Dreamers Are Us

Many of you have written to ask how President Obama could approve DAPYP and why can no one stop him from doing so?  Basically, through the memo of June 15, 2012, the president directed Department of Homeland Security, USCIS, and ICE to not deport any undocumented alien who meets some criteria and instead allow them to work for a period of two years. The way to understand this is that only the US Congress has the power to make laws.  The president, as the executive branch, has to enforce the laws, something that is part of the presidential oath.  The twist is that the president has the executive power under which he can decide how to do that.  Which means that he can allocate resources according to his best judgment.  So as many of you know, earlier in his administration, he decided not to enforce Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) because he thinks it is unconstitutional as it discriminates against gays.  In this case, the president's argument is that he does not think it is wise to

As I argued previously, if Mitt Romney becomes president and/or Republicans control Congress , not only is the future of DREAM Act over, even the Obama DAPYP program will be repealed.  In fact, there is a clear possibility, Romney may not be satisfied with self-deportation alone and may ramp up enforcement of immigration laws leading to even stronger crackdown on illegal immigrants.  While the recent Supreme Court decision on Arizona's immigration laws was some relief for illegal immigrants, the "show your papers" provision will continue to make their life impossible as these laws are implemented nationwide. So what can the DREAMers do?   It is illegal for anyone other than citizens and permanent residents to donate to campaigns, but there are other ways in which you can help defeat Republicans: Educate whoever you can about the dangers of Republican takeover of Congress and White House. Help register eligible voters and then provide whatever assistance they need

I wanted to assess the impact of the Supreme Court ruling on the recent initiative by Obama Administration to allow certain illegal immigrants to apply for work permits if they came as children .  The part of the Arizona statutes which made it a crime to fail to register as an illegal immigrant, to work or to try to find work, and allowed Arizona cops to arrest undocumented immigrants without a warrant if they thought that the subject had committed a crime for which she or he could be deported have all been struck down. What has not gone away is the law that if you are now stopped by law enforcement for any violation of law whatsoever (e.g. something as small as not using your turn signal while making a turn) and if the cop suspects that you maybe in the United States illegally, you can be detained and the USCIS will be notified.  At that time, the USCIS will advise the local police what to do next. If you take advantage of the Obama deferral , you will not be deported (as long as your

The GOP has never even tried to hide its hatred for illegal immigrants and Mitt Romney is no different.  In the past he has consistently opposed any relief to undocumented immigrants, but right now he is fishing for Latino votes, and like everything else, he is willing to say anything. Thankfully, he clarified something honestly.  As I had initially argued that if Republicans control either the White House or Congress or both, Obama Deferral Program for Young People is pretty much dead .  This can now be confirmed.  Today Romney declared, "Some people have asked if I will let stand the president's executive action. The answer is that I will build my own long-term solution that will replace and supersede the president's temporary measure."  In simple words, this is one of those Obama executive orders that he will repeal on the very first day of his office.  Remember that as Barack Obama learned after becoming president, it is not easy to pass legislation even when yo

Your application for a work permit under the Deferred Action Process for Young People will go very smoothly if you have lived continuously in the United States since June 15, 2007.  Every time you are dealing with bureaucrats it is best to have clear cut situations, but if you are one of those with unusual situations that you did leave US and then returned and continued with your education or life, there are exceptions available. While it is hard to believe that many undocumented immigrants had the liberty to leave the country and reenter, it is possible to do so by abusing a tourist visa.  The USCIS is saying that if these visits were brief (no details are available on what that means and this is where prosecutorial discretion comes in to play but I would assume that a few days or weeks for the right reasons will quality) and innocent (again no information on what that means but my best guess is that you left the country to tend to a sick family member or to attend a funeral or

