Subject: IFCSS's Work on Late-arriving Dependents (IFCSS HQ NR-4149)

From: IFCSS HQ <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 28 Jun 1993 19:16:36 -0400

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IFCSS Headquarters News Release No. 4149         June 28, 1993
     IFCSS'S WORK ON THE ISSUE OF LATE-ARRIVING DEPENDENTS
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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]

     IFCSS's Work on the Issue of Late Arriving Dependents
     =====================================================

     From day one of the CSPA implementation, the IFCSS has given
top priority to the issue of late-arriving dependents. On Feb. 18, 
during our first meeting with INS, we made it clear that we wanted
the late arriving dependents to be allowed to apply together with
the principal applicants. This appeal, however, was originally not
given enough attention. Towards the end of April, the first draft
was circulated among related government agencies, but no
arrangement was made for late-arriving dependents. Upon hearing the
news, we acted swiftly. Xiao Geng and Baoping He, as IFCSS
President and Vice-president, send letters to Secretary of State
Christopher, Attorney General Reno, and Mr. Anthony Lake, Assistant
to the President for National Security Affairs, calling for their
immediate attention to the issue. Meanwhile, Heping Shi, IFCSS
Director of Government Affairs, maintained contact with Senator
Gorton and Senator Kennedy's offices on a daily basis to coordinate
the effort. Later on, Geng Xiao also sent a letter to Congresswoman
Pelosi regarding the issue. Considering that the law was written in
such a strict way that only those who were themselves under the
protection of the Executive Order would be eligible for PR under
CSPA, we set it as our bottom line that these dependents should be
allowed to stay and given work permits. By the middle of May, we
have learned through informed sources that the late-arriving
dependents would be allowed to continue with a legal status in the
U.S..

     At the same time, the revised draft of the Regulations were
sent to INS General Counsel for review. As soon as the General
Counsel received the draft, IFCSS got in touch with the office.
Heping Shi had several telephone conversations with Ms. Beate Ort,
Assistant General Counsel in charge of the review, and stressed
that no late-arriving dependents should be allowed to fall out of
status. Ms. Ort replied that the General Counsel had already
learned IFCSS's position from other sources and would consider it
very carefully.

     Although we had learned the good news through informed
sources, we did not relax. On May 28th, the IFCSS HQ staff went to
the White House to meet with Mr. Kent Wiedemann, Special Assistant
to the President and the Senior Director of Asian Affairs of the
National Security Council, and once again raised the issue. Before
we left, Mr. Wiedemann assured us that he would help us to seek a
solution.

     On June 2, Qingsong Zhang and Heping Shi went to INS HQ to
meet with Mr. Duarte, Director of Examination Operations, who
indicated that the dependents would be allowed to stay and that
something like a "family fairness" program would be probably
developed after the implementation started. He was very
understanding.

     On June 25, during her telephone conversation with Heping Shi,
Ms. Philis Coven, Assistant Attorney General, formally confirmed
that the late-arriving dependents would be allowed to stay and
work. Ms. Coven also mentioned that the Regulations might be
published in one to two days. After getting this information, the
IFCSS HQ contacted Senator Gorton and Senator Kennedy's offices. 
While expressing the appreciation on behalf of the Chinese students
nationwide, the IFCSS HQ asked for their advice as to how to pursue
the issue further. Both offices felt that from a legal point of
view, it is very hard to include the late-arriving dependents.

     On June 25, we learned through e-mail that Dr. Haiqing Zhao
had talked with some White House official and demanded that changes
be made in the Regulations so that late-arriving dependents would
be allowed to apply with the principal applicants. The IFCSS HQ
held a meeting over the weekend and decided that the best thing to
do was to urge the White House to go ahead with the implementation.

     On June 28 (today), Heping Shi contacted INS HQ, Senator
Gorton and Senator Kennedy's offices and asked them to push for the
early approval of the regulations. Later on, Heping Shi talked with
Mr. Eric Schwartz, who is in charge of issues related to the CSPA
implementation at the National Security Council where the
regulations are currently being held up, and informed him that the
official position of IFCSS is that the White House give green light
to the Regulations. Heping Shi added that since what would be
published were Interim Regulations which would allow a public
comment period, the related parties could very well continue to
discuss the issue after the students started to apply.

     Right now, we are following the issue closely and trying our
best to have the Regulations published before July 1.

     The following list contains some of the reasons why the IFCSS
has taken the current approach.

     1. July 1st is drawing near. Currently, opposition to the CSPA
is being built up. In fact, our friends in Congress told us that
many senators and congressmen now believed that they made a mistake
in letting the legislation pass. The actual number of potential
applicants is certainly much greater than they assumed. Under such
a situation, further delay may complicate the whole implementation
process.

     2. What will be published are Interim Regulations, which means
that a public comment period will be allowed and changes can still
be made after the implementation starts. In fact, the use of
interim regulations was designed to allow early processing of
applications, considering that time is limited. Had the Interim
Regulations not been used, the processing would have to follow the
public comment period, which of course would result in a very late
start.

     3. Before the Regulations were drafted, we anticipated a hard
battle over the benefits for late-arriving dependents. Had we
insisted on simultaneous application, controversies would have been
generated about the legislation itself, as the law clearly
indicates that only those who are under the protection of the Exe.
Order are eligible for immediate consideration for PR. Therefore,
from the very beginning, we chose to pursue the issue from a
humanitarian stand. Given the American emphasis on family values,
we believed that  this point would be well taken. And so it was.

     4. The last thing we want to do is to drag out the legislation
for reinterpretation. What we can do is to point out to the U.S.
Government that although the late-arriving dependents are allowed
to stay, the issue is still there. Therefore, the earlier it is
resolved, the better. It is impossible that they will have to wait
for 16 years. There has never been such a precedent in the American
immigration history.

     5. The inclusion of late-arriving dependents does not increase
available visa numbers. While there is a possibility to obtain visa
numbers for them through some other channels, we are not in a hurry
to let them share the 46,000 visa numbers available this year.

     6. We have to be aware how much has been gained on the late-
arriving dependents issue. In February, INS was telling us that the
dependents themselves have to maintain their non-immigrant status,
that these dependents had to go back to China before they could be
considered for PR and that they could not be allowed to work when
they were in the U.S.. We must also be aware that the tremendous
task of processing tens of thousands of applications is still ahead
for INS. We want to ensure its maximum cooperation throughout the
implementation process. So far, the INS HQ has been reasonably
accommodating to our requests, but pushing the issue to the extreme
within a short period of time may very well give rise to
resentment. After all, it is highly likely that we will have to
rely on INS to develop some special program for the late-arriving
dependents.

         *                      *                  *

     The IFCSS understands the feelings of those who are worried
about their dependents. The HQ staff has its own share of the
concern over this issue. We will continue to work for more
satisfactory solution for the dependents inside China as well as
those who have arrived here. However, we have to be rational. More
often than not, problems have to be solved one by one.

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