Jan 5 2011

USCIS Implements Help HAITI Act of 2010

USCIS has officially implemented the Help HAITI Act of 2010. This new law will give USCIS the power to grant lawful permanent resident status to certain orphaned children from Haiti, who came to the U.S. under the Haitian Orphan Parole Program after Haiti’s devastating earthquake on January 12, 2010. The public is invited to comment on interim guidance until January 14, 2011.

The Haitian Orphan Parole Program, introduced on January 18, 2010, was a humanitarian policy that allowed orphaned children from Haiti to temporarily enter the U.S. to ensure they received the care they needed. Children legally confirmed as orphans eligible for intercountry adoption by the Haitian government and in the process of being adopted by Americans prior to the earthquake and those that were matched to prospective American adoptive parents were allowed to apply for the parole program, as long as other eligibility requirements were met.