OMG!! CR-1 No Longer Allowed to Work at Airport!

[KayaEel 5]

Hello fellow VJ'ers. My husband is a Permanent Resident (CR-1), and we timely filed our petition to remove conditions (I-751). Due to going through the VSC, we understand that we will have approx. 9-months to wait for approval of his 10-year green card (less than two months to go now). In the meantime, the DHS provided us the official extension letter (I-797 Notice of Action) to 'extend' his 2-year Permanent Resident green card for one year.

My husband acquired a job as a Wheelchair attendant at an airport. His employer is a service company at the airport, and to complete the job, my hubby needed a Secure Identification Display Area (SIDA) badge to assist and escort passengers. SIDA badges allow individuals to enter secure areas within an airport, and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) requires US airports to screen individuals for security threats before issuing SIDA badges. My husband met all of the TSA requirements for the badging process, including a detailed background check, fingerprinting,criminal history, and passing a security knowledge test after taking a SIDA course. So, he was issued a SIDA badge and was able to start working, but only for a few months due to the badge's short-term expiration date.

Typically, SIDA badges are issued for one year periods. Representatives at the Airport badge ID office stated that a short-term approval was issued, as a courtesy, until my husband's new Permanent Resident "green" card arrived, which they stated, typically "takes six months". They went on to explain that this is their policy for permanent residents who are in the process of renewing a green card, because the extension letter is not acceptable for employment authorization. When we asked for a list of documents that is acceptable for TSA purposes, we were given a copy of the Form I-9 and its instructions.

My husband had already provided his Honduran passport, his expired I-551 green card with the extension letter, an original "unrestricted" Social Security card, and his Texas driver's license. We followed up with polite and professional correspondence explaining that the "unrestricted" Social Security card and the extension letter are both "List C" documents for the Form I-9 that supports employment eligibility, and we also provided an original copy of the Handbook for Employers – Instructions for Completing Form I-9 (M-274) published by the USCIS. My husband's employer agreed that he had provided all of the necessary documentation and also went to the badge ID office to plead his case. In a response, the representative at the badge ID office stated that he would renew the SIDA badge as soon as my husband was able to provide his new green card or some other List A document.

So, we went to the Local USCIS office to request an I-551 stamp in his Honduran passport. Since we had the extension letter, the Local USCIS office refused to give us the stamp, and told us to get the request from the Airport badge ID office in writing. We got it in writing, made another appointment at the Local USCIS, and requested the I-551 stamp again. They again refused, stating that we had everything that we needed to prove my husband's right to work in the US, which we already knew.

So, since the SIDA badge expired, my husband is no longer allowed to work. Therefore, we escalated our correspondence by going up the chain of command at the airport. We even suggested that they check with any of the Customs & Border Patrol (CBP) agents at the airport who could validate that the extension letter issued by DHS was legitimate or that they use e-Verify to confirm my husband's employment eligibility. This additional correspondence was not received well, and they threatened that if our correspondence did not stop, that my husband would never receive renewal of his SIDA badge.

We called the Civil Rights Division of the US Dept. of Justice, and after saying " ", they suggested that we file a claim so that an official investigation

could occur because they are keeping him from working. The options that we are currently considering include hiring an attorney, filing a claim with the Dept. of Justice Civil Rights Division, calling news stations, writing Congressmen, etc. However, my husband liked his job, and really wants to return to work. Does anyone have a similar experience, or any ideas on what to do?

Edited February 25, 2013 by KayaEel

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

Have you tried an expedaite of the 10 year card under that class of severe financial loss ?

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Inappropriate comment has been removed. If you cannot contribute something positive to the discussion, then please do not participate at all.

Moderator's hat off . .

I would contact your Senator or Congressman's office, explain the situation, and ask them if they would contact USCIS to explain that the letter is not being accepted even though it is valid, and to consider giving the I-551 stamp in the passport - as it is basically the same thing. You are being caught up in the bureaucracy and the Senator/Congressman is likely to have better success with USCIS rather than ruffling the feathers of the employer who refuses to co-operate and possibly putting your husband's job at risk. At the very least, see if the USCIS director - on official letter head - can send a letter to your husband's employer verifying that the letter IS valid for employment purposes.

You could even have your Senator offer to have you return the letter to USCIS if they don't want you to have more than one 'proof' of the I-551 in hand . Good luck.

