Relatives Seeking Green Cards Won’t Have to Wait 3 or 10 Years

Outside of the U.S.

1st Success for Dreamers in 10 Years

This is a publication of the Law Offices of Mercedes S. Cano Vol. 2, Summer 2012

A New Day in Immigration

Pasaporte L E G A L N E W S

The federal agency for immigration and citizenship ser-

vices finished receiving comments for their new provision-

al waiver (I-601A) on June 1st, 2012. The agency is cur-

rently in the process of preparing a final law that will ex-

pedite the process for immigrant visas of children, parents,

or spouses of U.S. citizens who entered the country with-

out documents. They will no longer have to leave and stay

out of the U.S. for 3 or 10 years before applying for legal

permanent residence. The agency will have the law in ef-

fect expectedly by the end of this summer.

Continue p. 2

On June 15, president Obama issued an Executive Order to

stop deporting young immigrants living unlawfully in the

U.S. This new order will grant employment authorization

and deferred action to eligible young immigrants who:

entered the U.S. before the age of 16, are currently under

30, are not a threat to national security or public safety

and have demonstrated interest in their education or mili-

tary service. The application process will be in effect with-

in sixty days of the president’s order. It is extremely im-

portant that people who are eligible or think they are eligi-

ble to benefit from this order avoid scams, as USCIS is not

accepting applications yet.

Continue p. 3 Image: Foggy morning in Tochigi-Ken Lake in Japan ©Used with permission from Microsoft

Frequently Asked Questions Image provided by iStockphoto: Indian family ©Used with permission from Microsoft

RELATIVES SEEKING GREEN CARD WON’T HAVE TO WAIT THREE OR TEN YEARS

What is the process for filing an applica-tion for the provisional waiver (I-601 A)? The process to apply is still not finalized however it is proposed to be the follow-ing:

1. Must have an approved I-130 Peti-tion for Alien Relative, or I-360 Peti-tion for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant

2. Have to be currently pursuing an immigrant visa based on the peti-tions mentioned above and paid the registration fees

3. Application for waiver must show the US citizen relative will suffer ex-treme hardship if the undocumented relative is not here.

Does the waiver protect from deportation or grant legal status? NO.

Who is eligible for the provisional waiver?

1. Undocumented unmarried children under 21, parents, spouses, fiancés, and widows of U.S. citizens.

2. Must be 17 years of age or older 3. Be physically present in the United

States 4. Have only one ground of inadmissibil-

ity: entered without documents (3 or 10 year bar)

5. Have not received an interview date with DOS in consulate abroad

6. Have not previously filed an applica-tion for the existing waiver (I-601)

7. Have no pending application of adjust-ment of status

What about removal proceedings or Notic-es to Appear?

Applicants with past or present deportation orders must seek to reopen them to qualify.

What if the application is denied? Now that USCIS knows my status, will I be deported? The agency will follow their policy to issue a Notice to Appear before an immigration judge, especially if you have committed ma-jor crimes which could lead to removal pro-ceedings. This is why it is important that an immigra-tion lawyer reviews the relative’s eligibility and helps them build a strong application to increase the chances of approval. We have expertise in this kind of applica-tions. Contact us for a thorough evaluation of your case. Can I start applying now? Not yet. The new waiver process is still not in effect. The criteria and procedure details received their last public comments on June 1st and USCIS is currently reviewing these comments and suggestions to publish a final regulation by the end of this summer.

The provisional waiver, also known as the Family Unity Waiver, is a change to an existing process pro-posed by the Department of Homeland Security and United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. It aims to reduce the time that U.S. citizens and their unlawfully present relatives are apart during the application to obtain a green card. It will allow rela-tives to request a waiver for the 3 or 10 year bar that makes them inadmissible to the United States prior to departing for consular processing of their immi-grant visa applications.

Because this was an internal process change Con-gress approval will not be needed. We expect the final ruling to only take a few months. Meanwhile, you can start getting ready now by evaluating your eligibility with us.

THIS NEWSLETTER IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES. IT DOES NOT REPLACE LEGAL ADVICE. PLEASE SEEK LEGAL ADVICE FROM A QUALIFIED ATTORNEY.

P A S A P O R T E : L E G A L N E W S |2

Frequently Asked Questions

SUCCESS FOR THE DREAMERS

Who is eligible for this new law?

Currently undocumented individuals who:

1. came to the U.S. before the age of 16

2. Are not above the age of 30

3. Have resided in the U.S. for at least 5

years before June 15, 2012

4. Are currently in school; graduated high

school; obtained a GED; or are honora-

bly discharged veterans of the Coast

Guard or Armed Forces of the U.S.

5. Have a clean criminal record or no ma-

jor crimes (felony offense, significant

misdemeanor offense, multiple misde-

meanor offenses, or other threats to

the nation or public)

6. must be 15 years old or older to apply

What is deferred action and how to apply?

Deferred action is a decision made by USCIS

to postpone a deportation of an individual.

USCIS still hasn’t informed the public how

the application process will look like (if

there will be a specific form or simply a

package with corresponding cover letter). In

the meantime, individuals should gather the

following documents:

1. financial, medical, school, employment,

or military records under your name

that demonstrate you came before the

age of 16 and have been living in the

U.S. for 5 continuous years before June

15, 2012.

2. Diplomas, GED certificates, report

cards, and school transcripts to show

that you are currently in school, gradu-

ated high school or obtained a GED.

3. Report of separation forms, military-

personnel records, and military health

records if you are a veteran of the Coast

Guard or Armed Forces.

How to gain a work permit? After getting a

deferred action, you will be able to apply

for a work permit if you show economic

need for employment.

Can this law lead to a green card or citizen-

ship? No. This deferred action will only give

you a temporary legal status. A path to citi-

zenship can only be granted through legisla-

tion passed by Congress.

When is USCIS accepting applications? If

you are NOT in removal proceedings or are

subject to final order of removal you will

need to submit a request for deferred ac-

tion as soon as USCIS opens the application

period, we believe, in August or September.

If you are in removal proceedings, you will

need to submit a request for deferred ac-

tion to the corresponding agency (USCIS or

ICE) when they announce they are ac-

cepting requests.

If you are in removal proceedings and iden-

tified as eligible for the benefits of this law,

ICE will immediately start deferred action.

You can also call the following hotlines 1-

855-448-6903/ 1-888-351-4024 to start the

process for deferred action if you are about

to be removed and meet the eligibility crite-

ria.

In the meantime, obtain all the documents

required. Do not submit an application to

any agency until the process for requests is

officially open.

What if you are denied deferred action?

USCIS will follow their policy to issue a No-

tice to Appear, especially if you have com-

mitted major crimes which could result in

removal proceedings.

It is important for you to receive legal ad-

vice from qualified attorneys. Contact us

and we will give you a thorough evaluation

of your case and eligibility.

Cont. from page 1—Dreamers

In their efforts to focus on high priority deportation cases, the U.S. President and Homeland Security moved to ensure that resources are not spent on individuals who were brought to this country through no fault of their own as children and who have not been convicted of a felony offense or significant mis-demeanor offense, or multiple misdemeanor offenses. Although this new law resembles the long fought DREAM Act, it is not the same. The passage of the DREAM Act is still necessary to provide young unlawful immigrants the certainty of a legal status. In the meantime, this executive order will only provide a temporary deferred action (immunity to deportation) and work permit for two years, able to renew every two years. Neverthe-less, this is a success for the Dreamers who have been fighting for their rights since 2001.

Image: Female and bird in grunge design © Used with permission from Microsoft

THIS NEWSLETTER IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES. IT DOES NOT REPLACE LEGAL ADVICE. PLEASE SEEK LEGAL ADVICE FROM A QUALIFIED ATTORNEY.

P A S A P O R T E : L E G A L N E W S |3

Addressee

Law Office of Mercedes S. Cano

40-26 82 Street

Elmhurst, NY 11373

718-505-8506

LAW OFFICE OF MERCEDES S. CANO

Our firm is a generation of attorneys that analyze your case in a holistic way; to prevent litigation, if possible, or give you alternatives , if feasible.

P A S A P O R T E : L E G A L N E W S V O L U M E 2 — S U M M E R 2 0 1 2