Immigration and Firm News

President Obama announced tonight in very broad terms that he would expand "deferred action" to millions of undocumented immigrants beyond the DACA program of 2012 (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals). The new program, to begin in 2015, will benefit the following groups of people who choose to step forward out of the shadows for a less than perfect immigration status. Deferred action is NOT a green card/permanent residence, a visa, citizenship, amnesty nor legalization. It just defers or … [Read more...]

President Obama is scheduled to announce his plan for Executive Action on immigration tonight at 5pm PST. Most of the networks will NOT be carrying his speech. However, CNN, MSNBC, Telemundo and Univision among others will, although this could change later today. If you miss it, the White House will have a recording here. Most of the controversy between the Democrats and Republicans is over what to do with the millions of people living in the US without legal papers. However, Executive Action … [Read more...]

On March 13, 2014, President Obama called for a review of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) enforcement practices. However, this week he announced that he would delay this effort until summer's end if Congress does not pass legislation in the remaining few legislative sessions before then. Hoping to extend an olive branch to the more restrictionist GOP House members, the President is hoping to give them a window of opportunity to take up immigration reform legislation in the coming … [Read more...]

USCIS has released some preliminary guidance about the first batch of DACA recipients approaching the end of their first two years who received DACA from ICE (Immigration Customs and Enforcement) between June 15, 2012 and August 15, 2012 because they had cases in removal proceedings or were detained initially. These individuals must file for an initial DACA application within 120 days of their status expiring. They must apply as if for the first time, providing proof that they meet all of the … [Read more...]

On February 6, 2014, USCIS posted it's latest statistics about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (or DACA) program. This program was created by President Obama in his administrative discretion not to deport certain young people who came to the US before they were 16. DACA applicants for the most part would have benefited from the DREAM Act if Congress had ever enacted it into law, which it never did. As of December 31, 2013, USCIS has received 611,000 applications since DACA started … [Read more...]

On January 18, 2013, USCIS updated its FAQs on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. USCIS also released updated data on receipts, rejections, approvals and more. To date, it has received 407,899 applications, accepting 394,533 of those and rejecting about 13,000 applications (i.e., not properly filed). It has approved 154,000 and has 371,000 under review. USCIS has not reported on denials. … [Read more...]

I mentioned in my October 18, 2012 pre-election post, Should You Apply for DACA? An Update, that it seemed potential applicants for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) were holding off filing applications after Governor Romney's statement that he would not honor DACA applications filed after his inauguration if he was elected. As of November 15, 2012, USCIS has received over 308,000 applications.There was a slight uptick in filings in October compared to September. Of the 308,000 … [Read more...]

As of October 10, 179,000 people applied for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) of the estimated 1.7 million people eligible. It's hard to know how many of the applicants hired lawyers to help with their applications. We do know that many did it themselves. If you are "easily eligible," do you need a lawyer at all? When or why would it be useful to have a lawyer help with a DACA application? Let's say you have done the online wizard at www.weownthedream.org or you have gone to a DACA … [Read more...]

A lot has been written about President Obama's courageous Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, including the requirements, what kind of evidence is needed, and how to apply. There is a ton of "how to" information on the Internet from the implementing agencies, as well as from attorneys, nonprofit organizations and some not so well-meaning lawyers and non-lawyers wanting to take on DACA clients. As of October 10, 2012, USCIS has received 179,000 DACA applications and has … [Read more...]

During the last month since President Obama announced the new Deferred Action program for Certain Young People, I have mulled over the commentary by media, politicians, and immigrant advocates. There is plenty of information out there about the eligibility requirements or how they should be interpreted, but little discussion about whether people should apply in the first place. is this program all it's hyped up to be and should people apply if qualified? After all, Deferred Action is not a visa, … [Read more...]