Special to WSN
STOCKTON: The World Sikh News carried two reports on the Replenishment Agricultural Workers Program (RAW), These have attracted many enquires Attomey Mohinder Singh of Oakland had provided details of the program for our readers benefit.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Under Section 210A of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) as amended in 1986, alien farm workers may be granted temporary resident status fit is determined that there is a shortage of workers in the United States needed to perform seasonal agricultural services. These replenishment agricultural workers (RAWs) may legally ‘accept any employment and may travel (including commutation from a residence abroad) but are required to perform 90 ‘work days of seasonal agricultural services in each of the three years following the granting of temporary resident status. Upon completion of all the required work, RAWs will be adjusted to permanent resident status, but if they fail to complete the required work in any year they are subject to deportation.
To become a RAW, you must:
* Be at least 18 years of age or older:
* Haye performed at least 20 man days of employment in agricultural work in the United States during any 12 consecutive months during the period between May 1, 1985 and November 30, 1988.
* Beadmissible to the United Statesasan immigrant or if inadmissible, must have had the grounds of excludability waived in accordance with section 210 A (b) (2) of the INA; and
* Certify that you are able and intend to perform the required seasonal agricultural services,
If you entered the United States illegally. after November 30, 1988, you are not eligible for RAW status,
By completing, signing and mailing the attached Form I807, you are claiming eligibility and asking to be included on a list of persons (registrants) who wish to become RAWs. If there is a shortage of workers, a number of registrants equal to the number of RAWs needed who are 18 years of age or older will be selected at random and invited to petition for temporary resident status. If you are otherwise eligible and are the spouse or unmarried son or daughter of an alien who has filed an application under IRCA you should complete Items 13 and 14 on Form I807 to request family preference in the selection process. An alien who is not yet eighteen (18) years of age but who will become 18 during the period October 1, 1989 through October 1, 1992 may register for RAW status.
A fee of $10.00 must be submitted in the form of a bank check, cashier’s check or money order made payable to the Immigration and Naturalization Service with your registration form in the envelope provided. Do not send a personal check or currency. Fees will not be refunded under any circumstances.
The Service is providing a toll free number 18007777700 so that you may inquire about your status once you have mailed the registration card. Retain the card stub which bears the same number as the card. This is your registration number and you must provide the number whenever making a status inquiry during the registration and petitioning process, this is ‘to an alien registration number or an A umber.
If there is a shortage of workers and you are selected, an invitation to petition for RAW status containing the necessary information and forms will be mailed to the address you provide on Form I807. If you ‘move, it is important that you arrange for this material to be forwarded to your new address, use a Form 1697 to notify the INS of the change or you may call the INS toll free number, 18007777700, and you will be instructed on how to leave your change of address on a recording. Your registration number will be required to make written or oral changes of address, Upon receipt of a complete petition by INS you will be scheduled for an interview during which you must prove your eligibility to any claims made on your registration card.
No information which you provide on Form I807 during this registration process will be used to deport you from the United States unless this information is false or deliberately misleading, You are not entitled to employment authorization or a stay of deportation or exclusion from the filing of the Form I807 or placement on a registration list.
REGISTRATION FORMI807 INSTRUCTIONS
Type or print each answer legibly in black ink in the English language using block capital letters only.
You are responsible for the accuracy of answers to questions on this registration card and you must sign the card in ink.
Only one registration card will be accepted per registrant. If you obtain more than one registration card, mail only one card to register. You must use only the card accompanying these instructions. The registration card must be mailed with the fee in the envelope provided in this booklet. No other form of registration will be accepted. All registration forms must be submitted by regular domestic or international surface or airmail. Registration forms requiring written acknowledgement of receipt will not be considered. Do not duplicate the registration card for any other person to mail to the service.
The Service must receive only the original of each registration card. If your envelope is damaged or lost, mail the fee and registration card in 9” by 4” business envelope to the address shown on the reverse of the registration card.
Authority For Collecting This Information: The authority to prescribe this form is contained in the Immigration Reform And Control Act of 1986 (IRCA), Section 210A of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA), Section 210A of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended. This form is to collect information on workers who claim qualifying employment in agricultural services and establish eligibility for RAW status. Aliens completing the form may be invited to petition for temporary resident status,
Reporting Burden: Public Reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 30 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information, Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspects of this collection of information including suggestions for reducing this burden to: U.S, Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service (Room 2011), Washington DC 20536 and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project: OMB No. 11150159 Washington DC 20503,
DEFINITIONS
- “Application under IRCA” means an application filed by any alien with the Immigration and Naturalization Service under sections 245 a (Legalization) and 210 (SAWs) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and session 202 (Cuban/Haitian adjusters) of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA).
