Immigration Reform is Here: Part II
Last week the President announced that soon a number of new immigration policies will be put in place to help fix our broken immigration system.
What are the new policies?
- Young people who came to this country before turning 16 years old and who have been present since January 1, 2010 will be eligible for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Additionally, the DACA program will be extended from two to three years.
- A new program called Deferred Action for Parental Accountability will be created. This program will allow the parents of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents who have been present in the country since January 1, 2010 to request deferred action and employment authorization for three years, provided they pass required background checks to show that they are not a priority for removal from the United States. If you have had any prior negative contact with law enforcement, you may be ineligible for relief under this new program. It is important to consult with an immigration attorney to determine whether you will be eligible.
- The spouses and sons and daughters of lawful permanent residents, as well as the sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, will be eligible to apply for the Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver.
- Certain immigrant and nonimmigrant programs will be improved.
- Naturalization applicants will be allowed to use credit cards to pay their application fee.
When will the new policies go into effect?
- It will take some time for the policies to go into effect. Each policy has a different timeline.
- It is predicted that the expansion of the current DACA program will go into effect in about three months.
- It is predicted that the new Deferred Action for Parental Accountability will go into effect in about six months.
What can I do now to prepare?
- Meet with an immigration lawyer (not a notario) to find out whether you are eligible for relief under one of the new policies.
- Start gathering documents to prove your identity, such as your original birth certificate, passports, and photo identification cards.
- If you are eligible under the expanded DACA or Deferred Action for Parental Accountability programs, you will need to prove that you have been in the country since January 1, 2010. Start gathering documents such as lease or mortgage documents, bank records, school records, and medical records now in order to prove this requirement.
Immigration Reform is Here!
Immigration reform is here!
Tonight President Obama announced that he will soon move forward with a number of new immigration policies. The policies include granting deferred action to millions of parents of United States citizens and lawful permanent residents (green card holders).
What do we know about how the new policies will affect YOU?
What we know now is that you may qualify for deferred action under this new policy if you are an undocumented immigrant and:
Have resided in the United States for at least five years;
Have a child who is a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident (green card holder);
Are willing to pay all owed back taxes; and
Have "good moral character," which will likely mean that you have not been convicted of any felony or serious misdemeanor.
The President also referenced changes to the employment and investment-based immigration system, as well as other changes.
Please stay tuned for more information following the President's address in Las Vegas tomorrow.
Visa Bulletin December 2014
There is very little to report regarding the Visa Bulletin for December. There has been a slight forward movement in most family-based and employment-based categories. However, there were no major changes.
See the full bulletin at:
Visitors from China Can Get Extended Visas Starting November 12th
Starting on November 12th, the United States and the People’s Republic of China will reciprocally increase the validity of short-term business and tourist visas and student and exchange visas issued to each other’s citizens.
Chinese applicants who qualify for a B-category nonimmigrant visa will be issued multiple-entry visas for up to 10 years for business and tourist travel.
Qualified Chinese students and exchange visitors and their dependents who qualify for F, M, or J-category visas will be able to get multiple-entry visas valid for up to five years.
If you are interest in applying for a visa, please contact us at TheTeam@Huwelaw.com.
How Will California's Proposition 47 Affect Me as an Immigrant?
On Tuesday, California voters approved Proposition 47, the Criminal Sentences Misdemeanor Penalties Initiative Statute.
What does the new law do? Proposition 47:
Mandates misdemeanors instead of felonies for non-serious, nonviolent crimes, unless the defendant has prior convictions for murder, rape, certain sex offenses or certain gun crimes
Permits re-sentencing (after a thorough review of criminal history and risk assessment) for anyone currently serving a prison sentence for an offense that the law reduces to a misdemeanor
What types of crimes
does Proposition 47 cover? It covers the following crimes, when the value of any property in question does not exceed $950:
Shoplifting
Grand theft
Receiving stolen property
Forgery
Fraud
Writing a bad check
The law also covers crimes involving the personal use of illegal drugs, such as marijuana, in many instances.
How will Proposition 47 affect immigrants?
Under current immigration law, an intending immigrant will be inadmissible to the United States if he has been convicted of certain crimes. Even an immigrant who is already in the United States in lawful status can be deported if he is convicted of certain crimes after entry.
Some crimes, such as those the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) labels "aggravated felonies" based on theft and crimes involving "moral turpitude" must be punishable by at least one year in jail to result in inadmissibility or deportation.
Prior to the passage of Proposition 47, many crimes falling into the categories listed above could have resulted in a conviction of one year or more, and therefore inadmissibility or deportation. However, with the passage of the new law, that is no longer the case.
This change will result in fewer immigration i
ssues for immigrants and intending immigrants.
For more information, please contact us at 415-548-7067 or TheTeam@Huwelaw.com to discuss your specific situation.
