USCIS: Do not abandon CW filing for workers eligible for new parole

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said yesterday that CNMI employers should not abandon their filing of Commonwealth-only worker petition for nonresidents eligible for a new parole that USCIS announced last week.

That new parole, valid until Dec. 31, 2012, will be granted on a case by case basis, and those eligible have to apply for it. Those covered are mostly immediate relatives of U.S. citizens and certain “stateless” individuals in the CNMI.

The new parole does not offer additional benefits. All it does it to allow legal presence, not work authorization or other benefit.

USCIS regional media manager Marie Therese Sebrechts said “employers should NOT abandon their I-129CW filing for CW workers eligible for the new parole.”

“The parole does NOT have the continuing employment provision that is available with the CW-1 if filed by Nov. 28 and it is important that all recognize this fact,” Sebrechts said.

She said “without the CW filing, the worker must stop working on November 27, 2011 and would not be able to work with parole until an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) is granted and that could be several months.”

“So, employers should file for those CW-1 workers as planned if they want the workers to be able to continue working after Nov. 27,” she said.

Yesterday, Nov. 27, marked the expiration of CNMI-issued umbrella permits.

USCIS said it will soon release guidance for applying for this kind of parole, and encourages people to continue checking www.uscis.gov/cnmi for updates on the latest guidance.

A 33-year-old nonresident who was supposed to request humanitarian parole on Friday said he decided to hold off mailing that humanitarian parole request when he heard about USCIS’ announcement last week of a new parole for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens and certain stateless individuals.

But he does not have an umbrella permit, and he does not have a current employer, and no longer has any status to remain in the CNMI.

He’s hoping that the new USCIS parole will be enough. He said he has three U.S. citizen children.

“So now I’m just waiting for USCIS’ instruction,” he said in an interview yesterday. He asked that his name be withheld from publication.

But he said if not having a legal status as of Nov. 27 or Nov. 28 would disqualify him from the new parole, then he would still consider filing a request for humanitarian parole today. The father of three said he has found an employer who will file a CW petition for him, but only after he obtains parole in place.

Some nonresidents have also asked for clarification about CW filing and the new USCIS parole, and thanked USCIS for clarifying the matter.

As of Nov. 18, USCIS said 1,405 CW-1 workers were sponsored on 777 Form I-129CW petitions. They were filed by 241 employers. USCIS is expected to release the latest data on CW filings this week.

The final worker rule estimates 13,399 foreign workers in the CNMI who are “potentially eligible” for CW status.