Go to main navigation
735 Bishop Street, Suite 402, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
Call Today 866-468-5811 866-468-5811

News In Brief: 8/18/15 is TPS Registration Deadline for Eligible Nationals of Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone; DHS Announces Trilateral Agreement to Expand Trusted Traveler Programs; Derivative Citizenship Requirements Violate Equal Protection, Says Second Circuit: Citizenship Discrimination Claims Against City of Eugene and Staffing Company Settled

The following additional items may be of interest to our readers:

8/18/15 is TPS Registration Deadline for Eligible Nationals of Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone: USCIS reminds the public that that 8/18/15 is the deadline for eligible nationals of Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone to register for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which runs from 11/21/14 through 5/21/16. The deadline was extended from 5/20/15; applications previously returned based on the 5/20/15 deadline can be resubmitted. For more information on eligibility, registering, and fees and fee waivers, see the www.uscis.gov.

DHS Announces Trilateral Agreement to Expand Trusted Traveler Programs: A new agreement signed by Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and his Canadian and Mexican counterparts will make it easier for eligible travelers in the United States, Mexico, and Canada to apply for expedited screening programs at international airports. Eligible travelers will be able to apply for each program beginning in 2016.

Derivative Citizenship Requirements Violate Equal Protection, Says Second Circuit: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that the more stringent physical presence requirements for derivative citizenship placed on unwed citizen fathers than on unwed citizen mothers under the 1952 immigration law violates the Fifth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection.

Citizenship Discrimination Claims Against City of Eugene and Staffing Company Settled: DOJ recently announced a couple of settlement agreements resolving citizenship discrimination claims. First, DOJ settled a case with Eugene, Oregon, to resolve allegations that the city violated the anti-discrimination provision of the INA by improperly restricting law enforcement positions to U.S. citizens at the time of hire and excluding any applicants who were not U.S. citizens. The city of Eugene had required its law enforcement personnel to be U.S. citizens at the time of hire even though Oregon law requires police officers to be citizens within 18 months of hire. Second, DOJ settled a case with Priority Fulfillment Services, Inc. and PFSweb, Inc. after the company rejected valid Puerto Rican birth certificates and required individuals to present naturalization documents to prove their citizenship status, even though Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens by birth.