Expanded DACA Applications To Be Accepted Beginning February 18, 2015

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) was initially announced on June 15, 2012 via a memorandum from then-Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano. On November 20, 2014, current-Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson issued a memorandum expanding guidelines for DACA in several key ways.  Expanded DACA program will go into effect beginning in February 18, […]

INA Section 237(a)(1)(H) Waiver Granted in Immigration Court

This week, I won a case in immigration court in New York City for a client who was in jeopardy of losing her permanent resident (“green card”) status. My client, a 25-year-old young woman from Pakistan, came to the United States as a lawful permanent resident in 2010 through a family-based petition that her lawful […]

Challenges to DACA and DAPA Programs

On January 15, 2015, a federal district court in Texas will hear oral argument in Texas, et al. v. United States, the 25-state lawsuit challenging the immigration initiatives announced by President Obama last year on November 20, 2014. The lawsuit alleges that states will be burdened by the expansion of the Deferred Action for Childhood […]

Expansion of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program

Through his announcement on November 20, 2014 of an executive order to help millions of undocumented foreign nationals currently living in the United States, President Obama expanded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program implemented in 2012, also through an executive order. How was DACA expanded? DACA is a prosecutorial discretion program administered by […]

Deferred Action for Parental Accountability – What It Is and What It Isn’t

On November 20 and 21, 2014, President Obama announced his “immigration accountability executive action,” which includes a series of measures that are first steps towards common-sense reforms to an outdated immigration system. The series of executive actions presented by the administration include new temporary immigration protections for many unauthorized parents of U.S. citizens and lawful […]

Executive Order – What Does It Mean For You?

On November 20, 2014, the President announced a series of executive actions to crack down on illegal immigration at the border, prioritize deporting felons not families, and require certain undocumented immigrants to pass a criminal background check and pay taxes in order to temporarily stay in the U.S. without fear of deportation. Preliminary estimates show […]

DHS Announces Temporary Protected Status Designations for Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone

Release Date: November 20, 2014 WASHINGTON— Due to the outbreak of Ebola virus disease in West Africa, Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson has announced his decision to designate Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months.  As a result, eligible nationals of Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone who are […]

Immigration Reform: President Obama Considering An Executive Order Despite Congressional Backlash

As you may have heard in the news lately, President Obama is considering issuing an Executive Order on immigration in the coming week (it may be as early as next week!). From what we learned about American political system, we have three branches of Government: Legislative, Executive, and Judiciary. Legislative branch, consisting of the U.S. […]