Edited February 25, 2013 by Kathryn41

[hmh33 117]

As usual this is a case of TSA not having a clue. The extension letter is all they are allowed to require. They have a culture of being unwilling to admit when they're wrong. Legal action or intervention by your senator or congressman might help. Under the Equal Opportunity act, your husband has a right to work without discrimination due to his permanent resident status. Good luck, you'll need it.

[KayaEel 5]

Have you tried an expedaite of the 10 year card under that class of severe financial loss ?

Thanks for the suggestion. Filing under severe financial hardship is not really an option for us. My husband's job did not pay that much, and I am the USC and the I-864 financial supporter for my husband and stepson. This is really more of a personal hardship, because my husband wants to work soooo bad, and immigrants already have so many barriers to employment. This has really hurt his self-esteem.

[milimelo 4,544]

Is there a reason why he couldn't just provide his driver's license and SSN? That fully covers you as long as the driver's license is valid, no need to provide a green card. And employer can't pick which evidence you're allowed to work YOU provide.

I never provided my GC for employment purposes - DL and SSN was perfectly ok. I just updated them upon getting my citizenship and they re-did my e-Verify - again, SSN and DL only.

[hmh33 117]

milimelo, that's a very good point and a great reason for adjustment of status applicants to apply for a new SS card (without the "DHS authorization required" notation) after becoming LPRs.

[X Factor 1,112]

Is there a reason why he couldn't just provide his driver's license and SSN? That fully covers you as long as the driver's license is valid, no need to provide a green card. And employer can't pick which evidence you're allowed to work YOU provide.

I never provided my GC for employment purposes - DL and SSN was perfectly ok. I just updated them upon getting my citizenship and they re-did my e-Verify - again, SSN and DL only.

[KayaEel 5]

Is there a reason why he couldn't just provide his driver's license and SSN? That fully covers you as long as the driver's license is valid, no need to provide a green card. And employer can't pick which evidence you're allowed to work YOU provide.

I never provided my GC for employment purposes - DL and SSN was perfectly ok. I just updated them upon getting my citizenship and they re-did my e-Verify - again, SSN and DL only.

Yes, my husband did provide his Texas Driver's license and "unrestricted" Social Security card, and we agree that this should have been enough. Still, the SIDA badge ID office insisted on seeing his Permanent Resident "green" card with a future expiration date.

When employers and other companies affecting the employment of work authorized individuals require more documentation than is necessary, or different documentation, such as specifically requiring to see a "green" card, this is against the law and is known as "Document Abuse". When they threatened to never issue his badge ID for asserting his rights, this was "Retaliation or Intimidation", and this is where the US Department of Justice (DOJ) will get involved.

The Office of Special Counsel forImmigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) enforces the anti-discrimination provision (§ 274B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), 8 U.S.C. § 1324b. This federal law prohibits: 1) citizenshipstatus discrimination in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee, 2) national origin discrimination in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee, 3) document abuse (unfair documentary practices during the employment eligibility verification, Form I-9, process, and 4) retaliation or intimidation.

Here is a bit more from the DOJ about unfair documentary practices related to verifying the employment eligibility of employees. Employers may not request more or different documents than are required to verify employment eligibility, reject reasonably genuine-looking documents, or specify certain documents over others with the purpose or intent of discriminating on the basis of citizenship status or national origin. U.S. citizens and all work authorized individuals are protected from document abuse.

If immigrants who are authorized to work in the US think that they may have been discriminated against on the basis of citizenship status or national origin, they can file a 2-1/2 page charge form with the US DOJ within 180 days of the alleged incident. Forms are available is several languages, and can be found online at http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc/htm/charge.php. There is no fee for filing this form. Upon receipt of a charge of discrimination, OSC investigations typically take no longer than 7 months. Victims may obtainvarious types of relief, including job relief (returning to work) and back pay. More information about this, including other cases that have been settled,can be found on the DOJ website at http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc/ Their Worker Hotline phone number is 1-800-255-7688.

I hope that this information helps someone else. Thanks again for all of the comments and suggestions. Please keep them coming.

[KayaEel 5]

As usual this is a case of TSA not having a clue. The extension letter is all they are allowed to require. They have a culture of being unwilling to admit when they're wrong. Legal action or intervention by your senator or congressman might help. Under the Equal Opportunity act, your husband has a right to work without discrimination due to his permanent resident status. Good luck, you'll need it.

HMH33, you are so right. This is simply a lack of education about the law, and people not wanting to admit when they are wrong. We will take all of the luck that we can get.