Musings on Immigration

Maybe. This would depend on how serious these health problems are, what stage of immigration proceedings you are in right now, and what other negative factors affect your case (for example, an existing criminal record, multiple immigration violations, etc.). No pending proceedings in Immigration Court. If you are not in any immigration proceedings at the moment (meaning, you are not scheduled to attend court hearings or appear in front of an Immigration Judge), you could file an application called Deferred Action (not to be confused with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”). This application, if approved, will not give you a green card, but would give you a work permit that you can renew indefinitely. There is no form or formal application process for Deferred Action. This type of relief is based on discretion given by the Department of Homeland Security and a good immigration attorney can help you identify what typ...

  Prosecutorial Discretion (casually referred to as “PD”) occurs when the Department of Homeland Security exercises its discretion in granting some form of benefit to a foreign national. In such cases, the foreign national is typically not entitled to a benefit or relief as a matter of law, but the Department agrees to use its discretion in favor of the applicant anyway. PD can come in many ways and can be the result of different facts specific to an applicant’s case. For example, if you are in removal proceedings (meaning, you are currently attending hearings in front of an Immigration Judge), the Department can agree to administratively close your case, reopen your case (if you previously had a removal order), or terminate your proceedings altogether. If you are not in removal proceedings, then PD can come in the way of a grant of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), Deferred Action (for people who do not fall under Obama’s DACA regulations), or a grant of a stay ...

The title of this article may sound absurd.  In fact, I would not be surprised if this were an article in the satirical fake news Onion, a satirical entity that makes up fake news for the sake of giving you a good laugh.  Yet, sometimes fact is stranger than fiction, and this article in the Charlotte Observer last week is no joke. A Mexican woman was arrested for driving with her high beams.  She has been in the United States since 1991.  She does not have a criminal record.  She was placed into removal proceedings during her arrest. To add insult to injury, her proceedings were scheduled the week after her baby was due.  No consideration was given that babies are not always born on the day they are due, but in fact sometimes later.  Her baby was born on Thursday, the day before the scheduled date.  Immigration and Customs Enforcement finally had her proceedings terminated.  She was given Prosecutorial Discretion, where Immigrations and ...

President Obama announced a significant change in its previously announced prosecutorial discretion program. Effective immediately (although without a process to use yet), any person who meets the f ollowing criteria can be considered for an exercise of prosecutorial discretion, can live free of the fear of deportation, can get a work permit: came to the United States under the age of sixteen; has continuously resided in the United States for a least five years preceding June 15, 2012, and is present in the United States on June 15, 2012; is currently in school, has graduated from high school, has obtained a general education development certificate, or is an honorably discharged veteran of the Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the United States; has not been convicted of a felony offense, a significant misdemeanor offense, multiple misdemeanor offenses, or otherwise poses a threat to national security or public safety; and is not above the age of thirty. Here is t...