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Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act
("NACARA") provides eligibility for adjustment of status to legal
permanent residence for many Cubans and Nicaraguans.
It also allows Salvadorans, Guatemalans, and certain East
Europeans to apply for legal permanent residency based on the
former and more lenient suspension of deportation standards and
special cancellation of removal.
Who is eligible?
Nicaraguan and Cuban nationals
NACARA allows Nicaraguans and Cubans who were in the U.S. as
of December 1, 1995, to apply for adjustment of status to legal
permanent residence.
The deadline for Nicaraguan and Cuban nationals filing a
NACARA application has already expired (April 1, 2000).
However, there is legislation currently pending in Congress to
extend the deadline.
Salvadoran nationals who:
First entered the U.S. on or before September 19, 1990, and
registered for benefits under the ABC settlement agreement on or
before October 31, 1991 (either by applying for temporary
protected status (TPS) or by submitting an ABC registration),
unless apprehended at the time of entry after December 19, 1990,
or Filed an application for asylum with the INS on or before April 1,
1990.
Guatemalan nationals who:
First entered the U.S. on or before October 1, 1990, and
registered for ABC benefits on or before December 31, 1991,
unless apprehended at the time of entry after December 19, 1990,
or Filed an application for asylum with the INS on or before April 1,
1990.
Nationals of the former Soviet bloc who:
Entered the United States on or before December 31, 1990;
Applied for asylum on or before December 31, 1991; and
At the time of application were nationals of the Soviet Union,
Russia, any republic of the former Soviet Union, Latvia, Estonia,
Lithuania, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria,
Albania, East Germany, Yugoslavia or any state of the former
Yugoslavia.
Dependents of the above eligible foreign nationals may also be
eligible.
If the Salvadoran, Guatemalan or alien from the former Soviet bloc
is eligible to apply for NACARA, he or she must then satisfy the
following additional requirements in order to qualify for
suspension/cancellation under NACARA:
There is a much more restrictive eligibility standard that applies to
aliens who are deportable because of criminal convictions or
certain other enumerated grounds.
These individuals must establish that they were continuously
present in the U.S. for a period of ten years after the commission
of the crime or conduct that made them deportable, that they were
of good moral character, and that their deportation would cause
"exceptional and extremely unusual hardship" to themselves or
their spouse, parent, or child.
("NACARA") provides eligibility for adjustment of status to legal
permanent residence for many Cubans and Nicaraguans.
It also allows Salvadorans, Guatemalans, and certain East
Europeans to apply for legal permanent residency based on the
former and more lenient suspension of deportation standards and
special cancellation of removal.
Who is eligible?
Nicaraguan and Cuban nationals
NACARA allows Nicaraguans and Cubans who were in the U.S. as
of December 1, 1995, to apply for adjustment of status to legal
permanent residence.
The deadline for Nicaraguan and Cuban nationals filing a
NACARA application has already expired (April 1, 2000).
However, there is legislation currently pending in Congress to
extend the deadline.
Salvadoran nationals who:
First entered the U.S. on or before September 19, 1990, and
registered for benefits under the ABC settlement agreement on or
before October 31, 1991 (either by applying for temporary
protected status (TPS) or by submitting an ABC registration),
unless apprehended at the time of entry after December 19, 1990,
or Filed an application for asylum with the INS on or before April 1,
1990.
Guatemalan nationals who:
First entered the U.S. on or before October 1, 1990, and
registered for ABC benefits on or before December 31, 1991,
unless apprehended at the time of entry after December 19, 1990,
or Filed an application for asylum with the INS on or before April 1,
1990.
Nationals of the former Soviet bloc who:
Entered the United States on or before December 31, 1990;
Applied for asylum on or before December 31, 1991; and
At the time of application were nationals of the Soviet Union,
Russia, any republic of the former Soviet Union, Latvia, Estonia,
Lithuania, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria,
Albania, East Germany, Yugoslavia or any state of the former
Yugoslavia.
Dependents of the above eligible foreign nationals may also be
eligible.
If the Salvadoran, Guatemalan or alien from the former Soviet bloc
is eligible to apply for NACARA, he or she must then satisfy the
following additional requirements in order to qualify for
suspension/cancellation under NACARA:
- Maintain continuous presence in the U.S. for seven years;
- Possess good moral character;
- Demonstrate that returning to the country of origin would
result in extreme hardship to the applicant or to the
applicant's child, spouse, or parent who is a U.S. citizen or
lawful permanent resident (Salvadorans and Guatemalans
may benefit from a rebuttable presumption of hardship); and
- Merit a favorable exercise of discretion. Salvadorans and
Guatemalan ABC members may benefit from a rebuttable
presumption of extreme hardship.
There is a much more restrictive eligibility standard that applies to
aliens who are deportable because of criminal convictions or
certain other enumerated grounds.
These individuals must establish that they were continuously
present in the U.S. for a period of ten years after the commission
of the crime or conduct that made them deportable, that they were
of good moral character, and that their deportation would cause
"exceptional and extremely unusual hardship" to themselves or
their spouse, parent, or child.
BOGLE
OKOYE
CHANG
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Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act
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