The other initiative would expand the number of immigrants eligible for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which offers the same benefits as DAPA. Only immigrants who entered the United States prior to the age of sixteen who meet educational, physical presence and residence requirements would qualify. An expert Massachusetts OUI lawyer says that neither measure would offer a path to citizenship or benefit those who were convicted of certain crimes. Both were designed to keep convicted criminals at the forefront of immigrants being removed while permitting those with strong citizen family ties and other sympathetic circumstances to remain for renewable, two-year time periods. Approximately four million people would be eligible to apply.

The Obama Administration appealed the Fifth Circuit’s decision to the U.S. Supreme Court on November 20, 2015. Please contact your attorney at Rose Immigration Law Firm, PLC if you have any questions regarding your eligibility for DAPA or DACA.

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On February 16, 2015, the court issued a preliminary injunction against DACA’s expansion and DAPA’s implementation after determining that the states are likely to succeed on their procedural APA claim. The opinion stated that Texas has standing to bring the lawsuit because DAPA and DACA’’s expansion will impose processing and issuance costs for the state when these individuals apply for driver’s licenses.

The government appealed the court’s decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which is proceeding on an expedited basis. The court will hear oral argument on July 10, 2015. The government also asked the Fifth Circuit to stay the injunction, or to stop the injunction from being in effect.  On May 26, 2015, the Fifth Circuit denied that stay motion in a 68-page opinion, stating that the federal government was unlikely to succeed in its appeal of the preliminary injunction.

As the litigation on this matter continues, the status of millions of immigrants hangs in the balance. Though the litigation does not affect those who already have DACA, those who would likely be able to apply though DACA’s expansion, in addition to those that could apply for DAPA, will have to await this case’s resolution.

Written by Danielle Drago, a law student at Vanderbilt University

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Unfortunately, an impasse has developed between the states, Congress and the Executive branch of government, and many states brought suit to declare the new programs to be unconstitutional. On February 16, 2014, a Texas federal district judge granted an injunction against implementation of the initiatives. As a result, USCIS announced it will not accept any applications for expanded DACA or for DAPA until all legal challenges are resolved. President Obama has expressed that he will appeal the court ruling and it is widely believed that his administration will prevail. For further information on the status of DACA and DAPA programs, please check http://www.uscis.gov/immigrationaction.

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• USCIS has published on its website the requirements for expanded DACA and for DAPA — the new policy for parent. Go to: www.uscis.gov/immigrationaction.  Interested applicants are urged to begin gathering documents establishing residence in the U.S.

• There is a proposed regulation to provide work authorization to H-4 spouses. Go to: https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2014/05/12/2014-10734/employment-authorization-for-certain-h-4-dependent-spouses. This regulation has been “on hold” for many months. But with the push for immigration improvement, all that needs to happen now is for USCIS to publish the final rule. We are watching this closely.

• PERM (Labor Certification) modernization is getting attention as well.  The Department of Labor is soliciting ideas from attorneys and employers on how to improve the labor certification process. DOL also has scheduled a stakeholders listening call to take place in late January, whereby DOL will engage in dialogue with stakeholders and listen to our suggestions for improvement.

• Bill H.R. 213 was introduced by Representative Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) to eliminate the per-country numerical limitation for employment-based immigrants and increase family preference visas. This bill has bipartisan support with Representative Zoe Lofgren and Representative Raul Labrador as original co-sponsors. What a fix to the immigration system this would provide. The immigrant visa backlog, including EB-3 India, would advance significantly.

These are just a few of the recent government actions to improve the immigration system. We will keep you updated. And by the way, we do not expect the pending litigation to be successful!

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