JEGLAW LTD – NEWSLETTER |
WELCOME! JEGLAW LTD, directed by Jon Eric Garde, Esq., is professionally acknowledged as a leading immigration and nationality law office in the State of Nevada. JEGLAW LTD is a comprehensive immigration & nationality law practice and is prepared to address all citizenship applications, investment based procedures, family based and employment based procedures, removal defenses, asylum and related applications, and immigration related federal litigation. Philosophically, JEGLAW LTD understands that American business and society are fed and developed and not burdened by both common sense immigration law and a deep respect for human rights. Pragmatically, JEGLAW LTD is a client centered immigration and nationality law practice providing our clients with unmatched personal concern. Please enjoy this news article as our gift to you to keep up with the ever changing and dynamic field of Immigration and Nationality Law. With over 22 years of experience behind us, our pleasure and honor is to serve you! |
PRESIDENT OBAMA’S EXECUTIVE IMMIGRATION FIX |
By Jon Eric Garde, Esq. |
Only Congress can create immigration law, but the President can issue policy orders to guide how existing law is enforced. This is exactly what President Obama did by issuing an Order on November 20, 2014 to amend the manner in which existing immigration law will be enforced this coming 2015. While continuing to intensify border enforcement and prioritize the deportation of felons and not families, President Obama has ordered that an estimated 5 million undocumented immigrants will be granted employment authorization for a three year period through “deferred action.” Moreover, many obstacles to lawful immigration have been created by 1996 amendments to the Immigration and Nationality Act, which have been eliminated by the President’s order by an expanded application of his parole power. Both of these changes will be discussed immediately below.
Deferred action has been in existence since the 1960s. It is best understood as the selected non-enforcement of arrest and deportation provisions guided by humanitarian reasons or when in the public interest. Deferred action must be granted on a case by case basis, but, it may also target a specific identifiable group for a case by case individualized determination to grant or deny this benefit. Persons granted deferred action can also apply for an employment authorization document. Recently, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, DACA, was implemented by President Obama for unlawfully present persons who (1) arrived in the United States on or before June 15, 2007, (2) who have been physically present since that date, (3) who arrived prior to reaching the age of 16 and (4) who were under 31 years of age at time of their initial application. DACA was made available to eligible persons whether or not they were subject to removal proceedings or a final removal order. The $465 filing fee cannot be waived, and applicants must have either graduated high school, have achieved an equivalent degree, or be in the process of seeking a high school diploma or the equivalent degree when applying to extend this benefit. DACA was initially granted for a two year period, and has recently been extended once. The President’s recent Order extends the arrival date for DACA to January 1, 2010, removes age restrictions and extends each grant to a three year period. Moreover, a new deferred action program has been created, entitled Deferred Action for Parental Accountability, DAPA, for individuals who are parents to US citizens or lawful permanent residents, who arrived in the United States prior to January 1, 2010, and who pass background checks demonstrating that they are not an enforcement priority.
Then, there is the expansion of the parole power through the President’s Order, which is best understood by explaining the differences between admission and parole. Admission to the United States must be with legal status, either as a permanent resident, (an immigrant), or temporarily as a non-immigrant. There are many categories of immigration and non-immigrant status. Any entry into the United States that is not with immigrant or non-immigrant status is through “parole”, which is done either for humanitarian reasons or in the public interest. While certain groups of people can be considered for parole, as a matter of federal policy, parole is granted on a case by case basis. Parole is granted one of three ways: (1) It can be granted from outside the United States. (2) It is also granted through “parole in place”, without departure from the United States, as has been recently been made available to be granted to undocumented persons whose parent or children are actively serving in the military. (3) It can also be granted as “advance parole” before departure so as to allow parole into the United States upon return.
Advance parole is now being applied to open up immigration opportunities for millions of people. Under the direction from the Secretary of Homeland Security, DHS officials will be instructed to follow a 2012 immigration decision (Matter of Arrabally), finding that a lawfully present individual who travels abroad after a grant of advance parole does not trigger the three- or 10-year bars that ordinarily apply when a person departs the United States after residing here unlawfully for more than six months. Thus, by broadly applying this decision, individuals who would be eligible for LPR status but for the fact that their last entry into the United States was unlawful may be able to apply for permanent resident status upon their parole back into the United States. The new DHS instruction will ensure consistent application across the department. The President’s recent Order also acknowledged the contributions of high skilled immigrant workers, exceptional ability workers, and entrepreneurial immigrants to our nation’s economy, explaining a variety of administrative reforms would be implemented by regulation no later than 180 days following the President’s policy Order, issued on November 20, 2014. The President thereby acknowledges our nation’s need to retain the most talented students educated within American universities and thereby maintain the competitive advantage of our economy. Likewise, the President has ordered both deferred action programs be implemented by regulation no later than 180 days following November 20, 2014, meaning on or before May 19, 2015. The President’s executive order has been further explained by numerous memoranda issued by the Secretary of Homeland Security, Jeh Johnson, among others. Having reviewed these memoranda, I provide the following outline to itemize and explain the President’s directives. This outline may not address every question the reader may have, as certain terms are yet to be explained by the Obama administration. Additional and ongoing research will no doubt become necessary. Please feel free to rely on the attached outline to understand the many criteria used by the Obama administration in processing these newly expended immigration benefits provided by the President’s November 20, Executive Action. |
EXECUTIVE ORDER OUTLINE |
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