Today, on February 24, 2015, USCIS announced that effective May 26, 2015 it will extend eligibility for employment authorization to certain H-4 dependent spouses of H-1B nonimmigrants to allow them to accept employment in the U.S. Finalizing the H-4 work authorization was an important step toward implementation of the President’s…
By Ekaterina Powell, Esq. As you may already know from reading our prior posts, on February 16, 2015, the Texas federal district court issued a preliminary injunction to stop expanded DACA (expanded guidance concerning deferred action for certain individuals who came to the United States as children) and DAPA (deferred…
Earlier this year, California DMV has started issuing AB 60 driver licenses, which are available to California residents regardless of their immigration status. This change became effective on January 1st, 2015. AB 60 driver’s license can be used for personal identification and gives the right to legally drive in California…
On Monday February 16, 2015 Judge Andrew Hanen of the U.S. District Court in Brownsville, Texas issued a preliminary injunction temporarily preventing President Obama’s executive actions on immigration (expanded deferred action) from going forward. The injunction does not make Obama’s executive actions illegal, however it does prevent the Obama administration…
What is DAPA? DAPA allows eligible applicants, who do not have a criminal history, and who do not otherwise pose a threat to national security, to request deferred action having met certain conditions for a period of up to three years. DAPA allows parents of US Citizen or lawful permanent…
USCIS has recently announced that applications for expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) will begin to be accepted starting February 18, 2015. Applications will not be accepted before this date. President Obama has expanded the population eligible for DACA to unlawful individuals who entered the country before the age…
This week the White House announced that President Obama’s executive action on immigration could stimulate California’s economy as much as $27.5 billion. According to White House advisor Cecilia Muñoz, the executive action could potentially increase wages and productivity in one of the country’s largest economies. The White House Council of…
By Marie Puertollano, Esq. Our firm has started to work on H1B visa applications for our clients. We want to be sure none of our clients miss the April 1st deadline. April 1 is the date when H-1B can be filed at the earliest. Only 65,000 visas are available for…
What is President Obama’s Executive Action? It is not a path to permanent residency. It is not a permanent solution. It is not an option for felons, undocumented individuals with criminal histories, inadmissibility issues, and recent border crossers. In fact, recent border crossers will be made a priority for deportation…
Today, January 14, 2015 the Republican-led House of Representatives made their first step toward attempting to dismantle major provisions of Obama’s executive order, an order which will make millions of undocumented immigrant’s eligible for employment authorization and will prioritize deportations based on criminal history. For those who believe all Republicans…