Immigration Benefits: Eighth Report Required by the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998

The Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act (HRIFA) of 1998 authorized certain Haitian nationals and their dependents to apply to adjust their status to legal permanent residence. Section 902(k) of the act requires the Comptroller General to report every six months on the number of Haitian nationals who have applied and been approved to adjust their status to legal permanent residence. The reports are to contain a breakdown of the numbers who applied and the number who were approved as asylum applicants, parolees, children without parents, orphaned children, or abandoned children; or as the eligible dependents of these applicants, including spouses, children, and unmarried sons or daughters. As of September 30, 2002, the Immigration and Naturalization Service had received a total of 36,774 HRIFA applications and had approved 8,410 of these applications. The Executive Office for Immigration Review had 339 applications filed and had approved 117 of them.