According to government estimates, it takes three to four months for federal immigration authorities to process temporary employment authorization for most legal applicants. Many immigrants in Massachusetts have been waiting much longer. In an article published just before the end of the year, The Boston Globe spoke to a number of immigrants in Massachusetts who applied for work authorization. Some have been waiting six months, others nine. This is despite Massachusetts lawmakers’ attempts to improve waiting times by expanding legal aid to immigrants across the state.
As Sampan reported in these pages last month, 13 non-profit legal service organizations received $780,000 from Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office as part of the Immigrant Legal Services Grant Program. The state also partnered with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to host work authorization clinics for migrants in shelters, the goal being to get eligible people work authorization two to three weeks after attending a clinic rather than three to four months. Other local organizations are stepping in too: the Commonwealth Corporation Foundation is offering free job training to people who are waiting for their work permits to be approved. The Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA) is hosting their 28th annual Immigrants’ Day at the State House on March 28, during which they will advocate for a number of legislative proposals to improve the immigration process. The state is throwing everything it can at a broken immigration system to make things a little easier.
Yet like the multiheaded Hydra of ancient mythology, no matter how much you attack government bureaucracy it seems to grow twofold in response. Complicated paperwork and unhelpful automated systems present barriers to immigrants who are trying to get approved to work. In response to the difficulties immigrants in Massachusetts are facing, AG Campbell and a coalition of state attorneys general sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security at the beginning of December urging a number of actions, including “allowing migrants to apply for work authorization at the same time they request permission to enter the country, granting provisional authorization to work at the time they apply, eliminating fees, and automatically renewing their ability to stay in the US if their allotted time expires while they’re waiting for work permits.” These changes would most positively impact new arrivals, however. There are large numbers of people who have been in the state for a year or more who are still in limbo.
For these individuals, changes to federal immigration law that improve its efficiency and remove red tape will be most effective. But are these changes forthcoming? Many immigrants and immigrant rights organizations are not hopeful, especially given that the Biden administration may be forced to compromise with Republicans over immigration reform to secure funding for Ukraine and Israel. Some of the changes Republicans have suggested would make it more difficult in general to immigrate to or work in the United States. Their proposals include increasing the standard by which “credible fear of persecution” is judged, mandating detention of asylum seekers, making it easier for the DHS to deport people, and restricting the humanitarian parole program. Negotiations continued this week as Congress returned from holiday break.
Yogi Berra said of Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris hitting back-to-back home runs that it was déjà vu all over again, but he might as well have been talking about US politics. While immigration reform and military spending for Ukraine and Israel are debated this week, we must also look toward the potential for a government shutdown – again. Republicans in the House of Representatives are threatening to allow the government to shut down on January 19th if Democrats do not agree to strict new border controls. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson struck a deal with Democrats late last year to extend funding for some government departments until the 19th, while funding for others expires on February 2nd unless another deal can be made. Therefore, the shutdown on the 19th would only be partial. Nonetheless, dysfunction at the highest levels is obvious and seemingly unending.
On January 5th, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued policy guidance on analyzing an employer’s ability to pay the proffered wage for immigrant petitions in certain first, second, and third preference employment-based immigrant visa classifications, including instances when the sponsored worker is changing employers.
Routinely, employers seeking to classify prospective or current employees under the first-, second-, and third-preference employment-based immigrant visa classifications that required a job offer needed to demonstrate their continuing ability to pay the proffered wage to the beneficiary as of the priority date of the immigrant petition until the beneficiary obtains lawful permanent residence.
Immigrants in need of assistance are reminded that unforeseen circumstances, such as natural catastrophes (hurricanes, wildfires, severe weather, etc.), national emergencies (public health emergencies), severe illness (including COVID), or conflicts abroad, can sometimes affect the processing of their USCIS application, petition, or immigration request.
USCIS has discretion to take measures on a case-by-case basis upon request if applicants have been affected by an unforeseen circumstance. Assistance can be found by calling the USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-5283. For people with disabilities: (TTY) 800-767-1833 or (VRS) 877-709-5797. In order to request an expedite through the Contact Center, applicants must already have filed a benefit request and have a receipt number.
