President Obama Archives - Rose Immigration Law Firm, PLC

Update on Executive Action

designbytracy — Wed, 02 Dec 2015 10:14:14 +0000

On November 9, 2015, the Fifth Circuit upheld a lower Texas federal court’s injunction against two new executive actions introduced by President Obama last year to better align removals (deportations) with current enforcement priorities. The Deferred Action for Parental Accountability initiative (DAPA) would defer removal and enable undocumented parents of U.S. citizen children to obtain employment authorization, social security numbers, and driver’s licenses. Currently it is not possible for most undocumented parents of U.S. citizen children to obtain these benefits.

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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New Expanded DACA and DAPA Initiatives Put on Hold

designbytracy — Mon, 23 Feb 2015 08:59:46 +0000

On November 20, 2014, President Obama announced new administrative initiatives to defer removal for people who entered without documentation under two circumstances: 1) They entered prior to the age of sixteen and could show continuous physical presence since January 1, 2010 (an expansion of the prior deferred action for childhood arrivals (“DACA”) program already in existence); 2) They can show continuous physical presence since January 1, 2010 and parentage of a United States citizen or permanent resident child (also known as deferred action for parental accountability – “DAPA”). These deferrals would not apply to persons with certain criminal convictions nor to those otherwise considered a high enforcement priority for removal from the United States, nor would they provide legal status. These individuals would be able to legally work in the United States, obtain social security numbers and driver’s licenses. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) was to begin accepting applications for expanded deferred action for childhood arrivals on February 18, 2015. It was to begin accepting applications for DAPA on May 19, 2015.

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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Progress Report: President Obama’s Executive Action Plan

designbytracy — Mon, 12 Jan 2015 17:40:07 +0000

Although there is pending litigation to put a halt to President Obama’s plan to amend the immigration system through executive action, the plan has made progress over the last two months.

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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