Kilili: Oct. 28 is deadline for re-parole

Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP) is reminding parolees in the CNMI that Oct. 28, 2019, is the deadline to apply for re-parole after recently enacted legislation allowed eligible parolees to apply for CNMI-only permanent resident status.

Sablan issued the reminder in a statement yesterday, saying that the deadline to apply for re-parole is on Oct. 28, 2019, which marks the end of the 120-day extension for parolees under Public Law 116-24.

P.L. 114-26, signed last June 25, 2019, allowed eligible parolees to apply for a permanent resident status exclusive to the CNMI. However, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has yet to issue the necessary regulations to allow eligible parolees to apply for permanent resident status, hence the need to apply for re-parole.

“Individuals submitting a re-parole request would then receive a letter from USCIS granting a further parole period. There is no fee to file the request,” Sablan’s statement noted.

P.L. 116-24 was written with the intent to provide permanent status in the NMI for parents and spouses of U.S. citizens, in-home caregivers, certain stateless individuals, and immediate relatives of people that are granted permanent status by CNMI immigration law. In total, Sablan noted that this legislation affects 1,039 individuals in the CNMI.

“All 1,039 had been granted humanitarian parole, when U.S. immigration law first came into effect in the Marianas, but the Trump administration ended that parole program,” the statement noted, adding that the legislation also affects parolees who have employment authorization documents, or EADs.

“Parolees wanting to work beyond that date were to apply first for re-parole. After receiving a grant of parole beyond Oct. 28, they could file a Form I-765 to apply for employment authorization,” the statement noted.

H.R. 559 took almost five months to pass U.S. Congress and be ultimately enacted. Sablan introduced the legislation last Jan. 15 and it passed the U.S. House of Representatives on June 3, 2019. The Senate passed it on June 24, 2019, on Saipan, and was enacted two days later.

For more information on the parole extension process, visit https://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/northern-mariana-islands-long-term-legal-residents-relief-act-guidance-certain-individuals-present-commonwealth-northern-mariana-islands-cnmi.

For information about applying for parole, visit https://www.uscis.gov/laws/immigration-commonwealth-northern-mariana-islands-cnmi/parole-immediate-relatives-us-citizens-and-certain-stateless-individuals.