DOS Announces Refugee Program for Salvadorian, Guatemalan, and Honduran Children
The U.S. Department of State announced the implementation of a refugee program for Salvadorian, Guatemalan, and Honduran children whose parents are lawfully present in the US. The program will allow children in harm’s way to find safe and legal passage to the US to reunite with their families. Those children who do not qualify for refugee status may be considered for parole.
Parents must be lawfully present in the U.S. to petition for their children. Applicants must file form DS-7699 with the assistance of a designated resettlement agency that works cooperatively with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration. Form DS-7699 will not be available to the general public online and the form must be filled out with the assistance of one of 350 resettlement agencies throughout the U.S. There is no filing fee associated with DS-7699, but parents are expected to pay for DNA testing to prove a biological parental relationship with the child.
More information, including English and Spanish fact sheets, is available online at the Refugee Processing Center: http://www.wrapsnet.org/CAMProgram/tabid/420/Default.aspx
Sarah Saldaña Selected as USCIS Director
The Senate officially confirmed that U.S. attorney Sarah Saldaña will be the new director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Saldaña is the former US Attorney for the Northern District of Texas and the first Latina to hold this post at ICE. Republicans had opposed her because of her stated support for the President’s executive actions on immigration reform.
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