Immigration Benefits
Fifteenth Report Required by the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998 Gao ID: GAO-07-168R November 9, 2006This report responds to certain requirements of the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act (HRIFA) of 1998 that authorized certain Haitian nationals and their dependents to apply to adjust their status to lawful permanent residence. Section 902 (k) of the act requires the Comptroller General to report every 6 months on the number of Haitian nationals who have applied and been approved to adjust their status to lawful permanent residence. The reports are to contain a breakdown of the number of Haitians who applied and the number who were approved as asylum applicants, parolees, children without parents, orphaned children, or abandoned children; or as the eligible dependents of these applicants, including spouses, children, and unmarried sons or daughters. Reports are to be provided until all applications have been finally adjudicated. This is our fifteenth report. Our objectives for this report were to determine (1) the number and categories of applicants who filed applications with USCIS or EOIR and (2) the number and categories of applicants whose applications were approved by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) or the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR).
Through September 30, 2006, USCIS, formerly part of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), had received a total of 40,298 HRIFA applications and had approved 16,616 of these applications. EOIR had 1,947 applications filed and had approved 755 of them. Details on the categories of the applicants and approvals are provided in this report.
GAO-07-168R, Immigration Benefits: Fifteenth Report Required by the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998
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United States Government Accountability Office:
Washington, DC 20548:
November 9, 2006:
The Honorable Thad Cochran:
Chairman:
The Honorable Robert C. Byrd:
Ranking Member:
Committee on Appropriations:
United States Senate:
The Honorable Arlen Specter:
Chairman:
The Honorable Patrick J. Leahy:
Ranking Member:
Committee on the Judiciary:
United States Senate:
The Honorable Jerry Lewis:
Chairman:
The Honorable David R. Obey:
Ranking Member:
Committee on Appropriations:
House of Representatives:
The Honorable F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr.
Chairman:
The Honorable John Conyers, Jr.
Ranking Member:
Committee on the Judiciary:
House of Representatives:
Subject: Immigration Benefits: Fifteenth Report Required by the Haitian
Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998:
This report responds to certain requirements of the Haitian Refugee
Immigration Fairness Act (HRIFA) of 1998[Footnote 1] that authorized
certain Haitian nationals and their dependents to apply to adjust their
status to lawful permanent residence. Section 902 (k) of the act
requires the Comptroller General to report every 6 months on the number
of Haitian nationals who have applied and been approved to adjust their
status to lawful permanent residence. The reports are to contain a
breakdown of the number of Haitians who applied and the number who were
approved as asylum applicants, parolees, children without parents,
orphaned children, or abandoned children; or as the eligible dependents
of these applicants, including spouses, children, and unmarried sons or
daughters. Reports are to be provided until all applications have been
finally adjudicated. This is our fifteenth report.[Footnote 2]
Results in Brief:
Through September 30, 2006, United States Citizenship and Immigration
Services (USCIS), formerly part of the Immigration and Naturalization
Service (INS), had received a total of 40,298 HRIFA applications and
had approved 16,616 of these applications.[Footnote 3] The Executive
Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) had 1,947 applications filed and
had approved 755 of them. Details on the categories of the applicants
and approvals are provided in this report.
Background:
Haitian applicants are to send their applications to USCIS's Nebraska
Service Center in Lincoln, Nebraska. A contractor at the service center
is responsible for processing the applications up to the point of their
adjudication by USCIS adjudication officers. An application may be
adjudicated at the service center or in a USCIS district with
jurisdiction over the area where the alien applicant resides.
Generally, applications that are complete and evidentially sufficient
can be adjudicated at the service center, according to USCIS officials.
If an interview is required or other issues need to be resolved, the
application is forwarded to the appropriate USCIS district, where the
applicant can be interviewed and the application adjudicated. Data on
Haitian applicants are to be entered in USCIS's Computer Linked
Application Information Management System (CLAIMS).
Haitian nationals who are eligible for HRIFA should file their
applications with EOIR rather than USCIS if they have (1) a proceeding
pending before the Immigration Court or the Board of Immigration
Appeals or (2) a pending motion to reopen or reconsider filed on or
before May 12, 1999. Thus, Haitian nationals who are in deportation,
exclusion, or removal proceedings, and whose cases have not been
administratively closed, are to file their HRIFA application with EOIR,
not USCIS.[Footnote 4] Data on Haitian applicants are to be entered in
EOIR's case tracking system, the Automated Nationwide System for
Immigration Review (ANSIR).
