Waivers & Deferred Action

What is DACA?

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What is DACA? (April 23, 2021)

On June 15, 2012, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security under the Obama administration announced a new immigration policy known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). This policy allows certain people who came to this country as children to request consideration of deferred action for a period of two years, subject to renewal. Those that qualify are also eligible for work authorization. However, it must be noted that DACA does not provide lawful status and does not establish a pathway to residency and citizenship.

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An Introduction to Hardship Waivers

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An Introduction to Hardship Waivers (April 26, 2016)

A person may be found to be inadmissible to the United States for many different reasons.  These include three- and ten-year bars for unlawful presence; crimes involving moral turpitude (CIMTs); prostitution; simple possession of less than thirty grams of marijuana; certain medical inadmissibility; and misrepresentation. To overcome such an inadmissibility, an I-601 Waiver will need to be filed.  The primary basis to qualify for an I-601 Waiver is to show “extreme hardship” to a qualifying relative, i.e. a U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse, parent or minor child.  Inadmissibility might be waived if the applicant can prove their relative will face extreme hardship in the United States without their presence. Conversely, the applicant can demonstrate their relative will suffer extreme hardship should their relative follow them back to their homeland.

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Update on DAPA and Expanded DACA

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Update on DAPA and Expanded DACA (July 1, 2015)

In November of last year, President Obama announced a series of immigration policy changes.  Many of the changes, relating primarily to employment-based immigration, were uncontroversial and are going forward as planned.  For example, the administrative process for granting permanent residency (“green cards”) for certain workers is being streamlined to avoid backlogs in processing these applications.  In addition, the President directed USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) to issue a memorandum clarifying what types of “specialized knowledge” applicants for L-1B nonimmigrant petitioners need to demonstrate. Two of the provisions announced in November have met significant opposition.

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