Articles Posted in DACA

by

Welcome back to the Immigration Lawyer Blog, where we discuss all things immigration. In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick updates you regarding a recent practice followed by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) – the waiver of marriage based green card interviews during the Coronavirus pandemic. Additionally, our office has observed that the agency is processing certain types of applications much more quickly than others.

Want to know more? Stay tuned for more information about this important topic.

Overview

Green Card Interview Waivers for Employment Based Applicants

Beginning in April of this year, our office began to receive approval notices for employment-based adjustment of status applications, without the need for the applicant to attend the in-person face-to-face interview as is typically required by USCIS.

As you may recall on March 18th USCIS announced the suspension of in-person services at field offices nationwide, which meant the cancellation of face-to-face interviews. It was not until June 4th that USCIS announced that it would begin resumption of services at field offices nationwide.

Presumably to avoid a growing backlog of cases needing to be scheduled for an interview, USCIS began to grant employment-based green card petitions without requiring the applicant to attend the in-person interview due to the suspension of in-person services.

USCIS never officially announced a policy change allowing for these interview waivers, and instead these changes were occurring as a matter of practice based upon the agency’s discretion.

Continue reading

by

Welcome back to the Immigration Lawyer Blog, where we discuss all things immigration. In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick informs our readers about a recent update announced by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) concerning employment authorization cards also known as EADs. Employees may now present their I-765 Notice of Approval as temporary proof of lawful employment in the United States.

Overview

A recent delay in the production of employment authorization cards (EADs) caused by the Coronavirus pandemic has led USCIS to enact a new policy providing relief to those who have an approved I-765 Application for Employment Authorization but have not yet received their employment authorization cards in the mail.

The new policy, announced on August 19, 2020, permits employees to use Form I-797 Notice of Action, with a Notice date on or after December 1, 2019 including through August 20, 2020, that shows the approval of Form I-765 for purposes of satisfying Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, even though the Notice of Action approval states that it is not evidence of employment authorization.

Pursuant to the announcement, I-797 Notice of Action of approval, will now qualify as a List C document that establishes employment authorization issued by the Department of Homeland Security. The employee may present the notice of approval to their employer to remain in compliance with Form I-9 until December 1, 2020.

In addition to presenting the notice of approval, the employee must also provide an acceptable List B document that establishes their identity. The list of acceptable documents to establish identity is on Form I-9.

Continue reading

by

Welcome back to the Immigration Lawyer Blog, where we discuss all things immigration. In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick discusses some very exciting news for first time DACA applicants. Pursuant to a recent court order, a federal judge has ruled that the government must restore the DACA program to its pre-September 2017 status, meaning that USCIS must accept new applications from first time DACA applicants and advance parole requests. Stay tuned for more information on this topic.

Overview

On July 17, 2020 a federal judge in the state of Maryland issued a ruling that requires the government to restore the DACA program to its pre-September 2017 status. This means that USCIS must continue the DACA program as it was before it was rescinded by the Trump administration on September 5, 2017, when applications for DACA were being accepted by first time applicants.

Before this decision, on June 18th the Supreme Court of the United States issued a ruling on DACA finding that, although the government’s rescission of DACA violated the Administrative Procedure Act, the government could lawfully rescind DACA so long as the government follows the procedures required by the APA. In effect, the Supreme Court’s decision left open the possibility for DACA to be rescinded by the Trump administration. The Supreme Court emphasized that it would not decide whether DACA or its rescission are “sound policies.”

After its ruling, the Supreme Court sent the case back to the lower courts, where the Maryland judge ultimately decided in favor of reinstating the DACA program.

Continue reading

by

Welcome back to the Immigration Lawyer Blog, where we discuss all things immigration. In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick shares very exciting news for Dreamers. On June 18, 2020, the United States Supreme Court handed down a ruling blocking the Trump administration from rescinding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, an Obama-era program that grants young undocumented immigrants temporary employment authorization and shields them from deportation.

Keep on watching for more information.

Overview

For nearly 8 years, the DACA program has helped thousands of undocumented young adults live and work in the United States without fear of deportation. Aside from having formal legal status in the United States, Dreamers are by all accounts American. Many have lived in the United States for most of their lives, attended American schools, established deep ties to the United States, and adopted the American way of life.

Unfortunately, since the beginning of his campaign, President Trump has targeted the DACA program promising to dismantle “the illegal” DACA program once and for all. President Trump long criticized the DACA program because it was created unilaterally by former President Barack Obama by executive order. President Trump has called the program illegal because it was not created by Congress.

As you may recall, on September 5, 2017, the President announced his controversial decision to rescind the DACA program which was met with great resistance by American universities, several states, and other pro-immigrant groups. Soon after, several states filed lawsuits against the Department of Homeland Security to stop the government from rescinding DACA. In all lawsuits, the lower court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, ordering the government to keep DACA in place. The lawsuits were merged and finally came to the Supreme Court in November of 2019.

Today, the Supreme Court handed down a final ruling in favor of plaintiffs finding that although the Trump administration has the power to end DACA, it did not follow the procedural formalities required under the Administrative Procedure Act when it sought to rescind the DACA program. The Supreme Court majority agreed with the plaintiffs that the Trump administration did not provide a good reason for its decision to end DACA and violated the APA.

Continue reading