AFTER months of speculation as to what President Obama’s Executive Action would bring for immigration reform, President Obama delivered a speech last night announcing executive action that provides immigration relief to millions of undocumented persons in the US. The focal point of the executive action is relief for undocumented parents of US Citizen children and green card holders, which will protect and provide work authorization for up to 5 million people in the US. The President explain the specifics of his plan at a follow-up rally in Las Vegas, Nevada, which has the highest per capita number of undocumented immigrants of all 50 States, on Friday.
The Executive Action will allow parents of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents who have been in the country since January 1, 2010, to request deferred action and employment authorization for three years, in a new Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) program, provided they pass required background checks.
In addition to providing family reunification to the parents of US citizens and green card holders, Obama’s executive action will expand the population eligible for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to include young people who came to this country before turning 16 years old who have been present in the US since January 1, 2010, and extending the period of DACA validity and work authorization from two years to three years.
President Obama’s plan also expands the availability of use of “provisional waivers” of unlawful presence to include the spouses and sons and daughters of lawful permanent residents and the sons and daughters of U.S. citizens. The provisional waiver allows an applicant for an immigrant visa who is subject to the “3 and 10 year bar” to obtain a waiver while still in the US prior to departing for an immigrant visa interview abroad. In many cases, individuals who are not eligible to adjust status in the US because of overstay and other violations must appear for an immigrant visa interview to obtain a green card. The Provisional Waiver was originally only available to “immediate relative” spouse and parents of US citizens.|
President Obama’s Executive Action also modernizes, improves and clarifies immigrant and nonimmigrant programs to help the economy and create jobs, promote citizenship education and public awareness for lawful permanent residents and provide an option for naturalization applicants to use credit cards to pay the application fee.
Importantly, these executive actions have not yet been implemented and may take at least 60 days before application forms are made available for benefits. Immigrants who believe they may be affected or could benefit from the new executive actions plans should consult with a competent immigration attorney for a correct understanding of the rules and avoid “notaries” and “consultants.”
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Daniel P. Hanlon is a California State Bar Certified Specialist in Immigration and Nationality Law and a principal of Hanlon Law Group, PC, located at 225 S. Lake Ave., 11th Floor in Pasadena, California; Tel. No. (626) 585-8005. Hanlon Law Group, PC is a “full-service Immigration Law firm.” E-mail: [email protected] and www.hanlonlawgroup.com.