In all the discussion related to Deferred Action Program for Young People you must have noticed that in addition to meeting all the eligibility requirements for a work permit and deferral from deportation , you also need to demonstrate “an economic necessity for employment.”  So what does this term mean?  As you might have guessed by now, USCIS and attorneys use different language that can sometimes be confusing. As complicated as this jargon sounds, in reality it is very simple.  The reason it is complicated is that work permits or EAD (employment authorization documents) are issued to many other immigrants and non-immigrants and many of them have to demonstrate a strong reason that they need to work. You fall into that category and you fulfill this requirement by completing a worksheet that asks for income, expenses, and assets. Assuming that you have no debt and live with your parents with zero expenses, you may still want to work to help your family or save for college or st

In order to apply for the deferred action work permit , it is not generally necessary to seek help of an immigration lawyer.  If you think that you can understand English well, have a clear cut case with all eligibility requirements met , and have some experience doing legal paperwork, you can do the paperwork yourself.  The USCIS does not require using attorneys.  Actually, after checking out the three forms that you have to fill, I am confident that you can do the paperwork yourself and I have provided tips on completing Form I-821D , Form I-765 , and Form I-765WS that you can use to get everything right. On the other hand, if your case is not clear cut (particularly if you used a fake social security number to work or got into trouble with the law), you have never done any complex paperwork like this before, and would rather let a professional do it right, it makes sense to sacrifice buying the latest gadgets and spend the money instead on professional legal help.  With best leg

It is no secret that the GOP is strongly opposed to illegal immigration.  The Republican Partly has not only killed any chance of passing the DREAM Act, Mitt Romney has vowed to veto it if it passes.  So here are a few scenarios that might play out: President Barack Obama is reelected:   You will be able to work legally till 2016 and the outcome from thereafter will depend on whether Republicans or Democrats control the White House. President Barack Obama is reelected and Democrats control both the House and the Senate with filibuster proof majority:   Assuming that they will keep their promise about the DREAM Act, it will pass.  It is too early to predict what its provisions will be, but expect an eventual path to citizenship. President Barack Obama is reelected but Republicans control either one or both houses of Congress:   Expect no action on DREAM Act but Deferred Action Program may continue unless the president is sued or some other legal complication arises. Republicans wi

There is always a risk when you have done something unlawful.  Considering that this plan recognizes that the action of your entering the United States illegally or staying beyond your lawful status was illegal and still grants a benefit means that as long as you meet all the eligibility requirements laid out by Janet Napolitano, you can be assured that no harm will come to you.  Here are a few other things to consider: You must meet all the requirements completely and clearly .  You must provide all the documentation and be able to prove their authenticity.  In your interaction with the USCIS, as long as you are completely honest and truthful, everything will go smoothly. If you do not meet some of the requirements -- for example, you have not completed your high school -- expect no harm other than wasted time and money because your application will simply be rejected.  That is why it is very important to make sure that you meet all eligibility requirements for Obama DREAM Act .  I

In all the conversations related to Deferred Action Process for Young People Who Are Low Enforcement Priorities (DAPYP or pronounced as DayPip), you might be reading everywhere this term and wondering what it means.  So here is the simple explanation: Regardless of whether you call yourself undocumented or illegal or DREAMer, the reality is that you have broken US law.  That is why, by default, you can be prosecuted for this crime.  By submitting your application to the USCIS , you are submitting yourself to leniency by a prosecutor.  In other words, it is entirely up to the prosecutor to defer action on your deportation and grant you a work permit to find legal employment. Why this complicated process?  Only US Congress has the authority to approve an amnesty.  What President Barack Obama did was to direct federal prosecutors to defer action on prosecution in the hope that Congress will eventually pass the DREAM Act.  Thus, in the eyes of the law, you can be prosecuted for this cri

Our mission behind this website is to provide simple information and step -by-step instructions on how to file for the paperwork for taking advantage of the regulations passed by Obama Administration to allow children who came illegally to the United States.  We want to simplify the process and make the legal mumbo-jumbo go away by talking like real humans.  So please feel free to peruse the information and write to us if we can be of any help. While the initial focus was on the so-called USCIS Childhood Arrivals program under the name Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) I am also adding latest information on DREAM and Achieve Acts .