Taxes for Afghan Parolees - Frequently Asked Questions
Please see this Frequently Asked Questions document related to filing 2021 taxes for Afghans that arrived through the APA program. Most APA arrivals are unlikely to qualify for retroactive COVID-19 stimulus payments or the Child Tax Credit money. In the event that an arrival has filed their taxes already and has received these payments in error, they should amend the tax return. To amend their return individuals can go to the place that helped them file their taxes and request an amendment. They will provide instructions on what to do with any funds that were received.
TPS Designation for Afghanistan
On March 16, it was announced that the Secretary of Homeland Security would be designating Afghanistan for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for an initial period of 18 months. This grants nationals of Afghanistan within the U.S. protection from removal, regardless of how they entered the country and makes them eligible for work authorization. Persons can apply for this protection only once the Federal Register notice is published and if they meet the eligibility criteria provided therein—namely, that they were physically residing in the United States as of March 15, 2022. Technically, this would also mean APA clients residing in the U.S. as of March 15 are eligible for this TPS protection, though it will not provide them additional protection during the initial 18-month period, since they are already protected from removal and have work authorization as a result of their parole, and most of the paroles have their parole until around August 2023. When this current TPS designation is near expiration, the Secretary of DHS will determine if an extension of the designation is necessary, up to an additional 18 months. Assuming an Afghan Adjustment Act is not passed by then and an APA client did not get their parole extended or adjust status through some other means (such as a special immigrant petition), they will then benefit from this potential redesignation of TPS. Otherwise, this designation is mostly for those who are liable to “fall through the cracks” because they entered the country before the fall of Kabul and separately from the Operation Allies Welcome (OAW) process, unlawfully or otherwise. There do remain outstanding questions regarding whether someone granted TPS protection under this designation will have their APA benefits interrupted, as TPS holders are generally not eligible for many public benefits or ORR-funded services. For this reason and the lack of advantages provided by TPS versus their current parole, it would be advisable for APA clients with a parole period equal to or great than that of the TPS designation to refrain from applying for TPS.
APA Cooperative Agreement
The updated APA Cooperative Agreement Amendment M003 is available on MRSConnect. Revised award letters were sent to affiliate offices Friday, March 18th. Please ensure award documents are provided to pertinent finance staff within your organization.
Reminder: Afghan Legal Coordination Survey Reminder
For questions regarding the survey, please feel free to contact Megan Meagher, Afghan Legal Coordination Program Manager at MRSConsult_MMeagher@usccb.org.
Reminder: APA Documentation – SS Appointments, Missing EADs and SS Cards
- Keep Checking "APA Needs to Go to Local SS Office" - OneDrive Excel Document USCCB will be updating these folders on a weekly basis. IOM typically sends updated lists of APA clients who need to go to their local Social Security office on Thursday/Friday - so USCCB recommends that you check this spreadsheet every Monday.
- Keep Adding Missing EADs/SS Cards to OneDrive Excel Doc (“Document for EADs – SS Cards Not Received”) USCCB is still waiting for further updates from IOM. Please continue to add the information for APA clients missing their EADs and SS cards.
-
New Guidance for Locating/Correcting I-94s for APA Clients CBP has issued new requirements for the information needed to locate/correct I-94s for APA clients – please review the updated APA Documentation Guidance and Next Steps on MRSConnect. Contact APA_Documentation@usccb.org to find or correct the I-94 for an APA client.
Reminder: Monthly ORR/PRM Housing Survey due Friday, April 8 + USCCB Office Hours for Housing Survey Qs
If you have resettled APA clients, please complete the April tab of your “APA Monthly Housing Survey” in OneDrive by COB Friday, April 8. If your team has questions about how to complete the APA monthly housing survey, please send questions to sevans@usccb.org or attend one of USCCB’s two “office hours” sessions, where USCCB staff will explain how to complete the housing survey. You do not need to RSVP to the office hours – simply use the links below. We will cover the same information in each session, so you only need to attend one.
USCCB/MRS Staff Office Hours – How to Complete the Monthly APA Housing Survey
