Visa Lawyer Blog

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Undocumented immigrants are taking their time filling out the paperwork for President Barack Obama’s deferred-action program that allows them to legally stay in the country because they have only one chance to get the application right.

The six-page application requires undocumented immigrants who want to stay and work in the U.S. for two years without fear of deportation to submit multiple documents proving they meet the program’s long list of requirements, among them that they are younger than 31 and came to this country before turning 16.

There is no chance to reapply. “It’s a one-shot thing, and you want to make sure you have everything needed,” said Phoenix resident Yadira Garcia, 23, an undocumented immigrant from Nogales, Sonora, and a member of the Arizona Dream Act Coalition.

Concern over the process was evident as hundreds of young undocumented immigrants interested in applying for the so-called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program turned up for each of the five sessions of No Dream Deferred, an informational forum held Saturday here.

Johnny Sinodis, an immigration lawyer with the Arizona chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, told attendees that his organization was willing to help them complete the application at no cost.

“We have the resources to provide them with free legal services. We don’t want them to go to ‘notarias,’ ” he said. “This is a very vulnerable group of people, and we don’t want them subjected to fraudulent giants.” Notarias are questionable businesses that sometimes take advantage of undocumented immigrants by providing bad legal advice and charging high prices for it.

For those working to fill out applications, the steps have been time-consuming. Gabriela Perez, 24, an undocumented immigrant from Zacatecas, Mexico, who graduated from Arizona State University in 2010, said it took her more than 70 hours to gather all of the documents she needed to meet the program’s requirements.

Among many documents being submitted in the petition include her birth certificate from Mexico, transcripts from all of the schools she attended beginning with elementary school and copies of all her school IDs.

Carmen Cornejo of the Arizona Dream Act Coalition said confusion over the application process has been compounded by the executive order that Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer issued Wednesday, the same day the federal government began accepting applications for the deferred-action program.

Brewer’s order instructed state agencies to initiate policies to make sure that undocumented immigrants granted deferred action and work permits through the program don’t receive any additional public benefits, including state-issued driver’s licenses.

Potential applicants for deferred action are worried that Brewer’s order would trump the application.

“Many students were ready on the 15th to just apply, but when she passed that, there was fear,” said Alfonso Vazquez, a Phoenix College student interning at the Christian nonprofit Neighborhood Ministries. “They’ve been asking if the whole thing (the program) is going to be abolished now.”

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This is very important notice to all of you international Students out there. Recent NAFSA alert announces that CBP will no longer stamp I-20s at ports of entry (POEs). USCIS is reported to be reaching out to other agencies, such as the DMV, to inform them of the change, since many agencies require the I-20 stamp prior to granting benefits.

On August 15, 2012, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) unofficially confirmed for NAFSA that:

“CBP is no longer stamping I-20s at POEs. Recognizing that some staff at certain benefit granting agencies (for example, motor vehicle agencies) look for a stamp on these documents before granting a benefit, USCIS is conducting extensive outreach to ensure that these agencies are aware of this change.”

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In the efforts to reduce its costs associated with issuing paper Form I-94, United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has announced plans to eliminate Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record.

As another reason for eliminating Form I-94, CBP has noted that it already has access to the data gathered on Form I-94. Aliens provide the information when submitting an application for a nonimmigrant visa at a U.S. consulate. In addition, information is provided to CBP through the Advance Passenger Information System (APIS). APIS is a web-based system used by commercial carriers and the private aviation community to electronically provide required information to CBP such as notices of arrival and/or departure and traveler manifests (crew and passenger).

Form I-94 plays a central role in documenting proper admission and maintenance of status and is used by a variety of entities ranging from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to state motor vehicle bureaus to verify aliens’ immigration status. It remains to be seen how these entities will be handling verification of lawful status without Form I-94.

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We are very happy to announce that today USCIS has posted Deferred Action Application Forms along with the instructions and further guidelines on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Now eligible individuals may apply for DACA and Employment Authorization by completing all the forms and submitting them along with supporting documentation to a USCIS Lockbox facility.

