Author：David Enterline（Senior Legal Consultant to HW Wealth Succession Family Office / American Immigration Lawyer）

On August 5, 2021, President Biden issued the “Deferred Enforcement Departure for Certain Residents of Hong Kong” memorandum (the “Memorandum”), directing the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) to take appropriate measures to defer for 18 months the removal of Hong Kong residents presently in the United States. Hong Kong residents in the United States whose removal has been deferred will also be able to request employment authorization through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”). The Memorandum further directs Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas to consider suspending regulatory requirements with respect to F-1 nonimmigrant students who are Hong Kong residents. We must wait to see how USCIS will implement such measures.

According to DHS Secretary Mayorkas, “This decision to offer safety and protection to these individuals was made based on the ongoing assault on democracy, and rights and freedoms in Hong Kong by the People’s Republic of China (PRC)… The United States stands with the people of Hong Kong in support of rights and freedoms.”

The measures will apply to any Hong Kong resident who is present in the United States on the date of the Memorandum except for those:

• who have voluntarily returned to Hong Kong or the PRC after the date of the Memorandum;
• who have not continuously resided in the U.S. since the date of the Memorandum; ...