The Board of Immigration Appeals has determined that Cuban asylum-seekers released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) with I-220A documents have not been officially permitted entry into the country nor paroled under the Cuban Adjustment Act. The Act, passed in 1966, allows eligible Cubans to apply for green cards one year and one day after entering the United States – a privilege allowing Cubans to obtain residency much faster than other nationalities.
The decision concluded that receiving an I-220A document is not the same as being granted humanitarian parole and Cubans with the document are not eligible to change their immigration status. Immigration advocates petitioned to have the I-220A status considered a legal entry and in August of 2022, an immigration court granted that judgment. However, the most recent ruling came after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) appealed that decision.
“In a decision dated August 16, 2022, the Immigration Judge granted the respondents’ application for adjustment of status under the Cuban Refugee Adjustment Act of November 2, 1966,” reads the Board of Immigration Appeals order. “The Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) has appealed that decision, arguing that the respondents have not been admitted or paroled.”
Since the Board remanded the case back to the Immigration Court the Cubans involved in the case can not appeal in federal court. Advocates say they are determined to find other cases they can appeal.
