Subject: CND-US CSPA Information Exchange Package (XVII), June 29, 1993

From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1993 23:16:02 -0500

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+   C h i n a   N e w s   D i g e s t  +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

                               (US Regional)

Information Exchange (XVII): About Filing Application for U.S. PR Under CSPA

                           Tuesday, June 29, 1993

[Editor's Note: For more details on filing CSPA, see CND-US CSPA Info
                Exchange XVI posted earlier today.

                Back issues of CND-US CSPA Packages and related info are
                available from CND CSPA InfoBase, by anonymous ftp to CND.ORG
                (IP: 132.249.229.100) directory pub/InfoBase/CSPA]

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| CND-US, normally 1 or 2 issues a week, is a supplement to CND-Global and |
| has  basically no overlap with the daily news.  CND-US provides in-depth |
| information concerning Chinese students/scholars in the United States.   |
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============================================================================
Information Exchange (XVII): About Filing Application for U.S. PR Under CSPA

1. CSPA Green Light: You May File Your Application Now (Part Three) ..... 80
                     (More Q&A's and Issues of Dependents; IFCSS HQ
                      and CSPA Center Closed for IFCSS 5th Congress)
2. Summary of Notes on Filing CSPA Application by ZHAO Hai-Qing of NCCA:
   Visa #'s, I-134, CCP Membership, Public Assistance, Dependents etc. .. 80
3. Late-Arriving Dependent Issue on AILA/NAFSA CSPA Teleconference ...... 45
============================================================================

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. CSPA Green Light: You May File Your Application Now (Part Three) .... 115
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>From: IFCSS HQ <[email-masked]> Date:  Tue, 29 Jun 1993 20:56:19

[Editor's Note: Parts Two and Three were carried in last issue posted
                earlier today]

**************************************************************
IFCSS Headquarters News Release No. 4152         June 29, 1993
       CSPA GREEN LIGHT (PT.3): MORE GENERAL QUESTIONS
**************************************************************
Independent Federation of Chinese Students and Scholars (IFCSS)
   733 15th Street, N.W., Suite 440, Washington, D.C.20005
         Tel. (202)347-0017  Fax: (202)347-0018
                Email: [email-masked]

                    CSPA GREEN LIGHT: (PT.3)

                     Less General Questions
                     ======================

1.   WHAT IS MEANT BY "BRIEF, CASUAL, AND INNOCENT?"

A:   INS is going to be liberal on this issue. These cases have to
     be decided on an individual basis. If you are not sure whether
     you are eligible, you can just go ahead and file an
     application.

2.   WHAT ABOUT THE 90-DAY IN CHINA ISSUE?

A:   The legislation is very clear on this point. We know some
     people were detained for illness or political reasons, but we
     won't be able to do much on that. Still, everybody can try.
     Filing the application will not hurt you.

3.   WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF AFFILIATION WITH ORGANIZATIONS?

A:   Only members of a political organization is required to
     report. We are not talking about boy scouts. For the communist
     party members, however, they must report even if they said no
     when they first came in. Otherwise, they will have serious
     trouble once it is found out. We can even take the green card
     back. If a person used to be a communist party member, he can
     either state that he was forced to join the Party or that the
     membership was terminated five years ago.

4.   I AM GOING TO MOVE DURING THE SUMMER. WHICH ADDRESS SHOULD I
     GIVE, THE OLD ONE OR THE NEW ONE?

A:   It depends on when you are going to move. If you are going to
     move next week, you probably want to give the new address. But
     if you won't move in two months, you may want to give your
     current address.

5.   I'LL BE AWAY FOR SOME TIME STARTING NEXT WEEK. WHAT SHALL I
     DO?

A:   You can complete and send out your application before you
     leave. But be sure to get an advanced parole.

     ***                           ***                      ***

     During the meeting, we again raised the issue of Milwaukee and
Spokane INS offices, which continued to refuse to provide forms.
INS officers promised to check again. We also contacted Senator
Gorton's office for help.

          ***                 ***                 ***

                   The Issue of Dependents

     Dependents refer to spouse and unmarried children not over 21
years old. If your dependents are eligible for CSPA, they can apply
now, but each of them will have to file separately. If you have
children who were not over 21 years old before April 11, 1990 but
have passed that age limit since then, they are still eligible.

     Late-arriving dependents are not allowed to apply now, but
they can use other ways to continue to stay legally in the U.S..
For instance, if an F-1 student becomes a permanent resident, the
spouse will no long be allowed to hold F-2. Then the spouse is
encouraged to seek other ways to keep their status. But if there is
no other way available, the spouse may go ahead and apply for
Voluntary Departure. After it is approved, he/she can apply for a
work permit.

     There will be at least two ways for late-arriving dependents
to apply for PR when visa numbers become available, to apply under
E-3 dependents or Family Second Preference. For both categories,
the backlog is now probably two years.

               ***            ***            ***

     The IFCSS HQ has already made arrangement with Several
Congressional offices to continue to work on the issue of late-
arriving dependents after IFCSS 5th Congress. We have also reached
agreement with the White House that after the implementation
process starts, we will be able to continue our discussion. We will
have a one-month public comment period before the Regulations are
finalized. Meanwhile, the White House has agreed to give green
light to implementation.

     According to INS, however, the issue of late-arriving
dependents can only be resolved through legislative means. We will
surely explore this possibility, but we are not going to exclude
other possibilities now.

