Good News from the United States

"I come from a country that no longer exists," Ambartsoumian-Clough explained to OBMICA. She is one of 218,000 stateless people living in the United States, according to official DHS figures. In August, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security stated that it would clarify what statelessness means for immigration purposes. Ambartsoumian-Clough said, "It is an important step forward in terms of recognizing people like us in the country."

The DHS guidelines, released through USCIS, provide a clear definition of statelessness and create a process to determine statelessness, offering both fairness and much-needed clarity. The new guidance will establish procedures for USCIS officers, including updating training materials on statelessness, developing more robust training procedures for officers, and creating standardized operating procedures so officers can request internal consideration of potential statelessness where it may be relevant to an individual's application or request for assistance. It will also provide examples of documentation when assessing a person's claim regarding statelessness. This means USCIS will take statelessness into account as a factor in discretionary decisions on immigration administrative relief, including parole in place, helping ensure fair and consistent treatment for stateless individuals within the immigration system. We congratulate United Stateless on its policy advocacy and wish it success in following up on these preliminary advances.

Karina Ambartsoumian-Clough is a stateless person living in the United States and leads United Stateless, an NGO seeking to eradicate statelessness.