One of the lines that President Obama used in his November 20th speech is that the country should be focused on “deporting felons, not families.” To help meet this goal, he directed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to focus their enforcement efforts – detention and deportation – on three types of immigrants. Although this […]
Immigration Reform: New Enforcement Priorities Read More »
When the President announced his changes to immigration policy, he included a program for undocumented parents of U.S. Citizens or Lawful Permanent Residents. This program is officially called Deferred Action for Parental Accountability, or DAPA. It is modeled after DACA, so there are many similarities. A person who is granted DAPA will receive work authorization and permission
Immigration Reform: Deferred Action for Parents (DAPA) Read More »
Over the next several weeks, I’d like to highlight the various components of President Obama’s Executive Action on Immigration Policy and Reform. Let’s look at the Expanded DACA provisions today. EXPANDED DACA Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is one of two deferred action programs that President Obama discussed. DACA was originally announced in June 2012
Immigration Reform: Expanded DACA Read More »
REGISTER FOR FREE TODAY! Learn about the sweeping changes to immigration policy that President Obama announced in November. Learn about eligibility requirements and the latest developments. When: Saturday, December 13th at 10:30 am – Register now Monday, December 15th at 7:00 pm – Register now Where: YWCA of Northwest Georgia, 48 Henderson Street, Marietta, GA 30064 (Map
Free Presentations on Immigration Reform Read More »
Despite the changes that President Obama announced last week, for many immigrants and their families, the immigration process continues unchanged and as planned. This includes going to interviews for citizenship and permanent residency at USCIS offices. The Atlanta USCIS Office is like a second office to me. Seriously – some of the officers have joked
How to Prepare for Interviews at the Atlanta USCIS Office Read More »
On November 20, 2014, President Obama announced his plans for shifting policies and priorities in immigration law. We were fortunate to be on a call with the White House 90 minutes before the President’s announcement. As we listened, we all had goosebumps and were thrilled with what we were hearing. The changes are overall very
Executive Action: It’s Here! Read More »
Update: The announcement is now scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday, November 20, 2014, at 8 PM EST. We understand that President Obama will travel to Las Vegas on Friday and announce his plans for immigration reform. Remember, it will still take time for the policies and plans to be implemented. You will not be able to
Breaking News: Immigration Executive Action Announcement Expected Friday Read More »
Late last week, various media outlets began reporting about President Obama’s ten-point plan on immigration reform. Within hours, the White House responded by saying that nothing was final, no decisions had been made, and that the points listed in the articles were mere speculation. Some of the points listed made sense. For example, extending DACA to people
Rumors of Immigration Reform Read More »
An Ombudsman is a wonderful thing and it’s a too-little used resource in the immigration world. The USCIS Office of the Ombudsman is responsible for working with USCIS to resolve problems that applicants have with their cases. While this office is always the last resort, sometimes no amount of “lawyering” or liaison work can get USCIS to
The USCIS Ombudsman’s Office Read More »
I’ve been very lucky. In over five years of practice, I have never had a U visa denied. But, when U visas make up one-third of your practice, a denial is bound to happen at some point. We filed an application for Juana (name changed) in the summer of 2013. Her niece had been kidnapped and assaulted
Our First U Visa Denial Read More »