P.S.: The IFCSS HQ receives over 150 emails a day, many of which
include personal questions about the CSPA. Due to our limited
manpower and busy schedule, we are unable to reply to those
messages. We would appreciate your understanding.

           *                 *               *

     This report completes the series on CSPA Green Light.
Tomorrow, (June 30), the HQ officers will be on the way to
Lexington for the IFCSS 5th Congress. During July 1-5, the
IFCSS HQ and Information Center will be closed. We appreciate
the support from the CSS community in our term and we hope that
you will continue to support the new leadership produced in
the 5th Congress.

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2. Summary of Notes on Filing CSPA Application by ZHAO Hai-Qing of NCCA:
   Visa #'s, I-134, CCP Membership, Public Assistance, Dependents etc. .. 80
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>From: "Ying Q. Ji" <[email-masked]> Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1993 19:04:45
Subject:      Council Release 007:Filing Your Application

               NATIONAL COUNCIL ON CHINESE AFFAIRS
               SUMMARY OF FILING YOUR APPLICATION

          FROM:     DR. HAICHING ZHAO
          DATE:     JUNE 29, 1993

     There was a nationwide teleconference today organized by AILA and
participated by INS officials.  Laura Reiff of Baker & McKenzie was one of
the five invited guests to speak on this nationwide teleconference convened
to discuss procedural issues related to implementation of the CSPA.
Representing INS were Michael Aytes, Director of Service Center Operations,
and Rita Boie, Examination Examiner.  We have also contacted with the
Administration regarding the filing of applications.

     The following is a summary of the issues related to the filing of your
applications:

1)   You can begin to file now.  There will be no new procedures or
     requir in the Regulations that were not mentioned in the
     Instructions that were published in the Federal Register
     earlier this month.  Applications are to be filed with
     regional service centers by mail.  Your application may arrive
     early than July 1st, but the earliest priority date given
     would be July 1st.

2)   Visa numbers will not be issued until an application is
     complete.  It is much more important to make sure your
     application is complete than to rush to have it there by July
     lst.  Even though you may have a July 1st priority date, you
     will not receive a visa number until your file is complete.
     If you file an incomplete application, you have to wait to be
     notified by INS.  In the meantime, others are being assigned
     visa numbers.

3)   Only one fingerprint card needs to be filed.

4)   There are three instances where an application will be
     returned to you and no priority date issued:
     (1)  You do not have the correct application fee; or
     (2)  Your forms are not signed; or
     (3)  You send the application to the wrong regional center.

5)   Contrary to some reports, financial grounds of exclusion are
     not waived.  You must be above the poverty level.   You need
     to provide financial information such as bank and employment
     letters, tax forms and affidavits of support.  Failure to
     include Form 9003 is an incomplete application.

6)   If you have ever taken public assistance in the past, your
     current financial documents should be very strong.

7)   Some cases will be transferred to local offices for
     interviews.  The cases to be transferred will probably be
     determined by random sampling, by application data and by INS
     independent data.

8)   If you check the yes box indicating you have been a member of
     the Communist Party or one of its organs, you need to provide
     an explanation.  Such membership should not jeopardize your
     application.

9)   According to the INS officials, late arriving dependents will
     not be given work authorization and voluntary departure
     through a blanket program.  Once the principal receives his or
     her green card, the dependents will be able to apply with
     local offices for work authorization and voluntary departure.
     It is expected that local offices will be instructed to be
     sympathetic to such requests.

     We are continuing to push on this issue and hoping to get it
     resolved quickly.

     We recommend those of you who have late arriving dependents to
     start filing your own applications now but not to file the
     late arriving dependents' applications yet.

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3. Late-Arriving Dependent Issue on AILA/NAFSA CSPA Teleconference ...... 45
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>From:  ****@****.edu  June 29, 1993

Q: It is reported that in today's AILA/NAFSA CSPA Teleconference, the INS
   said:
   Dependents who arrived in the U.S. after April 11, 1990 will not be
   eligible to apply for permanent residence under CSPA, and they may file
   only after their principals are granted a green card.  Dependents may
   be granted voluntary departure or work authorization at the discretion
   of district directors of local INS offices.             ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

   What's "voluntary departure"?

A: It's a term U.S. Congress used on a protection act for Polish students
   in 1980 when the bloodshed on Polish Solidarity Labor Union happened in
   Poland.

   It means one can stay and work in the U.S. and doesn't have to leave,
   he/she will leave voluntarily when he/she feels safe to go home.
   Note "when the person feels safe" so no forced return.

   There were about 10,000 Polish students here in the U.S. in 1980.
   In 1987, U.S. Congress found that there were still 8,000 Polish students
   here (not left U.S. yet), then a bill was passed to give all of them PR.

   Here is a piece of info on the late-arriving dependents (several
   AILA/NAFSA Teleonference listeners confirmed this):

   From: [email-masked]   Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1993 15:50:53
   Subject:      Dependents

   Just come back from the teleconference, we heard the head if INS Service
   Centers saying that late-arriving dependents, if still depends on the
   principal (in F-2, H-4 etc.) will lost status and may be subjuct to
   deportation.

   The lawyers advice such dependents to seek legal non-immigrant visas in
   other categories to maintain lagel status as soon as possible.

   It's sad to hear this, I hope those who couldn't wait to jump into
   the fight for this years quota show some mercy on your fellow country
   people.

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