ORR Updated guidance: federal documentation for Afghan arrivals

Given the urgency and difficulty in obtaining consistent federal documentation for Afghan arrivals, RPU is providing updated guidance, before revising or publishing an ORR Policy Letter to this effect.

ACCESS TO FEDERAL TRAVEL DOCUMENTATION:

For those who are having trouble accessing federal travel documentation (such as a Form I-94, A-number, passport number, or official DHS documentation) for Afghan arrivals, please follow these steps:

1. Contact the national resettlement agency for assurance and travel documentation, which may include identifying information on the assured Afghan arrival that will be helpful for conducting searches on DHS websites.
2. Check the I-94 website: https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/#/home
3. Check the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) One Mobile App: see attached email titled “I-94 retrieval for Afghan arrivals”
4. Reach CBP online at [email protected] with required information: see attached email titled “Documentation updates for Afghan arrivals”
5. Contact the local CBP deferred inspection site: see attached email titled “Documentation updates for Afghan arrivals”

DATE OF ELIGIBILITY

The eligibility date for Afghan Special Immigrant Visa holders (SIVs), Afghan Special Immigrant Conditional Permanent Residents (SI CPRS), and Afghan SI/SQ Parolees is the date of entry into the United States, as noted on the Form I-94 or other federal travel documentation. However, effective today, for an SIV, SI CPR, or Afghan SI/SQ Parolee who remained on a Safe Haven, ORR will authorize an eligibility date of the date of that SIV’s, SI CPR’s, or Afghan SI/SQ Parolee’s “entry into the community,” which is the date the individual departed the Safe Haven**. See more information on the date of “entry into the community” below.  

For the Afghan Humanitarian Parolee (AHP) population, the date of eligibility is the later of October 1, 2021 or date of entry into the community. Again, “date of entry into the community” is the date the individual departed the Safe Haven. Therefore, if an AHP departed the Safe Haven prior to October 1, 2021 or bypassed the Safe Haven upon entry, use the eligibility date of October 1, 2021. If an AHP departed the Safe Haven after October 1, 2021, use the eligibility date from the travel documentation that they may have.

In verifying documentation for the date of eligibility, eligibility workers should follow these steps:

1. Contact the national resettlement agency for assurance and travel documentation.
2. Check the I-94 website: https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/#/home.
3. Check the CBP One Mobile App: see attached email titled “I-94 retrieval for Afghan arrivals”
4. Reach CBP online at [email protected] with required information: see attached email titled “Documentation updates for Afghan arrivals”
5. Contact the local CBP deferred inspection site: see attached email titled “Documentation updates for Afghan arrivals”
6. Seek evidence of travel from the Safe Haven (e.g., plane ticket, bus ticket, etc.)
7. Contact RPU at [email protected] with applicant biographic information (Name, DOB, passport number, A-number, etc.) to enable RPU to search the Hummingbird database for departure information.

If eligibility workers are unable to obtain sufficient documentation to establish an eligibility date after going through steps 1-7 above, eligibility workers may accept verbal/written attestations by the Afghan arrival in order to provide immediate services to the applicant. Case notes should be updated to reflect this occurrence, and appropriate documentation must be subsequently obtained within 60 days or as soon as available – whichever is sooner. 

** ORR encourages stakeholders to provide maximum benefits to individuals based on their “date of entry into the community.” That said, ORR recognizes that re-determining and updating eligibility dates for clients who have already been enrolled into ORR services and benefits may cause a significant burden for grantees, particularly those who have seen a high number of Afghan arrivals. As such, ORR will allow stakeholders to determine the best course of action for their particular circumstances.

I-94 retrieval for Afghan arrivals

We recently received guidance from our federal partners on how to retrieve I-94 documents for Afghan arrivals. Below is attached a Quick Reference Guide (QRG) in English, as well as step-by-step guides, in English, Dari, and Pashto, on how to print electronic Form I-94s.

If following the guides do not result in success when searching via biographic information, our federal partners have also offered two trouble-shooting methods:

Please let us know if this is helpful in generating documentation for the Afghan guests, and/or any other refugees that you may be serving. Your feedback is much appreciated.

Documentation updates for Afghan arrivals

Please see the below updated information with regard to Afghan Nationals and documentation.

EADs and SS Cards:  Currently IOM is working to send EAD cards.  They have greatly increased the number they are sending out per day.  Unfortunately, the arrival of social security cards will be delayed, although PRM is working hard on a solution. 

1. Afghan individuals who receive Special Immigrant (SI) Conditional Permanent Residence –The I-551 stamp they receive at arrival is valid for employment. Their SS Cards will be unrestricted.

2. Afghan individuals who receive SI/SQ Parole – their Form I-94’s will not be valid for employment, and their SS Cards will be restricted, so they will likely need to wait until they get an EAD to get a job.

3. Afghan humanitarian parolees who are admitted to the United States due to urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit— their Form I-94’s will not be valid for employment, and their SS Cards will be restricted, so they will likely need to wait until they get an EAD in order to get a job.

Form I-94: For Form I-94s, the code of admission for Afghans receiving humanitarian parole is OAR or OAW and parole is valid for two years.  CBP has transitioned to electronic/ digital processing rather than providing physical “stamps” in passports or I-94 forms. If the Afghan national has a passport, the I-94 record should be retrievable on CBP’s public facing website by entering the person’s complete name and passport number.  If the Afghan national does not have a passport, the I-94 may be obtained by entering the person’s complete name and using the person’s A# or wristband number in the passport number field. For A#s this sometimes requires adding the letter ‘A’ at the beginning of the line of numbers. Under normal circumstances, the I-94 record should be available immediately after the traveler is processed by CBP at the POE.  Instructions on accessing and printing I-94s can be found here: https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94.

Alternatively, the Afghan national may elect to retrieve a copy of their I-94 through the CBP One Mobile App. Step-by-step instructions are attached.

Resettlement agencies may reach out to CBP when having difficulty finding refugee/Afghan parolee I-94s online at [email protected].  The information on the spreadsheet screenshot below is the minimum needed for CBP to conduct checks and find the correct information on the subject.  Additional information such as passport numbers or wristband numbers may also be helpful in certain circumstances.  In the event CBP is unable to find any I-94 information on the subject, they will inform you and recommend that the subject reach out to USCIS or a local CBP Deferred Inspection site.

Medical Documents: The vast majority of Afghans who are assured to a resettlement affiliate and arrive via IOM-booked travel will have their SF-600/I-693 medical documents included in their IOM travel bag.  However, when Afghans independently depart from the bases, they often leave without the paperwork.  In addition, there are many partners involved with the medical processing at the bases and the DOD contractors differ from base to base.  CDC is working hard to fill in the gaps when they are identified.  CDC is also implementing a process whereby data entry of medical forms will be completed at the bases into a CDC portal which will then transmit medical information to the SRHCs.

Should you have questions or concerns about documentation or eligibility, or if you are seeing trends in your area, please reach out to the Refugee Policy Unit at [email protected].