Posted August 6, 2012

USCIS Releases Guidance on How to Apply For Deferred Action.

 

On August 6,  USCIS issued guidance on how the agency plans to accept requests from childhood arrivals for deferred action.

A critical requirement for Deferred Action relates to what constitutes a ‘significant misdemeanor.’  According to the guidance:

For the purposes of this process, a significant misdemeanor is a misdemeanor as defined by federal law (specifically, one for which the maximum term of imprisonment authorized is one year or less but greater than five days) and that meets the following criteria:

  1. Regardless of the sentence imposed, is an offense of domestic violence; sexual abuse or exploitation; burglary; unlawful possession or use of a firearm; drug distribution or trafficking; or, driving under the influence; or,
  2. If not an offense listed above, is one for which the individual was sentenced to time in custody of more than 90 days. The sentence must involve time to be served in custody, and therefore does not include a suspended sentence.

USCIS will use a ‘totality of circumstances’ approach to analyzing an applicant’s criminal history.  This means reviewing arrest reports, and multiple misdemeanors, including warrants, etc.

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USCIS Provides Update to Filing Waivers of Inadmissibility from Abroad

Posted August 3, 2012

On August 2, 2012, USCIS posted the following update on their website regarding new centralized procedures for filing I-601 or I-212 waivers of inadmissibility from abroad.  Applicants abroad who have been determined to be inadmissible for immigrant visas and K or V nonimmigrant visas must now file with the USCIS lockbox at the Nebraska Service Center.  The sole exception applies only to residents of Mexico, who continue to have the option of filing waivers of inadmissibility at the USCIS Field office in Cuidad Juarez, Mexico.

Notice Regarding USCIS Centralized Filing for Waivers of Inadmissibility

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services sent this bulletin at 08/02/2012 04:13 PM EDT

Since June 4, 2012, individuals outside the U.S. who have been found inadmissible for certain visas by a U.S. consular officer and seek to waive an inadmissibility ground should no longer apply for a waiver at their foreign location, but should file requests directly to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) by mailing the application to a USCIS Lockbox facility in the United States.  This change only affects situations where individuals outside the U.S., who have been found inadmissible for an immigrant visa or a nonimmigrant K or V visa, must file their waiver applications.  These waiver applications are adjudicated at the USCIS Nebraska Service Center (NSC).

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Obama Administration to Implement Deferred Action For Young Illegals

Posted June 15, 2012

News is evolving.  The Obama Administration has scheduled an announcement for 1:15pm EDT Friday, June 15th, so stay tuned. Preliminarily, it appears the Obama Administration has decided to implement a Deferred Action option for illegal immigrants in removal proceedings.  The policy, effective immediately, will apply to those in removal proceeding (a) under the age of 30; (b) who arrived to the U.S. before the age of 16; (c) who have lived in the country for at least five years; (d) who have no substantial criminal record (TBD); and (e) who have earned a high school diploma, remained in school or have joined the U.S. military.

Read the Department of Homeland Security Press Release.

Learn more:  DHS

Learn more:  ICE

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Nine Essential Elements of a Character Reference Letter

Posted April 30, 2012

If you find yourself in immigration removal proceedings, or if you require supporting evidence of good moral character to advance an application for naturalization, provide evidence of a spousal relationship, or support some other immigration benefit, character reference letters written on your behalf by persons who know you well can provide crucial information to the reviewing officer, immigration judge or government attorney in your case.  Here are basic guidelines for character reference letters written on your behalf.

The following are nine essential elements of such letters.  The blue sentences below are merely sample sentences – obviously, the writer should provide their own facts. 

Beyond these minimum elements, the writer is free to (and should) use their own writing style and sharing of information and facts about you based on their personal knowledge of you.  But the letter should contain at least these elements.  If a particular letter is missing any of these elements, you should request that the writer re-write the letter, including the missing element.  (‘You’ refers to the subject of the letter, i.e., the person in removal proceedings or applying for the immigration benefit and about whom the letter is written – in the below examples, the fictional Anthony Kalabua).

To Whom It May Concern (the proper salutation):

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