USCIS: Parole status does not allow an alien to work

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services recently clarified that an alien worker has no authorization to work in the CNMI based solely on parole extended to him or her by the federal agency after the expiration of umbrella permits on Nov. 27, 2011.

“Parole status does not allow an alien to work. Employers need to file the CW petition or nonimmigrant petition for workers by Nov. 27, 2011,” said USCIS Regional Media Manager Marie Therese Sebrechts in an email to Saipan Tribune.

The USCIS clarification comes after reports that a number of alien workers have the mistaken belief that the parole they received allows them to continue working in the Commonwealth and in effect extended their employers’ deadline to submit their CW-1 or other non-immigrant visa applications to Jan. 31, 2012, the expiration of their parole.

“An alien with an umbrella permit is only allowed to continue working for an employer after Nov. 27, 2011, if the employer files for the worker before the end of the two-year transition on Nov. 27, 2011. The CW petition needs to be filed while the worker has lawful status and work authorization in order for the alien to continue working. If a CW is filed after that date, the worker will not be able to work while waiting for a decision on the CW-1 application,” said Sebrechts.

She added that parole and work authorization must also be current for a worker to remain legally in the CNMI and continue working while awaiting a decision on an H-1B or other nonimmigrant employment-based petition.

Without parole and work authorization, the USCIS official said an alien worker is unable to work and must leave the CNMI to wait for a decision outside the U.S.

Sebrechts said alien workers should also not wait for a decision on their parole extension before applying for CW or other non-immigrant visas.

“Employers are reminded that for those workers who were paroled until Nov. 27, 2011, they need to file the CW petition before that date and should not wait for extension of the parole. The regulations require that parole status be valid at the time of filing and after filing parole status must be kept current. As we announced many times, USCIS is prioritizing our workload, so beneficiaries of CW petitions who need extension of parole may be processed until close to or after Nov. 27, 2011. It is important for employers to go ahead and file the CW petition and not wait for the confirmation of parole extension,” added Sebrechts.

By the end of last week, USCIS has received a total of 102 petitions CW involving a total of 169 workers, she said.

Sebrechts, meanwhile, said paroled alien workers petitioned by their employers for a non-immigrant visa other than CW still need to apply for parole extension.

“The CW applicants are the principal ones who are unnecessarily taking up InfoPass appointments needed by others in the CNMI. As there are no changes to any of the parole instructions, it wasn’t necessary to list them,” she said.