Programs Available for Unaccompanied Refugee Minors

Program Goal

Through its network of caretakers, the Unaccompanied Refugee Minors Program helps unaccompanied minor refugees develop appropriate skills to enter adulthood and to achieve social self-sufficiency.

General Background

The State Department identifies refugee children overseas who are eligible for resettlement in the U.S., but do not have a parent or a relative available and committed to providing for their long term care. Upon arrival in the U.S., these refugee children are placed into the Unaccompanied Refugee Minors (URM) program and receive refugee foster care services and benefits.

The program was originally developed in the 1980s to address the needs of thousands of children in Southeast Asia without a parent or guardian to care for them. Since 1980, almost 13,000 minors have entered the URM program. At its peak in 1985, ORR provided protection to 3,828 children in care. Now in various States, ORR has about 700 children in care. While most children are placed in licensed foster homes, other licensed care settings are utilized according to children’s individual needs, such as therapeutic foster care, group homes, residential treatment centers, and independent living programs.

Program Description

The program establishes legal responsibility, under State law, to ensure that unaccompanied minor refugees and entrants receive the full range of assistance, care, and services which are available to all foster children in the State; a legal authority is designated to act in place of the child’s unavailable parent(s). Reunification of children with their parents or other appropriate adult relatives is encouraged, through family tracing and coordination with local refugee resettlement agencies. Additional services provided include: indirect financial support for housing, food, clothing, medical care and other necessities; intensive case management by social workers; independent living skills training; educational supports; English language training; career/college counseling and training; mental health services; assistance adjusting immigration status; cultural activities; recreational opportunities; support for social integration; and cultural and religious preservation.

Refugee children who enter the U.S. with family but experience a family breakdown may be eligible to participate in the URM program. ORR’s State Letters on reclassification to URM status provide the standards used to determine if such a child may access the program.

Children eligible for the URM Program are under age 18, are unaccompanied, and are:

• Refugees
• Entrants
• Asylees
• Victims of Trafficking

Two lead voluntary agencies − Lutheran Immigration Refugee Service (LIRS) and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) − help ORR with the unaccompanied refugee minor program.

These agencies conduct several important functions for the URM program. They identify eligible children in need of URM services; provide technical assistance in the reclassification process; determine appropriate placements for children among their national networks of affiliated agencies; and conduct training, research and technical assistance on URM services.

USCIS to Expand E-Verify Self Check to Entire U.S.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced February 9, that Self Check, a free online service of E-Verify that allows workers to check their own employment eligibility status, is now available in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands. Launched in March 2011 by Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas, the announcement delivers on the goal of expanding Self Check nationally within one year.

“We are pleased to complete, ahead of schedule, our expansion of this important tool for employees,” said USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas during a press conference at the agency’s field office in Orlando, Fla. “Since our initial launch in March, approximately 67,000 people have used Self Check and we anticipate that participation will dramatically increase with service now available to individuals across the country.”

Self Check was developed through a partnership between the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA) to provide individuals a tool to check their own employment eligibility status, as well as guidance on how to correct their DHS and SSA records. It is the first online E-Verify service offered directly to workers. Available in English and Spanish, Self Check enables individuals to enter the same information into Self Check that employers enter into E-Verify.

Since the program’s inception, thousands of individuals have used Self Check, available in English and Spanish, to access their federal employment eligibility records and for guidance on how to correct potential record discrepancies prior to the hiring process.

In August 2011, Self Check became a bi-lingual service available to users in both English and Spanish, broadening the scope of the program to members of our U.S. workforce who are more comfortable reading Spanish-language materials.

Green Card for an Asylee: Part II

Family Members of Asylees

The USCIS asylum program accepts new Form I-589 applications from derivative asylees (spouses or children of a principal asylee) who no longer meet the definition of a spouse or child of the principal asylee in order to provide such individuals with a way to become a permanent resident

Note: In certain cases, the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) may allow you to retain the classification of “child” even if you have reached age 21.

Family Application Process

You must prepare a separate Form I-485 application packet for yourself (the principal asylee) and for your spouse and each child who received derivative asylee status if they also want to obtain a green card.

You may submit several different application packages in the same mailing package. To hold each application packet together, please use a single staple or a paper clip.

Change of Address

If your address changes, you must inform USCIS in writing within 10 days of moving.

You may meet this requirement by:

               Mailing Form AR-11, Alien’s Change of Address Card, to the address on the form

               Completing “Step 1” of the Online “Change My Address” Form

You should NOT mail the AR-11 to the correct address AND complete an online change of address.

While your asylum application is pending with the Asylum Office, you must ALSO notify the Asylum Office within 10 days after you change your address in one of the following ways:

               Complete “Step 2” of the online form

               Mail an original or copy of Form AR-11 to the Asylum Office

               Mail a letter with your old and new address information to the Asylum Office

               Provide your new address to the Asylum Office in-person

               Provide your new address to the asylum officer at your interview, or call the National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283

Green Card for an Asylee: Part I

If USCIS granted you asylum status, you are eligible to apply for a green card (permanent residence) 1 year after receiving your grant of asylum. Your spouse and children are also eligible to apply for a green card if they were admitted to the United States as asylees or were included in your grant of asylum.

You are not required to apply for a green card; however, it may be in your best interest to do so. You may no longer qualify for asylum status with the right to remain permanently in the United States if:

• country conditions change in your home country or
• you no longer meet the definition of an asylee due to changed circumstances.

Eligibility Criteria

If you are an asylee, you may apply for a green card 1 year after being granted asylum if you:

Have been physically present in the United States for at least 1 year after being granted asylum

               Continue to meet the definition of a asylee (or continue to be the spouse or child of such asylee)

               Have not abandoned your asylee status

               Are not firmly resettled in any foreign country

               Continue to be admissible to the United States (A waiver may be available to you if you are now inadmissible)

Application Process

To apply for a green card, you must file the Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or to Adjust Status.