The deadline for principal applicants to file an application for
adjustment of status under HRIFA was March 31, 2000. Dependents of
principal applicants have no application deadline.[Footnote 5]
HRIFA Applications Received and Approved by USCIS:
Through September 30, 2006, USCIS data showed that it had received
40,298 HRIFA applications at its Nebraska Service Center, all of which
had been entered into CLAIMS.[Footnote 6] The categories and numbers of
these applicants are shown in table 1. Through September 30, 2006,
USCIS had approved 16,616 applications for adjustment of status under
HRIFA.
Table 1: HRIFA Applications and Categories of Applications Received and
Approved by USCIS, through September 30, 2006:
Principal or dependent: Principal;
Category of applicant: Asylum;
Number of applications in CLAIMS: 17,335;
Number of applications approved: 7,106.
Principal or dependent: Principal;
Category of applicant: Parolee;
Number of applications in CLAIMS: 8,904;
Number of applications approved: 3,014.
Principal or dependent: Principal;
Category of applicant: Child without parents;
Number of applications in CLAIMS: 1,229;
Number of applications approved: 162.
Principal or dependent: Principal;
Category of applicant: Orphaned child;
Number of applications in CLAIMS: 240;
Number of applications approved: 33.
Principal or dependent: Principal;
Category of applicant: Abandoned child;
Number of applications in CLAIMS: 481;
Number of applications approved: 38.
Principal or dependent: Dependent;
Category of applicant: Spouse;
Number of applications in CLAIMS: 3,791;
Number of applications approved: 1,372.
Principal or dependent: Dependent;
Category of applicant: Child;
Number of applications in CLAIMS: 7,900;
Number of applications approved: 4,788.
Principal or dependent: Dependent;
Category of applicant: Unmarried son or daughter;
Number of applications in CLAIMS: 418;
Number of applications approved: 103.
Principal or dependent: Total;
Category of applicant: [Empty];
Number of applications in CLAIMS: 40,298;
Number of applications approved: 16,616.
Source: USCIS data.
[End of table]
HRIFA Applications Filed with and Approved by EOIR:
Through September 30, 2006, EOIR data from ANSIR showed that 1,947
HRIFA applications had been filed with EOIR, of which 755 had been
approved for adjustment of status.[Footnote 7] Table 2 provides
information on the categories and numbers of HRIFA applicants and
approvals.
Table 2: HRIFA Applications and Categories of Applications Filed with
and Approved by EOIR, through September 30, 2006:
Principal or dependent: Principal;
Category of applicant: Asylum;
Number of applications in ANSIR: 1,079;
Number of applications approved: 405.
Principal or dependent: Principal;
Category of applicant: Parolee;
Number of applications in ANSIR: 459;
Number of applications approved: 165.
Principal or dependent: Principal;
Category of applicant: Child without parents;
Number of applications in ANSIR: 100;
Principal or dependent: Principal;
Category of applicant: Orphaned child;
Number of applications in ANSIR: 16;
Number of applications approved: 6.
Principal or dependent: Principal;
Category of applicant: Abandoned child;
Number of applications in ANSIR: 20;
Number of applications approved: 11.
Principal or dependent: Dependent;
Category of applicant: Spouse;
Number of applications in ANSIR: 178;
Number of applications approved: 84.
Principal or dependent: Dependent;
Category of applicant: Child;
Number of applications in ANSIR: 78;
Number of applications approved: 35.
Principal or dependent: Dependent;
Category of applicant: Unmarried son or daughter;
Number of applications in ANSIR: 17;
Number of applications approved: 8.
Principal or dependent: Total;
Category of applicant: [Empty];
Number of applications in ANSIR: 1,947;
Number of applications approved: 755.
Source: EOIR data.
[End of table]
Objectives, Scope, and Methodology:
Our objectives for this report were to determine (1) the number and
categories of applicants who filed applications with USCIS or EOIR and
(2) the number and categories of applicants whose applications were
approved by USCIS or EOIR. To attain these objectives, we relied on
USCIS and EOIR to provide us with data from their CLAIMS and ANSIR
systems, respectively, on applicants and the number of approvals. We
assessed the reliability of the data by reviewing existing information
about the data and the system that produced them, and we questioned
agency officials knowledgeable about the data. We determined that the
data were sufficiently reliable for the purposes of this report. We
conducted our work between September and October 2006, in accordance
with generally accepted government auditing standards.
We provided the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security with a
draft of this report for comment. DOJ and DHS had no comments on the
report.
