It is a year ago this Thanksgiving that the announcement was made by USCIS that they were willing to consider giving key NMI groups what they termed “parole in place.” The office of Congressman Greg “Kilili” Sablan says that it has spoken on numerous occasions with US Customs and Immigration with regards to the extension of parole in place for the immediate relatives of citizens of the United States. USCIS has also repeatedly informed Sablan’s office that the agency was hard at work on the issue and supposedly “close to a decision.”
In 2011 the issue under focus was that of the expiration of umbrella permits. In 2012 it is all about the end of year expiration of parole in place when it comes to one-year parolees, with more than a thousand IRs, although some others may have actually gotten two-year parole.
Congressman Sablan is still seeking the help of USCIS on behalf of a number of different groups with regards to immigration. “USCIS has already announced earlier that they will consider ‘parole in place’ for CNMI permanent residents and for the foreign spouses of FAS citizens and their dependents, their immediate relatives,” his office has stated.
In 2012 Sablan has been seeking the help of USCIS yet again, for the benefit of the immediate relatives of citizens of the United States, who are covered along with other groups in HT 1466, Kilili’s stalled bill. Without parole, several thousand people in the NMI could be forced to leave, although Sablan’s office is hopeful that more immigration flexibility could be on the cards.