Note: When your green card is granted, you (and your derivative family members) will have your date of adjustment of status rolled back 1 year from the date your green card is granted.

Supporting Evidence For Form I-485

If your asylum status is granted, you should file a Form I-485 with the following supporting documentation (in this order):

               Completed and signed Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status

               Completed and signed Form I-693, Report of Medical Exam and Vaccination Record, if required.

               Applicable fees

                       Asylees must pay the Form I-485 application fee and the fingerprint fee

                       Applicants under the age of 14 do not need to submit a fingerprint fee

               Completed and signed Form I-602, Application by Refugee for Waiver of Grounds of Excludability (if applicable)

               Copy of your I-94 card

             Asylees may also submit a copy of their approval notice granting asylum or a copy of the immigration judge’s orders showing that you were granted asylum

               A completed Form G-325A, Biographic Information Sheet, if you are between 14 and 79 years of age

               Certified copies of court records (if you have been arrested)

               Two passport-style photos

Note: You must submit any foreign language documents with a certified English translation. The translator must certify that he/she is competent to perform the translation and that the translation is accurate. Note that translations submitted without a legible copy of the foreign document are not sufficient.

Green Cards for a Refugee

If you were admitted as a refugee, you are required by law to apply for a green card (permanent residence) in the United States 1 year after being admitted as a refugee.

Eligibility Criteria

You must apply for a green card 1 year after you are admitted to the United States as a refugee if you:

               Have been physically present in the United States for at least 1 year after being admitted as a refugee

               Have not had your refugee admission terminated

               Have not already acquired permanent resident (green card) status

Application Process
To apply for a green card as a refugee, you need to file Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status.

Note: When permanent residency is granted, you will have your adjustment of status date recorded as the day you entered into the United States as a refugee.

Supporting Evidence For Form I-485
To apply for a green card, refugees should submit the following documents and information (in this order):

               Form I-485, signed (Box "h" of Part 2 should be marked with the word "refugee" printed on the accompanying line)

               Two photos in an envelope stapled to lower left corner

                       Your name and A-number, if known, should be lightly written in pencil on the back of each photo

                       Details on photo size, etc., may be found on the Form I-485 instructions

               Form G-28, if applicable, signed by you and the attorney (or authorized representative)

                       Facsimile signature stamps are acceptable for the signature of the representatives

                       However, you must sign the initial Form G-28 submitted with the application in the original

               Form G-325A

               Form I-693, signed by you and the civil surgeon, with only the vaccination portion completed

       You may have the vaccination portion of the Form I-693 completed at any state or local health department or may choose to make an appointment with a civil surgeon designated by the USCIS to conduct medical examinations

       Call the National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283 to locate USCIS-designated civil surgeons (doctors) where you live

               A complete Form I-693 is required only if:

       There were medical grounds of inadmissibility noted at the time of arrival in the United States

       If the refugee status was granted to the individual in the United States by an approved Form I-730, Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition

       If neither of these conditions apply, all that is required is the vaccination portion

               Evidence of refugee status (This might include a clear, readable photocopy of Form I-94 or a copy of your Employment Authorization Document)

               Proof of any legal name change you have obtained since you were granted refugee status

Family Application Process
You must prepare a separate Form I-485 application packet for each member of your family who wishes to obtain a green card. All family members’ application packets should be mailed together in the same mailing envelope. To hold each application packet together, please use a single staple or a paper clip.

Change of Address
If your address changes, you must inform USCIS in writing within 10 days of moving. This must be done for each family member. Submitting a change of address for the head of household or a single member of the household only will not change the address for the other family members. You may meet this requirement by:

               Mailing Form AR-11, Alien's Change of Address Card, to the address on the form

               Completing "Step 1" on the form

N-Form Processing Reminder

On October 19, 2011, a USCIS Update was issued announcing processing improvements for certain naturalization and citizenship forms. USCIS had centralized intake of Forms N-336, N-600 and N-600K to the Phoenix Lockbox facility. The Dallas Lockbox facility now handles the Form N-300. This change streamlined the way forms are processed, accelerated the collection and deposit of fees and improved the consistency of our intake process.

Please remember that impacted forms received at local and district offices after December 2, 2011, are no longer forwarded to the appropriate USCIS Lockbox facility.  Beginning December 5, impacted forms that were received locally were returned to the individual with instructions on how to re-file at a designated USCIS Lockbox facility.

Family of Refugees & Asylees

If you entered the United States as a refugee within the past 2 years or were granted asylee status within the past 2 years, you may petition for certain family members to obtain derivative refugee or asylee status.

You May Petition for the Following Family Members:

• Spouse 

• Child (unmarried and under 21 when you first applied for asylum or refugee status)

Eligibility Criteria

• As the petitioner, you must be a principal refugee or asylee. This means that you were granted refugee or asylee status directly and did not obtain it through a relative.
• You entered the United States as a refugee within the past 2 years or were granted asylum within the past 2 years.
• You remain in refugee or asylee status or have become a permanent resident (received a green card). If you have already become a U.S. citizen through naturalization, you cannot petition to obtain derivative refugee or asylee status for a relative. However you may still be able to help family immigrate to the United States.
• The family relationship had to exist before you came to the United States as a refugee or were granted asylum: 
• If you want to file for your spouse, you had to be married before you entered as a refugee or were granted asylum.
• Your child had to be conceived (this means the mother was already pregnant) or born before you entered as a refugee or were granted asylum.

Application Process

File Form I-730, Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition.