IN November 2014, President Obama announced he was implementing various immigration executive actions, including Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) and expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). These programs would enable certain children brought to the US before age 16 and certain parents of US citizen or immigrant children to obtain relief from deportation and work authorization. USCIS was supposed to issue guidance, instructions, and forms, and was to begin accepting DAPA applications by May 2015. Everyone was expecting a smooth rollout of this program, similar to the way the original DACA was implemented in 2012 without a hitch.
Unfortunately, in February 2015, a federal judge in Texas issued an injunction, temporarily halting the implementation of DAPA and expanded DACA. (The original 2012 DACA program was not affected by that judge’s injunction.) The legality of that federal judge’s injunction is currently on appeal, and oral arguments in the Court of Appeals will take place in July. (An earlier appellate panel upheld the federal judge’s injunction, but the upcoming appellate panel is not bound by that determination.) We hope they will lift or overturn that injunction soon, so USCIS may implement DAPA and expanded DACA.
To be clear, as a result of that federal judge’s injunction, there are no benefits or relief available at the present time for DAPA or expanded DACA, and no application for such benefits or relief may be processed, unless and until the injunction is lifted, and related federal regulations, guidance, memos, and forms are issued by USCIS. Therefore, nothing can be filed for DAPA or expanded DACA benefits at the present time.
In the meantime, if you believe you may potentially be eligible for these benefits, you can still gather relevant documents, which could help establish or prove your eligibility, including, but will not be limited to, showing you have been in the US continuously since 2010, documentation concerning your entry into the US, immigration records and history, and the like.
In addition, it could be possible that there are immigration benefits or relief available to you other than DAPA or expanded DACA. I had several people come to my office after President Obama’s November 2014 announcement, who wanted to pursue DAPA. While it looked like they were potentially eligible for DAPA (when it would finally be implemented), they were also eligible for certain other immigration benefits that are presently available. Therefore, you may want to consider seeking the advice of an attorney, who can review and analyze your complete immigration status and situation, your records, and filings, to determine other possible options and benefits, independent from DAPA, that could possibly be available to you in lieu of, or while waiting for DACA or expanded DACA.
We all are looking forward to the day DAPA and expanded DACA are implemented and/or other forms of immigration reliefs or benefits become available to you. We will continue to keep you posted on any such important developments.
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Michael J. Gurfinkel is licensed, and an active member of the State Bar of California and New York. All immigration services are provided by, or under the supervision of, an active member of the State Bar of California. Each case is different. The information contained herein including testimonials, “Success Stories,” endorsements and re-enactments) is of a general nature, and is not intended to apply to any particular case, and does not constitute a prediction, warranty, guarantee or legal advice regarding the outcome of your legal matter. No attorney-client relationship is, or shall be, established with any reader.
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