The Immigration and Naturalization Service has issued the new Form I-881, Application for Suspension of Deportation or Special Rule Cancellation of Removal, to be used by individuals eligible for this relief under the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act of 1997 (NACARA).  The form is to be used by individuals applying under the interim regulations that are effective as of June 21, 1999 (see "Interim NACARA Regulations Make It Easier for El Salvadorans, Guatemalans, and Others to Legalize," Immigrants’ Rights Update, May 28, 1999, p. 1).  The form has been significantly revised from the proposed form that was first released last year.  Most notably, the new form incorporates the presumption of hardship (established by the interim rule) for members of the American Baptist Churches v. Thornburgh class and eliminates the proposed form’s question regarding the use of public benefits.

The new form is eight pages long and has an additional six pages of instructions.   It includes one page of yes-or-no questions about hardship to the applicant or his or her family members.  The form does not provide space for explanations of the answers to these questions, but applicants must submit explanations of their answers by attaching additional pages to the form.  Individuals who qualify for the presumption of extreme hardship (essentially, Salvadorans and Guatemalans who qualify for NACARA relief as principals rather than dependents) do not need to document their responses to these questions, but still must attach explanations of their answers.  Other applicants must attach explanations and supporting documentation.

The proposed form released last year included a question about any past use of public or private benefits by the applicant or family members.  In the supplemental information for the interim rule, the INS explained that this question would be removed from the new I-881 form because of the danger that it would deter immigrants from obtaining benefits for themselves or family members to which they are lawfully entitled.   The new form can be downloaded from the INS’s web site at www.ins.usdoj.gov.

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