt you.

(Atty. Lourdes Santos Tancinco, Esq. is an immigration attorney with the Tancinco Law Offices, a San Francisco CA based law firm. She may be reached at 1 888 930 0808, law@tancinco.com , facebook.com/tancincolaw, or through her website tancinco.weareph.com/old)

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Challenges in applying for Filvets US parole visa

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Henry was petitioned by his father who was a Filipino World War II veteran. Sometime in 2000, his father suffered a heart attack in the U.S., and Henry traveled on a visitor visa to take care of him. He extended his stay as a visitor for another six months until his father passed away.

Henry stayed beyond his authorized stay in the U.S. and incurred unlawful presence. He heard about the parole program for children of Filipino World War II veterans and is excited to apply for parole. Will Henry be eligible to apply for parole?

Henry meets most of the requirements of the Filipino World War II Veterans Parole Policy or FWVP as released by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on May 9, 2016. Henry is already in the United States; will he still be allowed to apply for the parole and eventually be eligible for employment authorization?

Those presently in the U.S. must depart and process for the parole abroad (U.S. Embassy in Manila). But if Henry departs from the United States, he will face the 3 to 10-year bar to inadmissibility.

This means that since he has been out of status for more than one year, he will not be able to return to the U.S. for 10 years, defeating the purpose of the parole. Henry may just want to take at the legal option of a humanitarian reinstatement of the revoked petition and subsequently apply for adjustment of status.

There are several benefits of FWVP as thousands of family members may take advantage of this program in the next five years. But there are also anticipated challenges. One is the requirement that veterans or their surviving spouse must be the petitioners for parole if they are still alive. With their advanced age and declining health, they will need assistance to locating and putting together the supporting documents needed to file parole for their children.

Another major challenge is a situation where both parents are deceased and the children are allowed to self-petition for parole. In this case, they have to request for the humanitarian reinstatement of the petition before they may be granted the parole. This request for humanitarian reinstatement is very discretionary and usually the standards are very high unless special consideration are given to children of Filipino veterans.

As mentioned by the USCIS in its May 9, 2016 announcement of this parole program, the FWVP is a discretionary determination that will be made on a case by case basis. While it is understandably a discretionary matter, in delineating the parameters and in the implementation of this parole program USCIS should be liberal in the exercise of their discretion. They should take into account not just the policy behind the parole program, but also its humanitarian nature, recognizing the extraordinary contributions and sacrifices of these Filipino veterans during World War II.

(Atty. Lourdes Santos Tancinco, Esq. is an immigration attorney with the Tancinco Law Offices, a San Francisco CA based law firm. She may be reached at 1 888 930 0808, law@tancinco.com , facebook.com/tancincolaw, or through her website tancinco.weareph.com/old)

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US parole for WWII Filvet families: Good news, bad news

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Beginning June 8, 2016, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services will accept applications for parole from eligible children of Filipino WWII veterans. This is a positive development for veterans who have been waiting for many years to be reunited with their children. However, this policy is being implemented at a time when many of our veterans, or their widows, have passed on or are elderly. Will they be able to reap any benefit from this program?

Family-based preference visas are numerically limited per year, resulting in significant waiting periods for immigrant visa issuance. For the Philippines, the waiting period for first preference immigrant category covering adult, single children of US citizens is almost 10 years.

Worse yet, it is taking more than 20 years for married children of US citizens. Many elderly veterans with petitions have gone on from this world unable to wait for their children to immigrate. Of those still alive, many are now sickly and living alone.

Due to the dysfunction of the US immigration system, President Obama released a 2015 report called the “Modernizing and Streamlining of the Immigration System,” which included a mandate to allow the families of Filipino veterans to enter the United States. Hence, the parole program was conceived.

Unlike a US visa, a discretionary grant of parole allows a person to temporarily enter the US for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit. The new parole program will allow the children of Filipino WWII veterans who have approved petitions to come to the US while waiting for their immigrant visas.

Recently, I gathered a group of veterans and widows in San Francisco to make a presentation on the parole program. I explained clearly to them that with this parole program, they will soon be reunited with their children in the coming months. As I was speaking with excitement, the veterans seemed quiet instead of their usual smiles and celebratory noise. Were they in shock that their children would soon be coming to the US? Why didn’t they seem happy? Don’t they understand the impact of this parole program?

It was disheartening to see their joyless reactions. After I spoke, I approached Nana Auring, a widow of a veteran, who appeared downcast during my presentation. She whispered to me, “I was told to wait. That’s what I have been doing.”

I told Nana she didn’t have to wait long anymore because of the parole program. She just sadly nodded. Her husband died waiting to be reunited with their children. She’s been living alone in her room for many years just waiting. At that point, I realized I was addressing elderly and ailing seniors in their late 80s and early 90s who had already given up hope.

The few veterans and widows who attended my presentation may not be representative of all the beneficiaries of the program. To many, I believe, this opportunity of coming to the US through parole, will help realize the lifetime dream of many Filipino veterans (or their widows) wishing for family reunification. To some, this will be too little too late.

(Atty. Lourdes S. Tancinco is an immigration attorney based in San Francisco CA. She may be reached at law@tancinco.com, tancinco.weareph.com/old, www.facebook/tancincolaw, or at 1-888-930-0808)

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Firms May Submit Investigations If Extension of Status/Change of Employer Petition Has Been waiting for 210 Days or More

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On April 21, 2016, USCIS initiated letting requesters who filed Form I-129, Petition for a Non-immigrant Worker, requesting a status extension or change of employer to submit an inquiry after their petition has been waiting for 210 days or more.
To submit an inquiry, petitioners may call the National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283, (TTD for deaf and hard of hearing: 1-800-767-1833) provide the receipt number of the case, and specify that the case has been pending for 210 days or more.

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USCIS Concludes the Data Entry of Financial Year 2017 H-1B Cap-Subject Petitions

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USCIS give out a news today specifying that they have completed data entry of the all the H1B Fiscal Year 2017 cap subject petitions. USCIS will start to return all the petitions that were not selected. The petitioners should not interact with USCIS regarding their H1B petition until they receive some sort of communication about their petition either a reject notice or case receipt. An announcement will be issued by USCIS once all the unselected petitions have been returned.In addition, USCIS is moving some Form I-129 H-1B cap subject petitions from the Vermont Service Center to the California Service Center to balance the distribution of cap cases. You will receive notification in the mail, if your case is transferred. After receiving the notification, please send all future correspondence to the center processing your petition. If you are filing a Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing, to upgrade your Form I-129 H-1B petition to premium processing, send the completed Form I-907 with the appropriate fee to the center processing your petition.

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H-1B Cap Premium Processing to Begin May 12 for the Financial Year 2017

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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will be initiating the premium processing for cap-subject H-1B petitions requesting premium processing, comprising petitions pursuing an exemption for individuals with a U.S. master’s degree or higher on May 12, 2016.

USCIS first broadcasted in a news announcement that it would temporarily adjust its premium processing practice due to the historic premium processing receipt levels, combined with the possibility that the H-1B cap will be met in the first 5 business days of the filing season. USCIS provides premium processing service for certain employment-based petitions and assurances a 15-calendar-day processing time.

For H-1B petitions that are not matter to the cap and for any other visa classification, the 15-day processing period for premium processing service begins on the date that USCIS receives the request. However, for cap-subject H-1B petitions, including advanced degree exemption petitions, the 15-day processing period set by 8 CFR 103.7(e)(2) will begin on May 12, 2016, regardless of the date on the Form I-797 receipt notice, which indicates the date that the premium processing fee is received.