Filing Process:

Three forms will need to be submitted together to USCIS accompanied by a fee of $465:

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This great update for employer is Courtesy of AILA’s Verification & Documentation Liaison Committee. On August 13, 2012, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that employers should continue using the current version of the Form I-9 after the form’s expiration date of August 31, 2012.

The current version of the Form I-9 has the expiration date of August 31, 2012 printed in the upper right corner and the revision date of August 7, 2009 printed in the lower right corner. Employers should use the current version of Form I-9, but the USCIS instructions for the Form I-9 state that the agency also accepts the prior version of the Form I-9, which bears a revision date of February 2, 2009.

Previously, on March 27, 2012, USCIS published a proposed revision of the Form I-9 and accepted comments on the proposed form until May 29, 2012. The USCIS announcement instructing employers to continue to use the current form until further notice indicates that the agency will not publish a final revised Form I-9 before the expiration date of the current Form I-9.

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Online registration for the DV-2014 Program will begin on Tuesday, October 2, 2012 at 12:00 noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), and conclude on Saturday, November 3, 2012 at 12:00 noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4). Instructions for the DV 2014 Program are not yet available.

The entry registration period for DV-2013 has ended. The online registration period for the 2013 Diversity Visa Program (DV-2013) began at www.dvlottery.state.gov on Tuesday, October 4, 2011, at noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), and concluded on Saturday, November 5, 2011, at noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4). Entrants in the Diversity Visa 2013 program may check the status of their entries through the Entrant Status check on the E-DV website beginning on May 1, 2012.

As with many government programs, the diversity immigrant visa program is deceptively simple, and has numerous pitfalls. Rigid technical requirements disqualify many applicants. So-called lucky “winners” face the biggest challenge after they are notified they have been selected. According to Bernard Wolfsdorf, of the 100,021 registrants in the 2012 diversity lottery, slightly more than half were disappointed to discover they were unable to obtain a green card. Some are mortified when they are refused tourist or student visas because they expressed immigrant intent. The disappointment is certain to continue for tens-of-thousands recently announced 2013 lottery “winners”.

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Last week the Director of the USCIS announced that the USCIS will start accepting applications for Deferred Action and Employment Authorization from August 15.

Our office Lawyers were on a telephone conference with the USCIS last week, during which the process, requirements, fees and other important issues were clarified. This morning the USCIS release the following chart that outlines the process in a nutshell.

Remember there are no Appeals or Motions to Re Open in this process. If you make a mistake, you are done. It is important to do the research, obtain any records needed and consult an experienced lawyer before filing.

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AILA has provided this 8 point summary following DHS’ Announcement on Deferred Action:

1. In a change from the prior announcement, people currently in removal proceedings will use the USCIS process when it is implemented on August 15, 2012, rather than go through ICE. Only individuals in detention will go through ICE to make a deferred action request.

2. Information provided as part of the deferred action request process is protected from disclosure to ICE or CBP for purposes of removal proceedings unless the requestor meets the criteria of USCIS’ November 2011 NTA memo.

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On August 3, 2012, USCIS held a public engagement to discuss further updates on DACA and implementation process. While application process is not yet in effect, USCIS will start accepting applications on August 15, 2012. Interestingly, USCIS has not yet posted the actual form that will be used to apply for DACA. USCIS pointed out that the applicable form and instructions will be made available on August 15, 2012.

Deferred Action Requests will be mailed at the same time with Form I-765, Employment Authorization Application and with a fee of $465. In limited circumstances, you can qualify for a fee exemption.

USCIS has clarified the following important points concerning DACA process:

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Today, in Washington, the Department of Homeland Security provided additional information on the deferred action for childhood arrivals process during a national media call in preparation for the August 15 implementation date.

Back on June 15, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano announced that certain young people who came to the United States as children and meet other key guidelines may be eligible, on a case-by-case basis, to receive deferred action. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is finalizing a process by which potentially eligible individuals may request consideration of deferred action for childhood arrivals.

USCIS expects to make all forms, instructions, and additional information relevant to the deferred action for childhood arrivals process available on August 15, 2012. USCIS will then immediately begin accepting requests for consideration of deferred action for childhood arrivals.

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