New Policy Allows ‘Dreamers’ to Stay
Some are calling this Executive Decision “Dream Act—Lite,” as it purports to offer what President Obama calls a “temporary stop gap measure,” which will allow young immigrants relief until the controversial DREAM Act is passed.
On June 15, 2012, the Department of Homeland Security formally announced that it will offer deferred action to “DREAMers.” An eligible individual must:
• be 15-30 years old, and have entered the country before age 16;
• have been present in the U.S. for five years as of June 15, 2012;
• have maintained continuous residence;
• have not been convicted of a felony, a significant misdemeanor or multiple minor misdemeanors;
• be currently in school, graduated or have a GED, or be an honorably discharged veteran.
The deferred action offer will be available to those in proceedings, as well as to those who apply affirmatively. Deferred action is a discretionary determination to defer removal action of an individual as an act of prosecutorial discretion. Deferred action does not confer lawful status upon an individual.
In addition, although an immigrant granted deferred action will not be considered to be accruing unlawful presence in the United States during the period deferred action is in effect, deferred action does not absolve individuals of any previous or subsequent periods of unlawful presence.
Under existing regulations, an individual who has been granted deferred action is eligible to receive employment authorization for the period of deferred action, provided he or she can demonstrate “an economic necessity for employment.” Travel may be authorized under this policy but that issue has not yet been addressed.
Grants of deferred action will be issued in increments of two years. At the expiration of the two-year period, the grant of deferred action can be renewed, pending a review of the individual case.
USCIS will implement this process within 60 days of this announcement and, in the coming weeks, more information will become available as to the procedure and guidelines. Please stay tuned to Khabar for updates on this very important new policy.
H-1B Quota for Fiscal Year 2013 Reached
The H-1B quota for fiscal year 2013 was reached on June 11. The advanced-degree cap was reached a few days earlier, on June 7. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) made an announcement regarding both cap limits on June 12. The USCIS will reject any H-1B cap cases filed against the FY13 cap that reach the USCIS on or after June 12.
EB2 Cutoff Date for Rest of the World, Mexico and Philippines
The U.S. Department of State has released the July 2012 Visa Bulletin. For the first time in many years, the employment-based, second-preference (EB2) category contains a cutoff date for the rest of the world, Mexico, and the Philippines. This cutoff date is January 1, 2009, and will be effective as of July 1, 2012. The establishment of an EB2 cutoff date for countries other than India and China was predicted in the June 2012 Visa Bulletin.
|
FAMILY |
India |
Pakistan/Bangladesh |
|
1st |
08Jul05 |
08Jul05 |
|
2A |
15Feb10 |
15Feb10 |
|
2B |
01May04 |
04May04 |
|
3rd |
15Apr02 |
15Apr02 |
|
4th |
22Jan01 |
22Jan01 |
|
EMPLOYMENT |
India |
Pakistan/Bangladesh |
|
1st |
Current |
Current |
|
2nd |
Unavailable |
01Jan09 |
|
3rd |
22Sep02 |
22Jul06 |
|
Other |
22Sep02 |
22Jul06 |
|
4th |
Current |
Current |
|
5th |
Current |
Current1B |
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