Il. “Agricultural employment” includes any employment:
(1) On a farm in connection with cultivating the soil, or in connection with raising or harvesting any agricultural or horticultural commodity, including the raising, shearing, feeding, caring for, training, and management of livestock, bees, poultry, and furbearing animals and wildlife
(2) By a farm operator in connection with operating or maintaining the farm and its tools and equipment, or with salvaging timber or clearing land of brush and other debris left by a hurricane, if the major part of such service is performed on a farm;
(3)In connection with the production of harvest of any agricultural commodity or in connection with the operation or maintenance of ditches, canals, reservoirs, or waterways, not owned or operated for profit, used exclusively for supplying and storing water for farming purposes,
(4) By the operator(s) of a farm in handling, planting, drying, packaging, processing, freezing, grading, storing or delivering to storage or to market or to a carrier for transportation to market, in its unmanufactured state, any agricultural or horticultural commodity but does not include service performed in connection with commercial canning or commercial freezing or in connection with any agricultural or horticultural commodity after its delivery to a terminal market for distribution for consumption or service in a private home of the employer.
“Farm” includes stock, dairy, poultry, fruit, furbearing animals and truck farms, plantations, ranches, nurseries, ranges, greenhouse’s, or other similar structures used primarily for the raising of agricultural or horticultural commodities and orchards.
“Agriculture” includes farming in all its branches and among other things includes the cultivation and tillage of the soil, dairying the production cultivation, growing and harvesting of any agricultural or horticultural commodities (including commodities as defined as agricultural commodities in section 1141 (g) of Title (12) the raising of livestock, bees, furbearing animals or poultry and any practices (including forestry or lumbering operations) performed by a farmer or on a farm as an incident to or in conjunction with such farming operations, including preparation for market, delivery to storage or to market or to carriers for transportation to market. (20 CFR 655. 00(c) (1) as defined.)
III. “Seasonal agricultural services” means performing field work related to planting, cultural practices, cultivating, growing and harvesting of fruits and vegetables of every kind and other perishable commodities as defined in 7 CFR Part Id.
“Field work” means any employment performed on agricultural lands for the purpose of planting, cultural practices, cultivating, growing, harvesting, drying, processing, or packing any fruits, vegetables, or ‘other perishable commodities. These activities have to be performed on agricultural land in order to produce fruits, vegetables, and other perishable commodities, as opposed to those activities that occur in a processing plant or packinghouse not on agricultural lands, Thus, the drying, processing, or packing of fruits, vegetables and other perishable commodities within the field and “on the field” loading of transportation Vehicles are included. Operations using a machine, such as a picker or a tractor, 10 perform these activities on agricultural lands are included. Supervising any of these activities shall be considered performing the activities,
“Agricultural lands” means any land, cave, or structure such as a greenhouse, ‘except packinghouses or canneries used for the purpose of performing field work.
Fruits and vegetables of every kind and other perishable commodities INCLUDE the following: All fruits and vegetables, including (but not limited to) berries, melons, tree fruits and nuts, table vegetables; also com and small grains, cotton, lettuce seed but no other seed crops), soybeans, other perishable commodities are limited to Christmas trees, cut flowers, herbs, hops, horticultural specialties (field grown; conlinerized and greenhouse produced*nursery crops), Spanish reeds (arundo donax), spices, sugar beets and tobacco. Instructions For Completing Items 114 on Form 1807 * Print clearly in capital (up per case) letters
* Use a ball point pen with black ink
* Stay within boxes
* If a mistake is made or the form is illegible, replace the card with a new card.
Item 1. Enter your complete first name.
Item 2. Enter your complete middle name.
Item 3. Enter your complete family name (last name(s)) Item 4. Enter your complete street address, route, apartment number.
Item 5. Enter complete city or town of residence
Item 6. Enter complete province or state of residence. Item 7. Enter complete country of residence
Item 8. Enter the postal code (Zip code) for your residence.
{tem 9. Enter your date of birth in order of Month Day/year using two digits for each. Example: May 20, 1950 052050.
Item 10. Enter complete country of birth
Item 11. Enter any prior Alien Registration number which has been assigned to you by INS.
Example: AXXXXKXAA On items 1213 only fill
in one block per item: (Example)YESNO
Item 12. Fill in the “YES” block if you are presently residing in the United States. Fill in the “NO” block if your are living outside the United States. Only fill in one block.
Item 13. Fill in the “YES” block if you are claiming family preference as the qualified spouse or unmarried son or daughter (18 years of age or older) of an alien who filed an application under IRCA.
Fill in the “NO” block if you are unable to document your relationship or you are not claiming family preference based on relationship to an applicant under IRCA (see definition “application under IRCA”)
Item 14. Enter the Alien Registration number of the legalized relative if you are claiming family preference as the qualified spouse or unmarried son or daughter of an alien who filed an application under IRCA (see definition “application under IRCA”).
Article extracted from this publication >> September 15, 1989