We are providing copies of this report to the Attorney General and the
Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and will make copies
available to others upon request. If you have any questions about this
report, please contact me at (202) 512-8777. The key contributors to
this assignment were Evi Rezmovic and R.E. Canjar.
Signed by:
Paul L. Jones:
Director, Homeland Security and Justice Issues:
FOOTNOTES
[1] Pub. L. No. 105-277, tit. IX, 112 Stat. 2681-538.
[2] The previous reports were (1) GAO, Immigration Benefits:
Applications for Adjustment of Status under the Haitian Refugee
Immigration Fairness Act of 1998, GAO/GGD-99-92R (Washington, D.C.:
Apr. 21, 1999); (2) Immigration Benefits: Second Report Required by the
Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998, GAO/GGD-00-25R
(Washington, D.C.: Oct. 19, 1999); (3) Immigration Benefits: Third
Report Required by the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of
1998, GAO/GGD-00-122R (Washington, D.C.: Apr. 14, 2000); (4)
Immigration Benefits: Fourth Report Required by the Haitian Refugee
Immigration Fairness Act of 1998, GAO-01-118R (Washington, D.C.: Oct.
20, 2000); (5) Immigration Benefits: Fifth Report Required by the
Haitian Immigration Fairness Act of 1998, GAO-01-651R (Washington,
D.C.: Apr. 20, 2001); (6) Immigration Benefits: Sixth Report Required
by the Haitian Immigration Fairness Act of 1998, GAO-02-114R
(Washington, D.C.: Oct. 22, 2001); (7) Immigration Benefits: Seventh
Report Required by the Haitian Immigration Fairness Act of 1998, GAO-
02-600R (Washington, D.C.: Apr. 18, 2002); (8) Immigration Benefits:
Eighth Report Required by the Haitian Immigration Fairness Act of 1998,
GAO-03-240R (Washington, D.C.: Oct. 22, 2002); (9) Immigration
Benefits: Ninth Report Required by the Haitian Refugee Immigration
Fairness Act of 1998, GAO-03-681R (Washington, D.C.: Apr. 21, 2003);
(10) Immigration Benefits: Tenth Report Required by the Haitian Refugee
Immigration Fairness Act of 1998, GAO-04-189R (Washington, D.C.: Oct.
17, 2003); (11) Immigration Benefits: Eleventh Report Required by the
Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998, GAO-04-1030R
(Washington, D.C.: Aug. 13, 2004); (12) Immigration Benefits: Twelfth
Report Required by the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of
1998, GAO-05-481R (Washington, D.C.: Apr. 14, 2005), (13) Immigration
Benefits: Thirteenth Report Required by the Haitian Refugee Immigration
Fairness Act of 1998, GAO-06-122R (Washington, D.C.: Oct. 21, 2005),
and (14) Immigration Benefits: Fourteenth Report Required by the
Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998, GAO-06-589R
(Washington, D.C.: April 21, 2006).
[3] On March 1, 2003, INS was transferred from the Department of
Justice to the Department of Homeland Security. Within Homeland
Security, the adjudication of HRIFA benefits is the responsibility of
USCIS.
[4] EOIR was not transferred to the Department of Homeland Security and
remains part of the Department of Justice.
[5] The Legal Immigration and Family Equity Act (title XI of Pub. L.
No. 106-553, as amended by title XV of Pub. L. No. 106-554) went into
effect on December 21, 2000. This act amended HRIFA to waive certain
grounds of inadmissibility for aliens applying for relief under HRIFA.
Regulations implementing these changes to HRIFA went into effect on May
31, 2001, and motions to reopen immigration court proceedings for
aliens made eligible for HRIFA benefits by these changes had to be
filed by June 19, 2001.
[6] Although March 31, 2000, was the application deadline for
principals to file applications for adjustment of status under HRIFA,
there have continued to be slight increases in CLAIMS in the number of
principal applicants. According to USCIS, CLAIMS data may be adjusted
for various reasons. For example, USCIS may determine that a
principal's application was rejected in error during the filing period
that ended on March 31, 2000; or, a principal may have submitted the
application to a field office, and the application may not have been
correctly routed to the Nebraska Service Center. As USCIS becomes aware
of such cases, it enters them into CLAIMS.
[7] Principal applicants who filed an initial application for benefits
with the Immigration and Naturalization Service on or before the filing
deadline of March 31, 2000, may renew their application for HRIFA
benefits with EOIR even after the deadline. Such cases, which would be
entered into ANSIR when the application is renewed before EOIR, account
for increases in the total number of principal applicants over time.
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